Chukat
Numbers 19:1 - 22:1
Précis: The parasha begins with a discussion of the Red Heifer, used for ritual purification after one comes into contact with a dead body. The story then shifts to the death of Miriam, and the mourning by the entire people for her. With her death, the well of water which had accompanied their travels disappears, and Moses strikes a rock to provide water to the People. Soon thereafter, Aaron also dies, and the Israelites engage in warfare with the Canaanites in a series of battles which conclude the parasha.
Numbers 19:2 “This is the statute of law which Adonai commanded….”
This week’s Torah portion delineates a ritual practice for which there seems no rationale whatsoever: that of the “parah adumah” (the “red heifer”). A special animal is ritually killed and burned. The ashes are mixed with water and used to “ritually cleanse” an individual who has come into contact with a corpse.
The rabbis made a distinction among the commandments between “mishpatim”for which there appears to be a rational explanation and “chukot” which were ordinances with no clear rational underpinning or explanation. Other “irrational” chukotinclude the prohibition against mixing linen and wool, and the laws of kashrut. While this distinction has long been accepted by tradition, great Jewish thinkers have nevertheless tried to find a justification for each and every commandment. Maimonides felt that a careful examination of the commandment could lead to an answer which was rational in human terms. Others disagree with him.
We are left with a potential troubling question about mitzvot: why do we observe them? For the traditional halachic Jew, the answer is easy: we “do mitzvot” because we are commanded to do so by God. Others may add a gloss which Maimonides himself suggests: when we observe mitzvot, we add to the perfection of the world, and enhance our spiritual lives. Those of a more “modern” approach may observe mitzvot because it honors our ancestors, or simply out of a feeling of “it’s what Jews do.”This last attitude seems common among many Jews who are not routinely observant, but feel on occasion that they must “do it the right Jewish way,”particularly when it involves rituals surrounding death.
There may actually be a link between the Red Heifer we read about in this parasha and why usually non-religious Jews observe traditional death rituals. Death is mysterious, and death unsettles us. We instinctively seek the comfort of ritual, hoping to “do it right” to ease us through a difficult time. One who follows the school of Maimonides might suggest that the ritual of the Red Heifer has the same rational purpose as Jewish death rituals: it helps a human being through a difficult time. In broader terms, we can see that ritual, whether “rational” or“irrational” serves to connect us to others. It is up to each of us, however, to find the meaning in observance of any particular ritual. Shabbat Shalom.
