7 Tammuz 5773 / 14-15 June 2013
Parashat Chukkat
Torah: Numbers 19:1 - 22:1
Haftarah: Judges 11:1-33
Haftarah: Judges 11:1-33
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Perfect Sacrifice
"‘And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "This is the 'chok' of the Torah which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without spot, which has no blemish, and upon which there has never been a yoke.’"’ Numbers 19:1-2
The Rabbis teach that a "chok" is a law in the Torah for which there is no rational explanation. And yet, Jews have struggled for millennia to make sense of this chok especially, for we might read this verse as, "this is THE VERY ULTIMATE chok of the Torah".
How could the offering of a perfect red heifer, and the scattering of its ashes on someone who is ritually impure, make that person ritually pure? How does the ritual of the red heifer actually function? And, what does it mean for us today?
I have read many attempts at rationalizing this ritual, and I am not about to try to formulate my own explanation. Rabbi Harold Kushner, in Chumash Etz Hayyim, suggests the following, from a modern commentator whom he does not name. He says that the ritual serves a vital psychological purpose. For one who is burdened by a sense of wrongdoing, who feels spiritually impure, we offer up to God a perfect animal, as if to say that perfection has no place in this world - it cannot exist in this world.
What a relief! We know intuitively that we are not perfect, and that we cannot become so. (And we have all sorts of not nice ways to describe someone who thinks they are perfect!) But we also know that we very often try, nevertheless, to achieve perfection. When we fall short of that goal, and we feel impure and guilty, we can offer up, we can sacrifice the very idea that we can be perfect. We can take the ashes of that notion and scatter them, re-establish our sense of wellbeing, and then re-connect with God.
It is true that we must try to emulate God, by feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, and by trying to perfect (perhaps I should say "improve") the world. Though we cannot be perfect, we have the ability to seek and receive God’s forgiveness and to carry on - so long as we strive to be the best that we can be.
Shabbat Shalom!
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Perfect Sacrifice
"‘And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "This is the 'chok' of the Torah which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without spot, which has no blemish, and upon which there has never been a yoke.’"’ Numbers 19:1-2
The Rabbis teach that a "chok" is a law in the Torah for which there is no rational explanation. And yet, Jews have struggled for millennia to make sense of this chok especially, for we might read this verse as, "this is THE VERY ULTIMATE chok of the Torah".
How could the offering of a perfect red heifer, and the scattering of its ashes on someone who is ritually impure, make that person ritually pure? How does the ritual of the red heifer actually function? And, what does it mean for us today?
I have read many attempts at rationalizing this ritual, and I am not about to try to formulate my own explanation. Rabbi Harold Kushner, in Chumash Etz Hayyim, suggests the following, from a modern commentator whom he does not name. He says that the ritual serves a vital psychological purpose. For one who is burdened by a sense of wrongdoing, who feels spiritually impure, we offer up to God a perfect animal, as if to say that perfection has no place in this world - it cannot exist in this world.
What a relief! We know intuitively that we are not perfect, and that we cannot become so. (And we have all sorts of not nice ways to describe someone who thinks they are perfect!) But we also know that we very often try, nevertheless, to achieve perfection. When we fall short of that goal, and we feel impure and guilty, we can offer up, we can sacrifice the very idea that we can be perfect. We can take the ashes of that notion and scatter them, re-establish our sense of wellbeing, and then re-connect with God.
It is true that we must try to emulate God, by feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, and by trying to perfect (perhaps I should say "improve") the world. Though we cannot be perfect, we have the ability to seek and receive God’s forgiveness and to carry on - so long as we strive to be the best that we can be.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - ZSRS '00
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"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still." Isaiah 62:1
Candlelighting: 7:47 pm
Lunch and Learn is an ongoing program of Congregation Beth Meier that meets Tuesdays to discuss Jewish texts and other topics of Jewish interest. It is open to all regardless of affiliation. Next meeting is Tuesday, July 2, 12:00 noon, at Congregation Beth Meier. PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD UNLESS IT IS IN ITS ORIGINAL SEALED CONTAINER AND BEARING A HEKHSHER AS DAIRY OR PAREVE. Lunch will be provided by Congregation Beth Meier. Donations gratefully accepted.
Visit me on Facebook
"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still." Isaiah 62:1
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Candlelighting: 7:47 pm
Lunch and Learn is an ongoing program of Congregation Beth Meier that meets Tuesdays to discuss Jewish texts and other topics of Jewish interest. It is open to all regardless of affiliation. Next meeting is Tuesday, July 2, 12:00 noon, at Congregation Beth Meier. PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD UNLESS IT IS IN ITS ORIGINAL SEALED CONTAINER AND BEARING A HEKHSHER AS DAIRY OR PAREVE. Lunch will be provided by Congregation Beth Meier. Donations gratefully accepted.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Dov Nechemya Hakohen ben Rachel Chaya Sarah, Eve Beatty, Beth Goldstein, Selby Horowitz, Pamela Huddleston, Jayne Kaplan, Micah Kosche, Sara Lanxner, Emily Levin, Frank Marcovitz, Phil Raider, Helen Reiter, Len Reiter, Gil Robbins, Rachel Robbins, Leslie Rubenfeld, Judith Sakurai, and Kitty Schmerling.
My weekly divrei torah are also available by e-mail from the Cyber Torah list.
My weekly divrei torah are also available by e-mail from the Cyber Torah list.
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To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
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