Chukat - You think you know everything?

[muman613]

Shalom Brothers & Sisters,

Every week I spend a couple hours each day studying the weeks Shabbat Torah portion. I am on many mailing lists of several wonderful Torah websites and often get many different understandings of the Parasha. I believe that it is important for a Jew to internalize the weeks Parasha and try to understand it on a new level, learning new details which we did not learn last year. Our sages teach that the Torah Parasha can be understood on several levels, a system called PaRDeS.


P - Pshat  - The simple understanding
R - Remes  - Hints
D - Drash  - Derived and allegorical meaning
S - Sod    - Mystical meaning


I have read the Torah daily for almost six years and learned new secrets each time. Chazal have taught us that in the merit of the study of Torah the world is sustained.

Pirkie Avot : Chapter 1, Mishna 2
Shimon HaTzaddik was from the remnants of the Great Assembly.
He used to say:
On three things the world stands.
On Torah,
On service [of God],
And on acts of human kindness.

http://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/379488/jewish/12-Worlds-3-Pillars.htm

This weeks Parasha is Chukat. Chukat means law which was given from Hashem which cannot be rationally explained. This parasha is difficult to understand unless you immerse yourself in the questions which are posed by the author of the Torah, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

The Parasha first starts with a difficult phrase, "This is the Chukat of the Torah" and it goes on to explain the Commandment to purify those who have come in contact with the dead {Tamei Meis} by taking a 3 year old Red Cow and slaughtering it, burn it on the altar, and take the ashes mixed with 'living water' and sprinkle the ashes on the impure person who had come in contact with a dead body. By having this sprinkled on them they will become purified.

There is a paradox in this miracle, that those who administered the ash/water mixture on the person would then become impure. The same waters which purified the previously impure individual would simultaneously make the pure impure.

The wisest man in the world, Shlomo HaMelech, himself was unable to grasp the secrets of the Para Aduma {Red Cow}.

http://www.learningtorah.org/DvarTorah/ViewDvarTorah.aspx?dtID=217

The Midrash (Kohelles Rabba 7:23) relates that King Solomon made a special effort to understand the reasons for para adumah (red heifer). In the end he concluded that the subject was still far from his understanding. Para adumah remained the classic example of a chok, a Divine Law whose purpose completely eludes us.

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 21b) explains that the reasons for the mitzvot were not revealed because in each case in which reasons were given, even Solomon, the wisest of all men, was led to err. The Torah prohibits a king from marrying an excess of wives lest they turn his heart away from God (Deut. 17:17). Solomon decided that the reason for the prohibition did not apply to him, and that he could therefore ignore it with impunity. At that moment, says the Midrash, the yud of the yarbeh - from which the prohibition is derived - prostrated itself before God and said, "Solomon is nullifying me! Today it is I, tomorrow another letter, until the entire Torah will be abrogated."

The Almighty responded, "A thousand like Solomon will be nullified, but one bit of you will never be nullified." In the end, Solomon himself admitted, "That which I thought I understood in the Torah was mere foolishness, for who can fathom or question the wisdom of the King?" (Shemot Rabba 6:1)

The Midrash is extremely difficult to understand. It seems to imply that Solomon's error lay in his understanding of the Torah. Yet it appears that his failure was due to misplaced confidence in his own powers, rather than misunderstanding the Torah.

Rashis comment on the very start of this Parasha is very interesting:

This is the statute of the Torah: Because Satan and the nations of the world taunt Israel, saying, “ What is this commandment, and what purpose does it have?” Therefore, the Torah uses the term “statute.” I have decreed it; You have no right to challenge it. — [Yoma 67b]

http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9947/showrashi/true

This means that there are some things which Hashem commands from us and things which will happen to us which we cannot explain rationally. We must observe what Hashem is saying to us, to learn what we should do in the future. The world is a mostly rational place since there are laws which have been established. Science allows us to make observations and make predictions about what will happen in the future. But there is always an unknowable unknown.

There is much more mystery in this Parasha, and I apologize for writing such an long post, but I am very interested in this entire portion.

Right after the command of the Red Cow we learn that Miriam dies and the well which provided the Children of Israel dried up. We learn that the well was a miracle from Hashem in Miriams merit and when she departed this world, the well departed also.

