the Parah Adumah of our times
Parshas Chukas
excerpt from a discourse of the Biala Rebbe, shlita
The Torah portion discussing the parah adumah is called “Taharasan shel kol Yisrael - the purification of the entire Jewish people,”16 not just, “the purification of the impure,” since the essentials of humility that underlie the parah adumah apply equally to us all. No one is perfect. Through honest, humble introspection we can recognize our faults, improve our lives and cleanse our souls from the stains of selfishness and conceit.
The verse states, “Speak to Bnei Yisrael and tell them to bring you a completely red cow.” Rashi comments that the words “bring you” imply that the parah adumah used in the Desert, along with every parah adumah that would ever be offered, would be attributed to Moshe. Though it was the Kohanim who officiated over the parah adumah ritual, its power to purify depended on Moshe Rabbeinu, who taught Bnei Yisrael the lesson of humility that is integral to the parah adumah’s effectiveness. “Moshe was the most humble man on the face of the earth.” He thus served as a model of humility for the entire nation for all time to come.
We have no actual parah adumah today, but its ability to purify is still available to us each year as we study the parsha of parah adumah and contemplate its relevance to our lives. The Kozhnitzer Maggid writes:
Although we have no Beis HaMikdash in which to offer sacrifices, we can still study the Torah portions associated with the sacrifices and thus be credited as if we had offered them. The same is true of studying the Torah portions associated with the parah adumah. This study purifies us as if we had been sprinkled with the cleansing waters of the parah adumah…
The verse, “Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon saying, ‘This is the decree of the Torah, which Hashem commanded to say…’”19 implies that Hashem commanded us to just say the parsha of the parah adumah. When there is no actual parah adumah by which to be purified, the mere recitation of its verses will suffice.
The parah adumah symbolizes teshuvah, which purifies a person who is sullied by sin, but only if he recognizes his impurity and regrets it. The parah adumah is thus ineffective for those who are so blind as to waste their days in useless pursuits and imagine that they have done no wrong. For those who imagine themselves to be perfect, there is no atonement or purification.
May Hashem grant us the merit to soon witness the day when a spirit of purity will pass over the entire earth, allowing us to return to Hashem in perfect and sincere teshuvah.
translated by R. Daniel Worenklein
