The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Chukas

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Torah portion Hashem (G-d) sets down the statute of the Red Heifer (the Parah Adumah). The Red Heifer is a young cow that is sacrificed and whose ashes are used for the ritual purification of people who came into contact with a corpse.

2. The Rebbe now discusses the different types of Mitzvos (commandments):

There are three different types of Mitzvos (with regards to how we understand them):

The first type are Chukim/Statutes.

The second type are Aidus/Testimonies.

And the third type are Mishpatim/Laws.

Mishpatim/Laws are the kind of Mitzvos which we would understand to do even if the Torah was not given (Heaven Forbid). Let’s take for example the commandment, “Do not murder”; society would have understood on it’s own to set down that rule for the community even if the Torah was not given (Heaven Forbid).

Aidus/Testimonies are the kind of Mitzvos which we would not have thought on our own to do, however once the Torah tells us to do it we can understand the logic behind it. For example the commandment to wear Tzitzis (fringes worn on four cornered garments); we would not have thought to put fringes on our four cornered garments, however once Hashem tells us to do it we can understand the reason- “So that you will remember to do the commandments”,

Chukim/Statutes are the type of Mitzvos which we do not understand even once Torah tells us to do them. Actually, Chukim/Statutes totally go against all reason and logic, and the only reason we fulfill them is because we are subservient to Hashem. The epitome of a Chok/Statute is the law of the Red Heifer and the details surrounding it: Becoming ritually impure or pure again does not make any logical sense. And the process of how one becomes ritually pure again- sprinkling the Red Heifer on him- definitely does not make logical sense. As the Midrash tells us, even the wise Shlomo Hamelech (King Solomon), who even understood the reasons for the other Chukim/Statutes, could not understand the commandment of the Red Heifer, and only to Moshe Rabbeinu did Hashem reveal the reason for the Red Heifer.

3. The Rebbe continues explaining of the three types of Mitzvos:

Aidus/Testimonies and Mishpatim/Laws are commandments in which Hashem has defined His will to such an extent that even human minds can grasp it. In other words, Hashem desires that certain commandments be understood by humans and therefore He contracts His infinite will to have a specific logical reason and understanding.

However Chukim/Statutes are commandments which Hashem desires to remain above the finite human mind and be fulfilled by his children the Jewish people only because He said so.

In other words, when we fulfill a Mitzvah (commandment) which falls into the category of Aidus/Testimonies or Mishpatim/Laws we are performing it through the conduit of reason and understanding. However when we fulfill a Mitzvah which falls into the category of Chukim/Statutes, which we are only performing because Hashem said to do it (and He did not contract His will to fit into human reason and logic), our inner core as a Jew is being expressed, without any conduit. The deepest part of our being is connecting to Hashem’s deepest essence (Etzem to Etzem, “Yechidah L’Yachedcha”).

4. The Rebbe now connects this point (that when we perform Chukim/Statutes our essence is being revealed) to the words of the Alter Rebbe:

The Alter Rebbe (Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi) points out that the word, “Chukim/Statutes”, is from the word, “Chakikah/engraved”.

The difference between letters which are engraved (for example) into stone or letters which are written (for example) on parchment is that the letters engraved into the stone are one thing with the stone while the letters written on the parchment are still a different entity then the parchment. We see this clearly from how you would go about getting rid of the letters- if you want to get rid of letters written on parchment all you have to do is erase the ink and the parchment is still fully intact, however to get rid of the letters engraved into the stone you would have to cut out a chunk of the stone itself.

And this is what the Alter Rebbe means when he says that the word, “Chukim/Statutes”, is from the word “Chakikah/engraved”: Just like letters which are engraved into stone are one with the stone, so too when we perform Chukim/Statutes we become one with Hashem because we are connecting to Hashem without any conduit between us (unlike Aidus/Testimonies or Mishpatim/Laws which we are performing through the conduit of reason and understanding).

5. The Rebbe now explains how really every single Mitzvah has the quality of Chukim/Statutes:

Question: In this week’s Torah portion regarding the law of the Red Heifer, the Torah says, “Zos Chukas Hatorah – This is the statute of the Torah”. Now, shouldn’t the Torah have written, “Zos Chukas Hataharah – This is the statute regarding purity”? Or, “Zos Chukas Haparah – This is the statute of the Red Heifer”? Why would the Torah include every single commandment of the Torah in the statute of the Red Heifer by saying, “Zos Chukas Hatorah – This is the statute of the Torah”?