Once again the Children of Israel act like Children {Pun intended}... Last week we read the story of Korach and his rebellion against Moses... How many people were swallowed up by the earth, or died in an incense death match, or suffered from the deadly plague? Why don't these wise Jews learn their lesson? Why do they always complain to Moses? Was it not enough that they were fed daily by Mahn which fell from heaven? Was it not enough that they were watered by a miraculous well which sprung from a rock? The men who joined Korachs rebellion were not ordinary rabble-rousers... They were the elders and men of reputation in the tribes, they should have been wiser...

Now this week, after the well dried up, the people start complaining to Moses... "Oy Vey! Why did you take us out of Egypt to die in the desert?" They complained, and complained, and then they complained some more.

Bamidbar - 20
3. The people quarreled with Moses, and they said, "If only we had died with the death of our brothers before the Lord.
4. Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord to this desert so that we and our livestock should die there?
5. Why have you taken us out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place; it is not a place for seeds, or for fig trees, grapevines, or pomegranate trees, and there is no water to drink.
6. Moses and Aaron moved away from the assembly to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they fell on their faces. [Then] the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

The next thing is Hashem tells Moshe to take his staff and speak to a rock and bring water forth from it. What happens next is one of the most difficult things for me to understand. Moses, who is understandably irritated by the constant complaining of the Children of Israel, takes his staff and says "You Rebels! Will we draw water from this rock?" and he strikes the rock with the staff, two times. Water flows from the rock and the people can water themselves and their livestock...

But Hashem is very, very angry at Moses and Aaron. He tells them this, 'The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them."' This means that both Aaron and Moses will die in the desert and not enter the promised land.

And then Aaron dies:

Bamidbar 20
23. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, saying,
24. "Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not come to the Land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you defied My word at the waters of dispute [Mei Meribah].
25. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and ascend Mount Hor.
26. Strip Aaron of his garments and dress Eleazar his son with them. Then Aaron shall be gathered in [to his people] and die there.

It is very hard for me to understand why Hashem, who is known as the Master of Kindness and Mercy, Chessed V'Rachamim... Why did he not show this mercy and kindness to Moses who was, according to Hashem, the most humble servant Hashem could ask for. There must be more to the Cheshbon {Calculation/Accounting} than meets the eye.

And the Parasha has more mystery, including the story of the snakes biting the children of Israel.

6. The Lord sent against the people the venomous snakes, and they bit the people, and many people of Israel died.
7. The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that He remove the snakes from us." So Moses prayed on behalf of the people.
8. The Lord said to Moses, "Make yourself a serpent and put it on a pole, and let whoever is bitten look at it and live.
9. Moses made a copper snake and put it on a pole, and whenever a snake bit a man, he would gaze upon the copper snake and live.

As anyone can see there is much to consider when studying this portion. The sages teach that every word, alas even every letter, of the Torah has deep profound significance. There is a lot to learn based on which lessons appear next to other lessons. For instance the Halachas of Shabbat Melachos come from the fact that the command to cease creative work occurs right after the command to build the Mishkan was given, thus the sages were able to conclude which labors are forbidden on Shabbat. In this weeks Parasha one such question, why is the death of Miriam placed right after the command of the red cow? They say it is because we learn that the death of the righteous can act as an atonement for our misdeeds.

Rashis comment:
Miriam died there: Why is the passage relating Miriam’s death juxtaposed with the passage of the Red Cow? To teach you that just as sacrifices bring atonement, so the death of the righteous secure atonement. — [M.K. 28a].

So in conclusion I would like to elucidate on the lessons of Chukat... Mankind must seek to know as much as we can know in this world of physicality. Science and Knowledge are very powerful tools for mankind and must be understood in order to operate efficiently in Olam Hazeh. But a wise man knows that he does not know everything. We must accept the fact that there is something just beyond what we can comprehend, something on the horizon which we will never reach in our physical life. I am totally accepting that I don't know everything, as much as I know I realize that there are boundries. These boundries are here for our good, because everything Hashem does is for the Good.

I hope someone was able to learn something, or has questions to ask, about this parasha..

