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CHUKAS - 5768The word Chukas means “statute”. The commandments of the Torah are divided into three groups: testimonies, statutes, and judgments. Judgments (Mishpotim) are commandments which logic demands such as not murdering, helping the poor, and respecting parents. Testimonies (Edos) are Mitzvos that are reasonable, but not logically imperative, such as eating Matzah to commemorate the Exodus and keeping the Shabbos to commemorate creation. Statutes (Chukim) are Mitzvos that are followed purely because they are the will of Hashem ,such as not wearing wool and linen together (Shatnez),and the law of the red heifer.
This weeks Torah portion begins with the Mitzvah of the Poroh Adumoh, the red heifer. If a person came into contact with a dead body, either by touching it or entering a structure where the corpse was found, he became spiritually impure. A purely red calf was slaughtered outside of the Mikdosh (Temple) and was burnt together with cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson wool. The ashes were gathered and mixed with well water in a clay vessel and the mixture was sprinkled on the impure person rendering him pure and allowing him to enter the Temple. All of the participants in the preparation of the red heifer subsequently became impure. The supervising Kohen, the slaughterer, the one who burned the heifer, and the gatherer of the ashes all became impure and had to go to the Mikveh and wait until nightfall to return to the Mikdosh.
The Torah introduces the Mitzvah of the red heifer as The Chukah of the Torah. The Mitzvah of the red heifer is a Chukah because it defies logic in that from one side it has the ability to purify a person from intensive impurity, and yet from the other side it causes impurity to all those who participate in it’s preparation. Why, however, does the Torah refer to it as The Chukah, as though it is the primary statute of the Torah?
In a spiritual sense, life represents our connection with Hashem. Hashem is the source of all life and therefore the Torah, which binds us to Hashem, is called the tree of life. Departing from the ways of Torah is therefore tantamount to touching death itself. For a Kohen to leave the Mikdosh and become impure was a great sacrifice. The Mikdosh was the resting place of Hashem’s presence, and while there the Kohen experienced open G-dliness. Nevertheless, the Torah requires the Kohen to leave the Mikdosh and become impure in order that another can be purified and also enter the Mikdosh. When we see our fellow who has strayed from the ways of our fathers, we must be prepared to make great sacrifices, physical and spiritual, to return them to the fold. This is not only a great Mitzvah; it is The Chukah of the entire Torah.
KORACH - 5768
This Shabbos we read the parsha of Korach. Korach was a Levi, Moshe Rabbeinu’s cousin. He led a rebellion against Moshe and Aharon, challenging Aharon’s right as the Kohen Godol. Hashem quelled the rebellion, and the rebels were either swallowed by the ground or consumed by flames from heaven. Last week, we read the narrative of the spies, who rebelled against Moshe and didn’t want to go to Eretz Yisroel. Hashem punished them with miraculous deaths. One may ask, why didn’t Korach learn his lesson from the spies?
Chazal give a deeper understanding to the narrative of the spies. The spies were great men, leaders, hand picked by Moshe. Having witnessed the miracles of the exodus, why did they fear the inhabitants of the land? Chazal explain that their fear was not of the inhabitants, but of the living in the land itself. In the desert, the Bnei Yisroel lived a purely spiritual lifestyle, unhindered by agriculture and business. They studied Torah all day, constantly witnessing the miracles of Hashem. Upon entering Eretz Yisroel, this would cease. They would till the land, harvest the fruits, and fulfill the commandments in their physical sense, but lack the focus to feel spirituality. This was hinted in their complaint “the land swallows its inhabitants.” Thus they preferred the desert. Their error was that Hashem’s will is in the physical Mitzvah, a person living actively in this world and elevating the physical by doing Mitzvot.
Upon hearing this, Korach was inspired to rebel. If the main thing is the physical acts, he reckoned, I am the same as Moshe and Aharon. In spirituality, Moshe surpasses me. Hashem spoke directly to him and he knows the depth of each action. In action, however, we are equal.
He erred, however. Just as a person is a composite of a body and a soul, a Mitzvah is a composite of a deed and its depth and meaning. The Zohar teaches that a Mitzvah without intent is like a body without a soul. The intent serves like wings, raising the deeds to heaven. The deeds of Moshe were the same as those of Korach, but they were imbued with the fervor of one who had spoken to G-d. By connecting ourselves to Moshe, Moshe’s light illuminates our Mitzvot. By separation from Moshe, the actions lose their soul. This is also the significance of Tzaddikim throughout all generations. The Baal HaTanya explains that the spiritual and physical blessings of the generation come through the soul of the Tzaddik. Korach was the epitome of divisiveness. Divisiveness brought the destruction of the Temple and unity will bring its rebuilding – may it be speedily in our days.
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