And since we know that in the Torah every single word and even every letter is exact and perfect, the Torah must be teaching us something here. What is the Torah teaching us?

Answer: When the Torah says, “Zos Chukas Hatorah – This is the Statute of the Torah”, it is telling us that in truth every single Mitzvah in the Torah is just like the category of Mitzvos which are Chukim/Statutes; even Aidus/Testimonies and Mishpatim/Laws fall under the category of Chukim/Statutes.

All the commandments of Hashem have the same source- they are the will of Hashem which is higher then any sort of comprehension. The only difference is that some of the Mitzvos have been clothed in the garment of reason and understanding whereas some haven’t. However even the Mitzvos which have been clothed in understanding have the same source as the other Mitzvos. (Just like for example a person who has a desire for something, even if there is also a reason why he should have it, this doesn’t take away or change his desire for it).

6. One of the lessons we can learn from this is to perform all the commandments of Hashem with the same enthusiasm. Once we know that all the Mitzvos originate from the same place, Hashem’s infinite will, and the only difference between them is that some have been garbed in reason and some haven’t, we can appreciate the need for every single Mitzvah, “big” or “small”.

1. The Rebbe now begins to sharply analyze and explain the Mitzvah of the Red Heifer:

There are many details and laws surrounding the Red Heifer, however there are two aspects that really stand out:

1) The Red Heifer would make impure those who are pure, and make pure those who are impure. Meaning, the Kohen (priest) who would perform the purification process for the impure Jew would himself become impure, while the impure Jew was now made pure.

2) The procedure of the Red Heifer was done outside of the Jewish camp, unlike any other sacrifice which was performed inside the Jewish camp, inside the Beis Hamikdash (the Holy Temple).

Moreover, bearing in mind our previous explanation (in Part One) of what the Red Heifer is, that, 1) when we perform the Mitzvah of the Red Heifer we reveal our essence (Etzem Haneshomah), 2) the entire Torah is represented in this Mitzvah, and 3) we get the strength to be able to perform this service which reveals our essence from Moshe Rabbeinu whom the reason for the Red Heifer was revealed to; we can understand that these two recently mentioned highlighted aspects of the Red Heifer somehow express these three ideas. How?

2. The Rebbe now begins to explain how the two abovementioned laws of the Red Heifer express its three abovementioned critical elements:

The Midrash states, “When Moshe Rabbeinu heard (from Hashem) the law concerning one who becomes impure from a human corpse he was puzzled and he asked Hashem, ‘How will this person become pure again?’ Hashem then replied and told Moshe Rabbeinu about the Mitzvah of the Red Heifer, and Moshe was satisfied” .

The reason why Moshe Rabbeinu was so puzzled and disturbed specifically when he heard about the impurity of a dead body and not when he heard about any of the other types of impurities is because holiness and G-dliness is synonymous with life and the polar opposite of life- death- shows that this body was totally separated and completely torn away from
G-dliness. Therefore Moshe wondered, “How can someone who contracts this type of impurity become connected to Hashem again and become pure?”

The answer to this query was the Red Heifer because by performing the Red Heifer we bring down Hashem’s “Thirteen Attributes of Mercy” (G-d’s boundless capacity for compassion, especially as expressed in the granting of atonement) which is higher than the normal order of the world and has the power to correct all defects.

This actually gives us another reason why when referring to the Red Heifer the Torah says, “Zos Chukas Hatorah – This is the statute of the Torah” (as we quoted in Part One): As we said earlier (in Par One), a Chok/Statute is something which is higher than understanding. In the same vein, the Torah is teaching us here that by performing the Red Heifer we bring down a level which is higher than the normal order of the world and can correct all defects. As it says, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one”, meaning; only Hashem can make something pure.

Additionally, we can now also understand why the procedure of the Red Heifer was done outside of the Jewish camp, unlike any other sacrifice which was performed inside: The sacrifices which were brought in the Beis Hamikdash were only able to correct accidental sins which is a lesser form of evil (Kelipat Nogah). However the Red Heifer was able to correct all defects, even the worst type of evil- the “outside”. Therefore it was performed outside.