Shabbat Shalom,
muman613

[Ari Ben-Canaan]

Muman, that was really good.  It was very interesting to me especially about Solomon... I have wondered for quite some time about how Solomon, as the wisest man to ever live, would ever be able to make mistakes.  I had heard the reason Moses was denied entry to the actual land of Israel was because God said to him something like this, "Moses, the children of Israel have sinned and gone astray from how I wish them to be.  You have also sinned.  Either you will go to the land of Israel, or the children of Israel shall go to the land of Israel, but both of you will not be allowed to go.  You must choose."  Moses chose the children of Israel to go so he never actually got to go himself.  I wish I could remember where I heard that [I should really take better notes of when I learn something interesting to me!]...  but the idea of a righteous person's death being able to atone for other people makes good sense, especially in what you have posted.  Thanks for posting this.  I hope you continue to post up more parshas each week, if you find yourself having the time.  Todah rabbah!

[muman613]

The Paradox of the Red Heifer
By Yitzak Hunter

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/2315

The understanding the paradox of the Red Heifer is really the way to fix the sin of Adam.

This is a very interesting talk about the midrashim concerning the Red Cow and the paradox created by the fact that the impure would become purified while those purifying would become impure. Understanding the fact that we cannot understand this is part of the rectification of the world for the chet of the Eitz HaDat.

[MassuhDGoodName]

Hey muman613!

Recently I was shocked to learn that the entire Roman Catholic Rite of Exorcism was borrowed almost entirely from the original Jewish Exorcism Rite!

I had never known such existed -- I've yet to hear one single Rabbi or Jew mention it.

How about enlightening us on the subject?

It would be cool to exorcise some demons!

[muman613]

Hey muman613!

Recently I was shocked to learn that the entire Roman Catholic Rite of Exorcism was borrowed almost entirely from the original Jewish Exorcism Rite!

I had never known such existed -- I've yet to hear one single Rabbi or Jew mention it.

How about enlightening us on the subject?

It would be cool to exorcise some demons!

Shalom Massuh,

I don't know much at the moment except that there is a concept called Dibbuk, which is the Jewish term for when a person is possessed by an 'evil spirit'. There are stories about Dibbuks in Chassid tales, like there are stories of Golems.

Let me see if I can find some references to Dibbuks...

Well, wikipedia has this entry for Dybuks:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dibbuk

In Jewish folklore, a dybbuk is a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.[1]

Dybbuks are said to have escaped from Gehenna (a Hebrew term loosely analogous to the concept of hell) or to have been turned away from Gehenna for serious transgressions, such as suicide, for which the soul is denied entry[citation needed]. The word "dybbuk" is derived from the Hebrew דיבוק, meaning "attachment"; the dybbuk attaches itself to the body of a living person and inhabits the flesh. According to belief, a soul that has been unable to fulfill its function during its lifetime is given another opportunity to do so in dybbuk form. It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being helped.

From Chabad site discussing Gilgulim and Dibbuks:

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/310889/jewish/The-Protective-Power-of-Mezuzah.htm

The literature of Kabbalah and Jewish folklore abound with the stories of gilgulim (transmigration of souls, metempsychosis), dibbuks (possession by spirit), and exorcism. A common practice has been to prevent a spirit or a wandering soul from entering the house or its inhabitants by placing mezuzoth at the doors. In one well-documented account, Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari-zal)17 sent his disciple Rabbi Chayim Vital18 to investigate a case of a dibbuk, and instructed him to check the mezuzoth. It turned out that the house lacked mezuzoth altogether. Upon affixing mezuzoth the spirit stopped appearing.

Here is some rather deep ideas rooted in the Kabbalah concerning the Transmigration of Souls:

http://www.hasidicstories.com/Articles/Themes_In_Hasidic_Stories/nigal_1transf.html

Transmigration of Souls, Part One
by Gedalyah Nigal

An Excerpt from Magic, Mysticism, and Hasidism
[Continued in Part Two]

The doctrine of gilgul (transmigration)(1) is a classic example of a kabbalistic doctrine that was absorbed by Hasidism from the esoteric literature, especially from Lurian Kabbalah. Unlike, however, the various kabbalistic elements that stimulated only theoretical hasidic thought, but that only marginally penetrated the hasidic story, the subject of gilgul made deep incursions into both the hasidic homiletic literature and the hasidic storytelling genre. Already during the Safed period, the subject of gilgul, similar to other kabbalistic ideas, had become a popular topic, as is attested to by the stories on this subject, from the period of Rabbi Isaac Luria on. The founders of Hasidism had learned of these stories, along with the theoretical kabbalistic thought regarding transmigrations, both orally and from manuscripts and printed books, and they have stimulated the hasidic storytelling genre from then to the present.

