Parshat Chukkat

Chukkat

Numbers 19:1 - 22:1

The forty- year journey of the Israelites will soon come to an end. Miriam and Aaron will both die. The people camp in a region known as “Kadesh”. The parsha begins with the laws of the red heifer or parah adumah. Elazar, Aaron’s son, is asked to conduct a ritual with an unblemished (temimah) red heifer. This was an act of purification for the people. In the act of preparing the ritual, the person involved would himself become impure. There then follows a discussion about ritual defilement and corpses. Miriam dies and the well of water that followed the people disappears. The people complain to Moses about the lack of water. G-d commands Moses to speak with a rock that will bring forth water. Instead, Moses, in his anger, strikes the rock with a staff and water comes gushing out. Moses is then punished by G-d for disobeying him. He is told that he too will die in the desert and not be allowed to enter the promised land. Aaron is informed that he will soon die, and his son Elazar, is installed as the Kohen Gadol. The Israelites begin to make contact with some of the kingdoms around the land of Canaan. The Moabites, Edomites, and Amorites will continue to be a problem for them as they move steadily closer to their goal.

The word chukas means “statute”. We have discussed in the past the differences between mishpotim (ordinances) and chukim (statutes). In brief, mishpotim are civil laws governing the relationships between people in a society. The chukim are commandments given by G-d that do not necessarily have any logic or reason behind them (like the laws of kashrus). The laws of the parah adumah are among the most mysterious of all the chukim in the Torah.

Many commentators have struggled with the parah adumah over the centuries. An interesting analogy of its role in the rituals life of the ancient Israelite may help. When a doctor prescribes a pill for your illness, most of us do not understand the pharmacological processes that take place. We trust that the doctor understands and if we follow the prescription, there is a good chance we will get well again. In the same way, we are not expert on the ways of G-d. We cannot understand how the process of performing a bris milah, or following the procedures of the parah adumah helps spiritually. As chukim, we cannot ask why; they are simply Torah commandments from G-d.

It is interesting that the word “parah”, spelled with a letter “hei” at the end, also means, “to be fruitful”. This description in the Torah follows immediately after the discussion in parshas Korach regarding the tithing of food for the kohanim and leviim. Once again, in the opinion of the sages, the Torah is providing an antidote for a given disease. In this case, the disease is the ritual defilement due to contact with a corpse. If we are to remain fruitful and multiply, we must follow the mishpotim (tithes) and chukim (parah adumah) as given in the Torah.

The episode at Kadesh provides an interesting contrast. In the Torah, there were three places at which the people complained about a lack of water. At Mara, after the exodus, the waters were too bitter to drink so G-d tells Moses to throw a piece of wood into the waters and make them sweet (Shemos 15:23). The Torah uses the expression “va-yoreihu” which is usually translated as “He showed.” The context of this translation is that G-d shows Moses the tree (whose bark is supposed to have a bitter taste). However, Rav Shlomo Breuer (Son-in-law of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch) points out that a better translation is “He instructed.” Since the root (yud, reish, hei) implies instruction. If the Torah meant “showed”, a similar word, using an extra alef, would have been used.

The lesson, according to Rav Breuer, is that the Torah was teaching us about education. The sages remark how wonderful G-d is; man turns bitter to sweet by mixing bitter and bitter. At Mara, the bitter waters were made sweet as an example of G-d’s power. This was sanctified and proclaimed before all of the people. By interpreting the episode as “G-d instructed Moses about a tree…and he cast it into the waters…”, G-d was training Moses how to be a teacher of Torah to the new and eager students (who were not so always eager as they complained often!).

The second episode occurred a little while later (Shemos 17:5-7) at Rephidim. The Torah states that G-d commanded Moses to take his rod, stand upon the rock in Horeb (the Torah doesn’t state which rock) and smite the rock (not strike it). Water then came flowing out. Now we get to our verse in Chukas. Moses was commanded to speak with the rock that closed up after Miriam died. Instead, Moses loses his temper, curses the people, strikes the rock, and water comes gushing out. G-d states “Because you believed not in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

The exact nature of the sin of Moses is still under debate. It is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah. If Moses was to speak with the rock and in his anger struck it instead, he committed to sins. First, he did not follow G-d’s command and second, as a teacher, he should not have chastised his students (the people) in that way. He should have known better and was held to a higher standard. On the other hand, perhaps it was all a setup. If G-d wanted Moses to speak with the rock, why did He tell Moses to bring along his rod just like he did in Rephidim (where he was asked to hit the rock). Finally, it is possible that Moses was punished for slandering the people. The sages state that Joshua was punished for uttering the phrase (Joshua 6:5): “I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.”

The story is told about Rabbi Avuhu and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish in the Talmud. They were traveling together to a certain town. Rabbi Avuhu asked Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, “Why should we go to a place of blasphemers?” Upon hearing this, Rabbi Shimon got down off of his donkey, picked up some sand, and placed it in the mouth of his colleague. When Rabbi Avuhu asked for an explanation for this bizarre behavior, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish answered, “G-d does not want us to speak ill about the Jewish people.”

Once again, we see the sin of loshen hara rearing its ugly head. Even the great Moses was punished for his wicked temper. Maybe the insult was slight, but for someone of Moses’ stature, the sin was great. If this can happen to Moses, the greatest prophet of all time and the most humble man of all time, how much more so must we ourselves be careful about the sin of loshen hara!

