Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Parshat Parah, the laws of the red heifer, is one of the four special Shabbat readings leading up to Pesach. This is followed the next week with the reading of Parshat Hachodesh, the declaration of the New Moon [now for Nissan, the month to prepare for Pesach, but always for the future]. Chronologically, the declaration took place on the first of Nissan while the ritual of the red heifer, to purify the ritually impure so they could partake of the Pascal sacrifice, took place on the second of the month. Why did our Sages ordain that the order of the readings be reversed, with the reading of the red heifer preceding the reading of the new moon/month?
The Netivot Shalom cites some additional questions about this passage. He notes that some rabbis believe that listening to the reading of the passage of the red heifer is Biblically mandated, just as is the passage of Zachor/Remember [what Amalek did to you]. Other rabbis believe that listening to the passage is of Rabbinic origin. As support for the claim that the passage is Biblically mandated, the rabbis note that laimor/saying appears twice in the passage, once for that generation and once for future generations. When we no longer have a Beit Hamikdosh and cannot physically observe the command, we must observe it virtually through reading and studying its laws.
We may further notice that these laws are introduced not as "the decree of the red heifer," but as "the decree of the Torah" even though only the laws of the red heifer immediately follow.
Our final question on this topic will be focused on Rashi's interpretation of the red heifer as being the atonement for the sin of the golden calf. As Bnei Yisroel became "soiled" and impure through the sin of the golden calf, so would they be cleansed from this impurity through the ashes of the golden calf; as the maid must clean up a mess her son made, so must the heifer "clean up" the mess created through her calf.
This year Parshat Parah is paired with Parshat Shemini, the recording of the celebratory inauguration of the Mishkan. However, this celebration also included a tragedy, the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, two of Aharon's sons. They had brought an unauthorized incense offering on the altar, one that Hashem had not commanded. In response, Hashem sent a fire that consumed them. Aharon's response was complete silence and acceptance. Perhaps we can see some relationship between the lessons of these two parshiot.
In Netivot Shalom, the Slonimer Rebbe teaches that Hashem always maintains a balance between the powers of good and evil. The source of all good is a negation of the material and physical, the abnegation of self for the greater good. In Judaism, that means sublimating one's ego and personal preferences to God's will, Conversely, the source of all evil is the ego, one's absorption in one's self and one's personal gratification. Rabbi Wolbe goes one step further and clarifies that the road to sin begins with gaavah/arrogance/haughtiness. As one's self-contentedness grows, he leaves less and less room for God. When Moshe Rabbenu teaches Bnei Yisroel his final lessons, he reminds them of their acceptance of the Torah at Sinai. Moshe tells them, "At that time, anochi/I stood between Him [Hashem] and you..." The Netivot Shalom interprets this phrase homiletically to mean that it is the anochi, the egocentricity and arrogance of "anochi/I" that creates the distance between ourselves and Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
At Sinai, that self nullification became so great that the Medrash says the very souls of Bnei Yisroel left their bodies, and Bnei Yisroel reached the level of angels. However, this trust was short lived, and when Moshe's return was delayed, they couldn't accept that this man, Moshe, the physical embodiment of their trust, was not before them. Moshe himself, who was the complete embodiment of ritzon Hashem/God's will, who considered himself nothing, "Venachnu moh/What are we [other than God's servants]," was not something Bnei Yisroel could internalize. They needed a physical manifestation of Hashem's presence. The sound Moshe heard coming from the camp as he descended Sinai was the sound of dancing and partying around the eigel. It was a full indulgence in physical pleasure, of self.
In this vein, the ashes of the red heifer offer a perfect counterbalance to this mindset, continues the Netivot Shalom. A cow represents all things physical and material, while the color red is the color of unbridled passion. As Rebbetzin Smiles notes, expensive restaurants often have walls painted red to increase their clients' appetites. [A study showed that red dining rooms and red dishes have a similar effect. CKS] So we take a red cow and burn it until it is nothing but ashes, and can thus atone for the self absorption of the golden calf worshipers.
Burned together with the red heifer was cedar wood and hyssop, a low growing herb. As Chazal note, the lessons of including these two in the ashes of the red heifer fortifies the inherent message. Those who see themselves as tall as a cedar should reassess themselves and view themselves as lowly as hyssop.
This further explains why we read Parshat Parah immediately after Purim. Purim celebrates the defeat of Amalek whose numerical equivalent is the same as ram, 240. We hope to defeat the ram/haughtiness within ourselves as well to cleanse ourselves of the battle with Amalek.
But the sin of the golden calf is intrinsically connected to Amalek, posits the Shvilei Pinchas, citing the Apter Rav. The seeds of that sin were planted by the doubt and confusion Amalek instilled in Bnei Yisroel. While Yehoshua, upon hearing the shouts coming from Bnei Yisroel's camp attributed the sound to the noise of battle, Moshe recognized the sound as the voice of blasphemy. Yehoshua, having been in the actual battle against Amalek, recognized the aftereffects of that battle now within the camp, even though the immediate enemy Amalek had been defeated. Therefore, it is necessary to purge ourselves of the remaining venom of Amalekian impurity immediately after Purim.
Tracing an analogy back to the Baal Shem Tov, the Apta Rav notes that the broom used to sweep the dirt from a house retains within its bristles some of that dirt. It too needs to be cleaned. [What a reminder about Pesach cleaning. CKS] Therefore, immediately after the destruction of Haman/Amalek, we need to purge ourselves of filth that may still be clinging to us from that encounter. We need to remove our arrogance and burn it.
Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz reminds us that the ingredients of chametz and matzah are identical except that chametz has been allowed to rise and puff up, to become "arrogant." In doing our Pesach cleaning, we should be wary of priding ourselves on how fast or how wonderful a job we've done in the preparations, in effect infusing Pesach prep with the chametz of arrogance.
It was an infection of arrogance that entered Nadav and Avihu and led them to bring the incense offering, note Chazal. They relied only on their own reasoning and emotions, and consulted neither with Moshe nor even with each other.
We must still explore why the Torah introduces these laws as the decree of the Torah rather than specifically as the decree of the red heifer. The reason most often cited is that just as we observe these inscrutable laws because Hashem so decreed, so are we to observe all Torah mitzvoth because they were Hashem's commands, not because we understand their reasons. In proof, Chazon Lamoed cites Beis Halevi in presenting a specific example. The Torah itself gives us a reason to eat matzoh on Pesach, because we left Egypt so quickly that the dough had no time to rise. Yet, Avraham and Lot both observed this mitzvah and served their heavenly guests matzoh because, according to tradition, this was Pesach. A generation later, Yitzchak could not eat the delicacies that Esau brought because he had already eaten the korban Pesach/afikoman/Passover sacrifice that Yaakov had served him, and one may not consume anything (other than water) after eating it. The exodus had not yet happened. Clearly, these mitzvoth were in place since God wrote the Torah as a blueprint for the world, and then arranged for the exodus to occur at this time. Even when we have a reason for observing a particular mitzvah, our motivation should still be that we do what Hashem commands. If we observe the "logical" mitzvoth because we understand them, we soon begin disregarding the mitzvoth we do not understand. As Rabbi Reiss observes, if we observe the mitzvoth because of our understanding, we are doing so for our own gratification, not as a loyal servant of God obeying His command.
In Chazon Lamoed, Rav Aryeh Schapiro observes that when we said, "Naaseh venishma/we will observe and we will hear," at Sinai, we were fulfilling Hashem's exhortation to Avraham Avinu when Hashem entered into the Covenant of Circumcision with him. Hashem told him, "Walk before Me and be tamim/perfect/complete. With our response, we achieved that total integrity Hashem requested of our forefather. The sin of the golden calf exhibited a lack of integrity and faith. By obeying the laws of the red heifer, Bnei Yisroel rectified this flaw and followed Hashem's command in full faith, without questioning or understanding. Only when we follow Hashem faithfully, with full integrity, without our personal reasoning or bias, can we avoid the pitfall that even the great Nadav and Avihu succumbed to, writes Rabbi Kofman in Mishchat Hashemen.
Mesillot Belvavam notes two paths in building our relationship with Hakodosh Boruch Hu, both alluded to in the verse, "This is my God and I will beautify Him, the God of my fathers and I will exalt Him." While I try to probe, study and try to understand God and His ways, I must accept Him as my God through teaching and through the tradition of faith instilled in me from past generations. We start with the unshakable belief that Ein K'Elokeinu/There is none like our God, and then we proceed to study, question and try to understand Him, Mi K'Elokeinu/Who is like our God. We begin with the relationship, and then build on it through study.
Emunah is the heart and soul of Yiddishkeit. It must be alive with the spirit of joy in the home and joy in mitzvah observance. Only then can it be properly transmitted to our children, writes Rabbi Schmeltzer in The soul of Emunah. Even before we teach our children that "Moshe commanded us in Torah observance," we teach them to lovingly kiss the mezuzah and the Siddur. We let them see Mommy lighting the Shabbat candles. Yiddishkeit must not only be practiced; Yiddishkeit must be lived.
With this faith, we can accept even when we struggle. Aharon's faith was so complete, that when Hashem took his two sons, he could accept Hashem's decree as a domem/inanimate object which accepts God's will without understanding, objection or complaint.
The Haftorah of Parshat Parah mirrors the concept of purification. But it is not so much purification of the body as it is purification of the heart and of sin, writes Rabbi Biederman in Be'er Hachaim. We need to enter the month of Nissan with the purpose of improving ourselves. While Hashem remembers the sin of the golden calf with every sin we do, we also need to remember it. The point is not to add more guilt, but to remember that even with such a heinous sin, even when done by such great men, it is still possible to do teshuvah. If you do not learn the lesson of repentance, then you are as guilty as they were.
As the medrash says, let the mother atone for her child, let the heifer atone for the calf, both must focus on teshuvah. On the level of Torah itself, we must involve ourselves in the teshuvah process.
Sichos Mussar notes that we read Parshat Acharei Mos on Yom Kippur, the parshah that discusses the laws instituted after the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. SIchos Mussar explains that the reading impresses upon us how the world continues to be affected by the absence of these tzadikim thousands of years later. Here Rebbetzin Smiles focused on our current great loss, the loss of Rav Chaim Kanievsky last erev Shabbat. Not only was he considered a "walking Sefer Torah," he was also known throughout the Jewish world for his love of every Jew and his dedication to each one's physical, emotional and spiritual well being. As the red heifer atones for the sins of the people, so, we are told, does the death of a tzadik. May Rabbi Kanievsky's neshamah have an aliyah, and may he continue to be an advocate for his people, the people he loved so dearly.