KEHILAT NOTES 6/26/04
Transcribed in Cheyenne
Tahor/ tameh - spiritually pure/impure
Tumah – the state of being tameh
Chok (Chukim) – Commands whose reason is unknown
Nais – verbalization for miracle
Chukim – the reason or justification for a command is obscure
Misphatim – reason for a command more easily observed
Edot – witness
Moshe – Moses
Yeshiva – Jewish religious school
CHUKAT Nu 19:1 - 21
Jim:
This portion covers all kinds of things, including the Red Heifer. Ashes from the newest sacrifice are mixed with those of the older ones. This was a priestly function so we don’t see it today. Yeshua’s going to come down and show us how to do it. There won’t be any relying on any man to interpret anything.
Nu 21: 2-3
Note how some translations use the term “consecrate” the cities. Some other versions say “destroy”. It can be taken out of context and thus confusing. Hebrew does not come across completely into English, but better than it does to Greek.
Concerning the Red Heifer, one of the first things that comes to mind is “why is it here?” This goes back to Leviticus, with the laws of purity and impurity, sacrifices, etc. The Red Heifer is also dealing with impurity. Numbers deals more with stories of human folly, including Korach, the spies, whining, crying about the manna and the water, etc. All of a sudden out of nowhere comes this commandment concerning pure and impure things.
The Laws of the Red Heifer give us no rationale. When the other nations of the world hear about it, they mock it. King Solomon claimed to be stupefied by it. Moshe was probably the only mortal who understood it. The laws are complex, the symbolisms mysterious, the consequences of not following it are obscure. The priest who administers this becomes impure. Its ashes were saved from generation to generation. New ashes would mix with the original. It was the nation that did this.
There’s a story that Rabbi Mordecai Kaminsky shared: a Senator could not sleep. He could not see why the administration should put $2 million toward some obscure scientific research. He called Secretary of Defense Stimson. The Secretary said that we are about to split the atom. Months later he and everyone else learned the power of this exercise.
This Torah section describes a generation that thought they could calculate everything. The spies calculated they couldn’t conquer the land. Korach calculated his rebellion. Miriam according to her reason spoke against her brother Moshe.
When people make calculations against Torah law, the Red Heifer comes in. This demonstrates the total omnipotence of God. We must still observe the mitzvots he has commanded, although we can’t calculate why. Now we’re getting into the same rut again, but it’s a very good rut to be in. There will always be some things that will look mysterious to us. In that manner we should be totally committed to God’s Torah. If God says it I gotta do it!
The Midrash talks a little more about Solomon here. Rabbas 7:23 – he made a special effort to understand the Red Heifer, and concluded that he could not understand it. There probably will not be a mortal until Messiah comes to explain it to us. Even Solomon, the wisest of all men, was prone to error. The Torah prohibits a man from marrying an excess of wives lest they distract him De 7:17. Solomon thought he was immune to this. He supposedly eliminated the letter Yod from one word in Scripture so that the commandment would not apply to him. Then the letter Yod came before God and bowed down, saying that Solomon was trying to eliminate him. If that continued, all the letters would someday be nullified. In the end Solomon himself admitted that his understanding was worthless. It appears that his failure was due to misplaced confidence in his own powers. [personal comment – sometimes our success can pave the way to failure.]
Remember the commandment to send the mother bird away from the nest before taking the eggs. So too God’s mercy extends even to the birds. We must distinguish between taste and reason.
The important thing is that the commandments become chukim to us. Why should men with mutilated sex organs not be in the congregation? Because God says so.
If one entreats God who has mercy on the birds, he will have mercy on us. We can never know why God decreed a particular mitzvah, but we can learn a lesson in mercy from it.
Technically if you talk with an Orthodox Jew, we shouldn’t even be here tonight. We had to kindle a flame (drive a car) to get here. When you first start eating Kosher, you realize we aren’t even in the ballpark. We’re finding out what makes Kosher. Sirloin steak is not there, because it’s a part of the animal we’re not supposed to eat.
The Red Heifer demonstrates that the Torah is beyond human understanding. Too many of us have an idea that the only way to perform God’s commandments is to understand them. Don’t even worry about that. Every one of the commandments is still valid. Do we do all of them? Some are for the Temple, some for priests, and some only for the land of Israel. Until you physically do the commandments, nothing’s there.
When we stand before God, we can say, “it was my intent”. That’s not going to work.
The priest would take the ashes and water and handle them. He becomes impure. So he has to go through the purification.
“You are not authorized to violate my decree.”
“The acceptance of Hashem’s decree, even if it be death, cleanses.”
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
We have to perform the mitzvot in order to say we’re doing it.
This is the portion where Moshe has the encounter with the rock. The instruction to speak to the rock is different from what he was told in Ex 17:6. Instead he hit it like he had done before. This causes him to not be allowed to see the Promised Land Nu 20:11-12. The consequence seems inappropriately harsh. The Jewish people were at a critical transition from desert to another type of life. The generation required a softer way of speaking – formerly they had seen Moses hit the rock because they had just come out of slavery and that was the only language they understood.
When I first started working with computers, I learned you have to back things up. Later I learned you had to make two or three backups. Moshe is human. He makes the same mistakes all of us make in our daily lives. Moshe’s punishment is not harsh – it’s simply a consequence of his way of relating to the new generation.
Indoctrination is when the teacher is concerned with making sure the students know the material. Education is when the student is expected to draw learning from within.
If you take a mother cow and her calf, the cow produces milk and the calf gets hungry. If the concern of the cow is solely to get rid of the milk because she’s uncomfortable, it would gush out. But instead it comes out in just the right way for the calf – and the mother wants the calf to eat. It’s measured and proportioned.
The Jews survived not because they pounded people over the head. A Yeshiva is precisely the place where you can ask questions, work it through, and make it your own.
A life sentence for jaywalking? In Singapore you’re flogged for chewing gum. Moshe is denied entrance to the Promised Land for disobeying God’s command. There are behind the scenes reasons for Moshe being asked to speak instead of hit. For such a minor infraction, why the severe penalty? It also depends on the individual. If a child does something, the punishment is not so great because he doesn’t know. We expect more of an adult. A stain on a piece of material is serious according to the quality of the material. A stain on burlap is no big deal. A stain on silk is awful. Moshe was like the finest silk.
There are behaviors that are no big deal for some people, but are bad when done by someone from a fine family. “This is unbecoming of YOU.” This is what God is communicating to Moshe.
“Even as it beseemeth a Jewish husband to do” part of the wedding ceremony – the people of God expect more from husbands. No matter what the rest of the world may be up to, a Jewish husband has to be mindful of that all the time.
Moses was the greatest prophet who ever lived – the standard could not be higher. The rest of us are just a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. That’s what this all points us towards.
[personal comment – Kehilat could be seen as a kind of “remedial class” for those who aspire to be in this nation.]
When Moshe hit the rock the first time, Aaron should have backed him up and said something. That’s why he didn’t get to the Promised Land either.
NEXT WEEK: BALAK Nu. 22:2 to 25:9
Micah 5:6 – 6:8