	Oceanside Jewish Center Weekly Parsha By Jonathan Wolf
	Chukkat Numbers 19:1 - 22:1 The forty- year journey of the Israelites will soon come to an end. Miriam and Aaron will both die. The people camp in a region known as “Kadesh”. The parsha begins with the laws of the red heifer or parah adumah. Elazar, Aaron’s son, is asked to conduct a ritual with an unblemished (temimah) red heifer. This was an act of purification for the people. In the act of preparing the ritual, the person involved would himself become impure. There then follows a discussion about ritual defilement and corpses. Miriam dies and the well of water that followed the people disappears. The people complain to Moses about the lack of water. G-d commands Moses to speak with a rock that will bring forth water. Instead, Moses, in his anger, strikes the rock with a staff and water comes gushing out. Moses is then punished by G-d for disobeying him. He is told that he too will die in the desert and not be allowed to enter the promised land. Aaron is informed that he will soon die, and his son Elazar, is installed as the Kohen Gadol. The Israelites begin to make contact with some of the kingdoms around the land of Canaan. The Moabites, Edomites, and Amorites will continue to be a problem for them as they move steadily closer to their goal. The word chukas means “statute”. We have discussed in the past the differences between mishpotim (ordinances) and chukim (statutes). In brief, mishpotim are civil laws governing the relationships between people in a society. The chukim are commandments given by G-d that do not necessarily have any logic or reason behind them (like the laws of kashrus). The laws of the parah adumah are among the most mysterious of all the chukim in the Torah. Many commentators have struggled with the parah adumah over the centuries. An interesting analogy of its role in the rituals life of the ancient Israelite may help. When a doctor prescribes a pill for your illness, most of us do not understand the pharmacological processes that take place. We trust that the doctor understands and if we follow the prescription, there is a good chance we will get well again. In the same way, we are not expert on the ways of G-d. We cannot understand how the process of performing a bris milah, or following the procedures of the parah adumah helps spiritually. As chukim, we cannot ask why; they are simply Torah commandments from G-d. It is interesting that the word “parah”, spelled with a letter “hei” at the end, also means, “to be fruitful”. This description in the Torah follows immediately after the discussion in parshas Korach regarding the tithing of food for the kohanim and leviim. Once again, in the opinion of the sages, the Torah is providing an antidote for a given disease. In this case, the disease is the ritual defilement due to contact with a corpse. If we are to remain fruitful and multiply, we must follow the mishpotim (tithes) and chukim (parah adumah) as given in the Torah. The episode at Kadesh provides an interesting contrast. In the Torah, there were three places at which the people complained about a lack of water. At Mara, after the exodus, the waters were too bitter to drink so G-d tells Moses to throw a piece of wood into the waters and make them sweet (Shemos 15:23). The Torah uses the expression “va-yoreihu” which is usually translated as “He showed.” The context of this translation is that G-d shows Moses the tree (whose bark is supposed to have a bitter taste). However, Rav Shlomo Breuer (Son-in-law of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch) points out that a better translation is “He instructed.” Since the root (yud, reish, hei) implies instruction. If the Torah meant “showed”, a similar word, using an extra alef, would have been used. The lesson, according to Rav Breuer, is that the Torah was teaching us about education. The sages remark how wonderful G-d is; man turns bitter to sweet by mixing bitter and bitter. At Mara, the bitter waters were made sweet as an example of G-d’s power. This was sanctified and proclaimed before all of the people. By interpreting the episode as “G-d instructed Moses about a tree…and he cast it into the waters…”, G-d was training Moses how to be a teacher of Torah to the new and eager students (who were not so always eager as they complained often!). The second episode occurred a little while later (Shemos 17:5-7) at Rephidim. The Torah states that G-d commanded Moses to take his rod, stand upon the rock in Horeb (the Torah doesn’t state which rock) and smite the rock (not strike it). Water then came flowing out. Now we get to our verse in Chukas. Moses was commanded to speak with the rock that closed up after Miriam died. Instead, Moses loses his temper, curses the people, strikes the rock, and water comes gushing out. G-d states “Because you believed not in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” The exact nature of the sin of Moses is still under debate. It is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah. If Moses was to speak with the rock and in his anger struck it instead, he committed to sins. First, he did not follow G-d’s command and second, as a teacher, he should not have chastised his students (the people) in that way. He should have known better and was held to a higher standard. On the other hand, perhaps it was all a setup. If G-d wanted Moses to speak with the rock, why did He tell Moses to bring along his rod just like he did in Rephidim (where he was asked to hit the rock). Finally, it is possible that Moses was punished for slandering the people. The sages state that Joshua was punished for uttering the phrase (Joshua 6:5): “I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” The story is told about Rabbi Avuhu and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish in the Talmud. They were traveling together to a certain town. Rabbi Avuhu asked Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, “Why should we go to a place of blasphemers?” Upon hearing this, Rabbi Shimon got down off of his donkey, picked up some sand, and placed it in the mouth of his colleague. When Rabbi Avuhu asked for an explanation for this bizarre behavior, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish answered, “G-d does not want us to speak ill about the Jewish people.” Once again, we see the sin of loshen hara rearing its ugly head. Even the great Moses was punished for his wicked temper. Maybe the insult was slight, but for someone of Moses’ stature, the sin was great. If this can happen to Moses, the greatest prophet of all time and the most humble man of all time, how much more so must we ourselves be careful about the sin of loshen hara!