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Parshat Chukkat
2005
Balancing Act
Children often hear "because I said so" from parents and teachers. This isn't necessarily a very helpful response when one is looking for a good reason to follow instructions. Some might even view this response as a cop out – they don't want to tell us the real reason, or there might not even be a reason!
Throughout the Torah there are instructions given by God in which a similar thought process can occur. In this week's parsha, Chukkat, a whole category of laws are mentioned that do not have reasons why we should do them. We're supposed to follow them because God said so. Obviously there is a big difference between what God is allowed to say and what we can say, but aren't we instructed to emulate God?
One such set of laws that this parsha refers to are that of the Red Heifer, or Parah Adumah. The ashes of a red cow that had no blemish or defect are used to purify someone who has come in contact with a dead body. Although God does not give a reason for this law, commentators throughout history have suggested many.
One example is the Midrash for Parshat Chukkat that proposes that the Parah Adumah was not meant to purify only contamination by a corpse, but also moral contamination such as idolatry. Perhaps the Parah Adumah is meant to purify the Jewish people for Chet Egel, the sin of the Golden Calf. In that incident, the Israelites were impatient with Moses for staying up on Mt. Sinai too long and insisted that Aaron build them a god for them to worship. The participating Israelites were punished immediately, but the Midrash suggests that they were finally fully purified of their moral sin by the Parah Adumah in this week's parsha.
Also in this week's parsha, we lose one of our greatest prophetesses, Miriam. The text reads that "Miriam died there and was buried there. The community was without water...." (Numbers 20:1-2) There has been much written about the connection between Miriam's death and the subsequent loss of water in the community. The rabbis tell us that the Israelites did not mourn for Miriam after she died. At the time of her death, the children of Israel are referred to as an edah, a word which literally means congregation but can also specfically mean righteous congregation. Commentators have suggested that here the term edah is used ironically; the people thought they were so righteous and God-like that mourning was beneath them. As a result we learn that God took away their water – a need so basic they couldn't ignore it – so they would remember they were only human and needed to embrace their human needs. Later in the parsha, when Aaron's death is enumerated, the people mourn for him for 30 days. They've learned their lesson.
But where does this leave Moses? When the people cry out for water, God tells him, "You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community, and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water." (Numbers 20:8) But Moses is angry at the people. He has just lost his older sister and already the people are complaining to him. He has tried to lead them, to teach them to be good people, but no matter what he does, there's always something else they find to complain about. So instead of speaking to the rock and affirming God's sanctity, he yells back at the people, "Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock? And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod." (Numbers 20:10-11) To which God responds, "Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity...therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them." (Numbers 20:12)
First, the people are told to embrace their human feelings, which are necessary to their survival, but almost immediately after Moses is told that his human emotions are not acceptable. Why the contradiction? One answer could be that Moses is in a leadership position and the people are not. Moses is held to a higher standard as God's right-hand man.
Where does this leave us as leaders in our Jewish communities? We have learned that it is acceptable for God to tell us to do things without giving a reason. Since God also commanded us to honor our parents, maybe parents and teachers can also tell us to do things without a reason – even if we don't like it. For the rest of us, though, we need to earn our following, and this probably won't happen by acting too superior or too inferior. Like the people of Israel, we are only human and must recognize our human emotions, but like Moses, we are in leadership positions and must be extra watchful of our words and actions. Our students are looking to learn from us and we are always role models for them as we balance our humanness with our leadership roles.
Prepared by Sherri Vishner, KOACH field worker
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Chukkat at MyJewishLearning.com.
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