3. The Rebbe now explains how one was able to cause this level which is higher than the normal order of the world descend into the world through performing the Red Heifer:

As with anything, in order to produce a particular result, one must do the proper service. The same is here; in order to cause the level which is higher than the normal order of the world to descend into the world, one must perform a service which taps into the essence of his soul which is one with Hashem and is higher than all boundaries.

How does one tap into and reveal his essence? By performing the service of the Red Heifer:

When the Kohen performs the service of the Red Heifer for the other Jew he is completely putting himself aside. He must stop everything he is doing, travel outside of the Jewish camp, take a red cow and perform the necessary tasks involved in preparing it for the service, and he does all of this knowing that he will become impure because of it and he will have to suffer all of the consequences (Editors addition: i.e. he will have to remain outside of the camp for a seven day period; he cannot perform any of the priestly rights; he cannot see his family…).

This total self sacrifice and lack of regard for logic and reason on behalf of the Kohen reveals the essence of his soul and causes Hashem to reciprocate by sending down a level which is equal with this act, a level which is higher than the normal order of the world and can correct all defects.

4. The Rebbe now finishes the explanation as to how the two abovementioned laws of the Red Heifer (that it would “make impure those who are pure, and make pure those who are impure”, and that it was done outside of the Jewish camp) express its three abovementioned critical elements (1) when we perform the Mitzvah of the Red Heifer we reveal our essence (Etzem Haneshomah), 2) the entire Torah is represented in this Mitzvah, and 3) we get the strength to be able to perform this service which reveals our essence from Moshe Rabbeinu whom the reason for the Red Heifer was revealed to):

1) The fact that the Red Heifer “made impure those who are pure, and made pure those who are impure”, and that it was done outside of the Jewish camp, reveals our essence because (as we just explained) we are totally putting our self aside.

2) The fact that the Red Heifer “made impure those who are pure, and made pure those who are impure”, and that it was done outside of the Jewish camp, represents the entire Torah because the foundation of the entire Torah is to nullify ourselves and reach above our own limitations, and this is especially expressed in the Mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel (loving your fellow Jew as yourself), which encapsulates the entire Torah, and this is what you are doing when you perform the service of the Red Heifer.

3) The fact that the Red Heifer “made impure those who are pure, and made pure those who are impure”, and that it was done outside of the Jewish camp, calls attention to the fact that we get the strength to be able to reveal our essence from Moshe Rabbeinu because this service required self sacrifice and Moshe Rabbeinu was the perfect model of self sacrifice.

5. The Rebbe now ends off with the lessons we can learn from all of the above:

The first lesson that we can learn from this is that there is no such thing as a Jew who is “too far gone”. Even a Jew who looks totally disconnected from G-dliness and is at the level of the worst impurities can be uplifted out of it because Moshe Rabbeinu gave us the strength to help him.

The second lesson that we can learn from this is that not only do we have the power to uplift another Jew, we must uplift him. We cannot think to ourselves, “Why do I have to lower myself to their level and possibly even become impure because of it?” We must know that if we are not willing to put ourselves aside for another Jew we are not only missing a detail of the Torah, we are missing the foundation of the entire Torah.

The third lesson we can learn from this is that when we are successful in inspiring our brothers to come closer to their Father in Heaven we should not be mistaken and think that our own skills and strengths have caused this, we must know that this is all from Moshe Rabbeinu (and this is why the Kohen performing the service of the Red Heifer had to be sanctified with the ashes of the Red Heifer that Moshe Rabbeinu made).

The fourth lesson we can learn is from the fact that the ashes of the Red Heifer which Moshe Rabbeinu made were divided into three parts; one part was used to make impure people pure, one part was used to sanctify the Kohanim who would later make more Red Heifers, and the third part being kept “as a guarding” (“L’Mishmeres”). We must wonder why a third of the ashes kept “as a guarding”. Only, the Torah is teaching us that when you are involved with helping other people and trying to influence them you can forget about yourself. This is where the ashes “as a guarding” comes in and reminds you that you are also susceptible to the impurity “of a corpse” and could possibly need the ashes of the Red Heifer for yourself.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume four, second half of the Sicha.