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What Is the Red Heifer?

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What Is the Red Heifer? What is the red heifer? - Chukkat 5781 Source Sheet by Rabbi Marina Yergin במדבר י״ט:ב׳-י׳ (ב) ֚ז ֹאת ֻח ַ֣קּת ַהתּוֹ ָ֔רה ֲא ֶשׁ ִר־צ ָ֥וּה יְה ָֹ֖וה ֵל ֑אמ ֹר ַדּ ֵ֣בּר ׀ ֶאל־ ְבּ ֵ֣ני יִ ְשׂ ָר ֗ ֵאל ְויִ ְק ֣חוּ ֵא ֶל֩י ֩ ָפ ָ֨רה ֲא ֻד ֜ ָמּה ְתּ ִמ ֗ ָימה ֲא ֶ֤שׁר ֵ ֽאין־ ָבּ ֙הּ ֔מוּם ֲא ֶ֛שׁר ָא־ע ָ֥לה ָע ֶ֖ל ָיה ֽע ֹל׃ (ג) וּ ַנְת ֶ֣תּם א ֹ֔ ָתהּ ֶא ֶל־א ְל ָע ָ֖זר ַהכּ ֹ ֵ֑הן ְוהוֹ ִ֤ציא א ֹ ָת ֙הּ ֶא ִל־מ ֣חוּץ ַלֽ ַמּ ֲח ֔נֶה ְו ָשׁ ַ֥חט א ָֹ֖תהּ ְל ָפ ָנֽיו׃ (ד) ְו ָל ֞ ַקח ֶא ְל ָע ָ֧זר ַהכּ ֹ ֵ֛הן ִמ ָדּ ָ֖מהּ ְבּ ֶא ְצ ָבּ ֑עוֹ ְו ִה֞זָּה ֶא ֨ל־נ ֹ ַכח ְפּ ֵ֧ני ֽא ֹ ֶהל־מוֹ ֵ֛עד ִמ ָדּ ָ֖מהּ ֶ֥שׁ ַבע ְפּ ָע ִ ֽמים׃ (ה) ְו ָשַׂ֥רף ֶא ַת־ה ָפָּ֖רה ְל ֵע ָ֑יניו ֶאת־עָֹ֤רהּ ְו ֶאת־ ְבּ ָשׂ ָר ֙הּ ְו ֶאת־ ָדּ ֔ ָמהּ ַעל־ ִפּ ְר ָ֖שׁהּ יִ ְשׂ ֽר ֹף׃ (ו) ְו ָל ַ֣קח ַהכּ ֹ֗ ֵהן ֵ֥עץ ֶ֛א ֶרז ְו ֵא ֖זוֹב וּ ְשׁ ִ֣ני תוֹ ָ֑ל ַעת ְו ִה ְשׁ ֕ ִלי ֶאל־ ֖תּוֹ ְשׂ ֵר ַ֥פת ַה ָפָּ ֽרה׃ (ז) ְו ִכ ֨ ֶבּס ְבּ ָ֜גָדיו ַהכּ ֹ֗ ֵהן ְו ָר ַ֤חץ ְבּ ָשׂר ֙וֹ ַבּ ֔ ַמּיִם ְואַ ַ֖חר יָ ֣ב ֹא ֶא ַל־הֽ ַמּ ֲח ֶ֑נה ְו ָט ֵ֥מא ַהכּ ֵֹ֖הן ַע ָד־ה ָעֽ ֶרב׃ (ח) ְו ַהשֵֹּׂ֣רף א ֹ֔ ָתהּ יְ ַכ ֵ֤בּס ְבּ ָגָד ֙יו ַבּ ֔ ַמּיִם ְו ָר ַ֥חץ ְבּ ָשׂ֖רוֹ ַבּ ָ֑מּיִם ְו ָט ֵ֖מא ַע ָד־ה ָעֽ ֶרב׃ (ט) ְואָ ַ֣סף ׀ ִ֣אישׁ ָט ֗הוֹר ֚ ֵאת ֵ֣א ֶפר ַה ָפּ ָ֔רה ְו ִה ִנּ֛ ַיח ִמ ֥חוּץ ַלֽ ַמּ ֲח ֶ֖נה ְבּ ָמ ֣קוֹם ָט ֑הוֹר ֠ ְו ָהיְ֠ ָתה ַל ֲע ַ֨דת ְבּ ֵנֽי־יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵ֧אל ְל ִמ ְשׁ ֶ֛מ ֶרת ְל ֵ֥מי נִ ָ֖דּה ַח ָ֥טּאת ִהֽוא׃ (י) ֠ ְו ִכ֠ ֶבּס ָהא ֹ֨ ֵסף ֶא ֵ֤ת־א ֶפר ַה ָפּ ָר ֙ה ֶאת־ ְבּ ָ֔גָדיו ְו ָט ֵ֖מא ַע ָד־ה ָ֑ע ֶרב ְוֽ ָהיְ ֞ ָתה ִל ְב ֵ֣ני יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵ֗אל ְו ַל ֵ֛גּר ַה ָ֥גּר ְבּתוֹ ָ֖כם ְל ֻח ַ֥קּת עוֹ ָלֽם׃ Numbers 19:2-10 (2) This is the ritual law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid. (3) You shall give it to Eleazar the priest. It shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. (4) Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. (5) The cow shall be burned in his sight—its hide, flesh, and blood shall be burned, its dung included— (6) and the priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson stuff, and throw them into the fire consuming the cow. (7) The priest shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water; after that the priest may reenter the camp, but he shall be unclean until evening. (8) He who performed the burning shall also wash his garments in water, bathe his body in water, and be unclean until evening. (9) A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the cow and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, to be kept for water of lustration for the Israelite community. It is for cleansing. (10) He who gathers up the ashes of the cow shall also wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. This shall be a permanent law for the Israelites and for the strangers who reside among you. Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 8:1 ...R. Ayyevu said, “It is comparable to the son of a female slave who defiled a king's palace. The king said, ‘Let his mother come and clean up the excrement.’ Similarly has the Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘Let a heifer come and atone for the incident of the [golden] calf.’” Or HaChaim on Numbers 19:2:12 a red heifer, etc. I believe that all the details described by the Torah here are ,פרה אדומה אדומה (references to a variety of rules to be observed in connection with this red heifer. 1 adumah; this is a reference to the ascendancy of the attribute of Justice; (a reminder of blood)... 3) "upon which there never has been a yoke." The yoke reduces the impact of the power of the attribute of Justice. This is the mystical dimension of Berachot 5 that if a person experiences afflictions this cleanses away all the sins of a person. In other words, afflictions are an aspect of the attribute of Justice in action. 4) The burning of the red heifer is also symbolic of the attribute of Justice being in action. Once these various aspects of God's judgments have been reduced to ashes, these ashes enable the (טומאה) accumulated impurity which cleaves to man to escape, seeing that the impurity itself is only like a painful whip employed by the attribute of Justice in subjecting us to justice and retribution. How, then, are we to understand this today as Reform Jews? תומה Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch found a connection in the Hebrew between the word timtum; defilement or impurity and confusion. He suggested that it is תמתום tumah and actually the intense physical experience with its ability to cause one to be emotionally overwhelmed is what causes a person to be impure. "Steadily, our sense of humanity has been overwhelmed; our perception of human beings as made b'tselem elohim (in God's image) instead of as corpses has been confused; our hearts have become ‘petrified.’" (Dekro, Jeffrey. "The 'Waters of Lustration:' Tears and Tzedakah") How then can we become pure? If we can’t get the red heifer, what can we do instead? ○ Tears ■ Miriam and Aaron both die and are buried in this Torah portion. ■ Tears connect us with our inner soul and God. ■ Our tears have the potential to calm the world. ○ Tzedakah ■ Tzedakah is known to be an act that saves from death. ■ Tzedakah might save people from certain events that may befall them, but it also causes us to "[awaken] our souls to the humanity of others, to the binding ties of community, and to the reality of our renewable partnership with Creation." (Dekro).
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