The hasidic gilgul stories are an instructive example of the way in which the hasidic storytelling genre absorbed earlier subjects and motifs, especially those of the kabbalistic hagiographic literature. This chapter attempts to encompass the hasidic story material, citing at the same time prehasidic sources and parallels. Needless to say, it shall not deal with the doctrine of gilgul per se, but rather as it is reflected in the storytelling realm.

In general, it may be stated that the hasidic stories about transmigrations, which were first printed in the book Shivhei Ha-Besht (Kapust 1815) and later in the hasidic storytelling genre, are based on, and revolve around, four basic situations:

   1. Souls (or sparks of souls) that already had been in the world, which return and revive the bodies of humans.
   2. Disembodied souls that have not come to rest, which come to the tzaddik to request their remedy.
   3. Souls that have transmigrated into inanimate objects, flora, or fauna and that await their ascent-correction.
   4. Disembodied souls (dybbukim) that enter the bodies of humans with souls of their own in anticipation of their correction through exorcism (the fourth situation will be discussed later,(2) and therefore this chapter concentrates on the first three basic story situations only).

1. Like the kabbalistic story,(3) the hasidic story assumes that the tzaddikim have knowledge about their own transmigrations and those of others.(4) It was related that the Baal Shem Tov was the transmigration of Rav Saadiah Gaon,(5) or that of Enoch.(6) A report, the purpose of which is to explain the disagreement between the Baal Shem Tov and Rabbi Nahman of Kosov, relates that the Baal Shem Tov was a spark of the soul of King David, while Rabbi Nahman was a spark of the soul of Saul.(7) Rabbi Yudel, a relative of Rabbi Nahman of Kosov, was the gilgul of the prophet Samuel,(8) and Rabbi Ze'ev of Zbarazh was the gilgul of the prophet Jeremiah.(9) Rabbi Jacob Isaac, the "seer" of Lublin, said to Rabbi Zelka of Grodzisk that their love for each other was due to their having been father and son in a previous gilgul.(10) Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel of Apta said "that he was now in the third gilgul, and that in the first gilgul he had been a nasi, and in the second an exilarch."(11) According to another story tradition, he claimed that he had already been in the world ten times and that he had been a nasi, a king, and the like.(12) Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, author of Yismah Moshe, said about himself that he was present in this world for the third time. In the first gilgul, he was one of those who left Egypt (and his name was written in the Torah); he preferred not to reveal the second gilgul. When Rabbi Isaac Eizik Taub, rabbi of Kallo, was told of this, he said the second time Rabbi Moses had been the prophet Jeremiah.(13) The son of Rabbi Israel of Ruzhin said that his father was then in the world for the third time and that he never "had been in such a state of perfection as now." (14) Rabbi Menahem Mendel of Rymanow said that he had already been in this world one hundred times and that this was the last time, for he would return no more.(15) The tzaddik Rabbi Bertzi Leifer of Nadworna, who died in the Holocaust, also said about himself that he had been in this world three times:

I think that is enough information for now... I will look more into the exorcism aspect later...

[Ari Ben-Canaan]

From Chabad site discussing Gilgulim and Dibbuks:

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/310889/jewish/The-Protective-Power-of-Mezuzah.htm

The literature of Kabbalah and Jewish folklore abound with the stories of gilgulim (transmigration of souls, metempsychosis), dibbuks (possession by spirit), and exorcism. A common practice has been to prevent a spirit or a wandering soul from entering the house or its inhabitants by placing mezuzoth at the doors. In one well-documented account, Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari-zal)17 sent his disciple Rabbi Chayim Vital18 to investigate a case of a dibbuk, and instructed him to check the mezuzoth. It turned out that the house lacked mezuzoth altogether. Upon affixing mezuzoth the spirit stopped appearing.

This is why there is no Jewish "Exorcist" movie.  It would have been over in 15 minutes!

My roommate downloaded the move "The Exorcist" and we watched it, it had xtian priests in it trying to fight off the house's ghosts, and I had a good LOL because OF COURSE what they would do to try and remedy the situation would not work...  I said to my roommate, "if they called a Rabbi, he would have hung up a mezzuzah, said a few Baruch Atahs, and that would be that.  The end!"