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Chukat: Holy Cow!

Tamara Klein

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This weekโ€™s parsha contains the quintessential chok (lit. statute) of the Torah, a commandment that is completely beyond the realm of human understanding. We are referring to the Para Aduma, the red cow, whose ashes bring about purity and holiness for the Jewish nation. King Shlomo, the wisest of all men, said about this mitzva, โ€˜I said I will become wise, but it is far from me,โ€™1 meaning that human calculations and intellect are not enough to comprehend this mitzva. King Shlomo, who knew the secrets of the animals and the plants, the secrets of mankind and the Torah, tells us clearly that this mitzva is beyond us, beyond the grasp of the human mind.ย 

Despite the fact that we are limited in our capacity to understand the mitzva itself, there is much to be learned from the way the Torah describes it. The first interesting phenomenon, Rav Yiztchak Botton points out, is the fact that the pesukim (verses) specifically instruct us to slaughter the cow outside of the camp. As the pasuk says,2ย  โ€˜And you shall give it to Elazar the priest, and he shall take it outside the camp and slaughter it in his presence.โ€™ This is highly unusual. When we perform sacrificial service, we have a designated place to carry out acts of slaughter. We have a Temple, we have altars, we have sacred space. Why would the Para Aduma, the red cow, not be slaughtered on holy ground, like all the other korbanot, sacrifices? Why are the priests specifically told to take the cow outside the camp and slaughter it?ย 

What is perhaps an even more puzzling aspect of this mitzva, is its dual effect on those who participate in the avoda (service). Paradoxically, the ashes of the cow both purify the ritually impure and contaminate those who are involved in its preparation. How is this possible? What can we take from this concept; that something can both elevate that which is debased, and debase that which is elevated? What does this all mean?ย 

The prophet Yeshaya has a powerful prophecy in which he laments the state of the Jewish people when they do not live up to Hashemโ€™s expectations of them. In Chapter 5, he compares the nation to a vineyard which was planted and supervised by a watchman. But, instead of growing into a vineyard of grapes, the vineyard becomes unkempt, full of wild berries. Yeshaya criticizes the people for being drawn after sin, and turning away from the true voice of the prophets. One of the effects of the negative behaviour of the nation is the blurring of the line between truth and falsehood, they are no longer able to perceive with clarity how harmful sin is, and how beneficial it is to follow the will of Hashem. The pasuk says3 ื”ึ—ื•ึนื™ ื”ึธืึนึฝืžึฐืจึดึฅื™ื ืœึธืจึทึ›ืข ื˜ึ–ื•ึนื‘ ื•ึฐืœึทื˜ึผึฃื•ึนื‘ ืจึธึ‘ืข ืฉึธื‚ืžึดึจื™ื ื—ึนึšืฉึถืืšึฐ ืœึฐืื•ึนืจึ™ ื•ึฐืึฃื•ึนืจ ืœึฐื—ึนึ”ืฉึถืืšึฐ ืฉึธื‚ืžึดึฅื™ื ืžึทึ›ืจ ืœึฐืžึธืชึ–ื•ึนืง ื•ึผืžึธืชึฅื•ึนืง ืœึฐืžึธึฝืจ. โ€˜Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who present darkness as light and light as darkness, who present what is bitter as sweet, and what is sweet as bitter.โ€™ย 

We are living distanced from the Temple and the sacrificial service which happened there. We are living outside the camp. In exile, we face the paradox of the para aduma: will we fall and become degraded, or will we become elevated and pure? It is our choice.

With this powerful pasuk as our backdrop, we can now answer our questions. Why is the para aduma specifically slaughtered outside the camp? Why is it not slaughtered where all the other sacrifices are? It is talking about life in exile, which does not take place on holy ground. We are living distanced from the Temple and the sacrificial service which happened there. We are living outside the camp. In exile, we face the paradox of the para aduma: will we fall and become degraded, or will we become elevated and pure? It is our choice. The sprinkling of the ashes of the para aduma rendered impure people pure, and rendered those who prepared it, impure. In exile, we can stumble and miss opportunities for growth, or we can take the impurity that surrounds us, because we live outside the camp, and use it to purify us. It is all a question of whether we can distinguish between good and evil, dark and light, bitterness and sweetness.ย 

It is sometimes difficult for us to make these distinctions, to see through the haze of living โ€˜outside the camp.โ€™ It is difficult to have clarity as to whether our decisions are taking us to where we want to be or whether we have convinced ourselves that the pleasure and comfort we seek must equal goodness and sweetness, when sometimes, they are truly evil, dark and bitter. Since Adamโ€™s sin, we have struggled internally with the battle between truth and falsehood, and it is not always easy. We face conflicts with our value systems: what messages do I and my family absorb from the media? What should I be watching and reading in my house? We struggle to separate Torah values from Western values.ย 

But we should know that the very things that we can trip up on, by living without the Temple, outside the camp, are the very things that can lead to our greatest decisions, becoming our truest and finest selves. When we choose truth over falsehood, when we choose to bring light to the darkness, to select the long-term sweetness of keeping the Torah instead of the short-term pleasure of living without boundaries. It is almost as if we are being sprinkled with the ashes of the para aduma. The same cow that makes the holy ones profane, makes the profane, holy. May we merit to experience the holy sprinkling of these ashes very soon and return home, to our camp, where there will be no more confusion between good and evil, light and dark, bitter and sweet.

Inspired by Rabbi Yitzchak Botton

  1. Kohelet 7:23 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  2. Bamidbar 19:3 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  3. Bamidbar 5:20 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ

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