Torah · Weekly Parasha VideoParashat ChukatRabbi Uri Nahum · June 19, 2017 · Chukat · חקת · 15 Min Parasha RoundupSave⌄ShareParasha class with Rabbi Uri Nahum, from BSD Productions’ 15 Min Parasha Roundup.Transcript0:05Parashat Chukat.0:06This week's parasha has 87 pesukim,0:09and sometimes we read Chukat and Balak together.0:12When is this so?0:13When the Shavuot beforehand fell out on Shabbat,0:17whether it's the first or second day,0:19then Chukat and Balak are read together.0:22The parasha speaks about a few different subjects,0:26but all of them take place at the end of the 40 years' travel in the Midbar.0:32And the topics in this week's parasha, we have five.0:35First, the Torah speaks about the0:38parah adumah. Second, Torah speaks about when Moshe struck the rock.0:41Third is the death of Aharon HaKohen.0:45Fourth, the Torah speaks about the second shirah that the Jewish people sing,0:50and it's known as Shirat0:53HaBe'er. Number five, the last part of this week's parasha,0:55Torah tells us the wars of the Jewish people0:58against the two giant brothers, Sichon and Og.1:02In this week's parasha, we have only three mitzvot,1:05and they are mitzvot aseh, three mitzvot1:08aseh. They number 397 until 399 in Sefer1:14HaChinuch. Let's get to the parasha.1:16Parasha begins with1:18parah adumah, and this takes up about a quarter of the1:20parasha, almost exactly a quarter of the parasha.1:22And the Torah tells us, in short, to take a red cow, burn it,1:26take its ashes, mix it with water,1:28and sprinkle it on people or utensils that have become tameh1:34because they came in contact with a dead body1:37or a piece of the dead body.1:39Let's talk a little bit more in detail.1:42First of all, the parah adumah has to be a1:45parah. In Hebrew, עגלה, egel is a baby cow.1:48A parah is an adult cow, and that begins from three to four years old.1:52And you want to take it as young as possible that it's considered a1:56parah, because— Any hair, or really two hairs, which are black or white,2:00will disqualify from being a2:03parah adumah. Another condition is that this cow has to never been worked,2:08okay?2:09The way they would do it is they would take it to Har2:12HaMishcha, right opposite of Har2:14HaBayit, and over there they would slaughter the cow2:18like they would do by a regular2:20korban. And then they would take the cow,2:23they would open up, they take out the insides,2:25and they would burn—excuse me—they would take the whole cow and set up on a fire, on wood,2:29and they would burn it.2:30And as they burn it, they would throw in a mixture, a bundle,2:36which is made of cedar wood,2:40ezov wrapped in red woolen string2:44called2:46chut hashani, and that gets burned.2:46From all these things, the ashes are taken,2:49and they're separated into three parts.2:51One is placed in the2:54hel; that's to be in mishmeret, that's to be a safekeeping.2:57One is to be placed on Har2:59HaMishcha for the Jewish people who need to be purified from3:02parah adumah, and one is to be divided amongst the kohanim3:05who worked in the Beit HaMikdash3:06so that they should be purified before entering the Beit HaMikdash3:09where they had to work.3:11How do we sprinkle it on the person?3:14Well, if a person became3:17tameh by being in contact with a dead body,3:19or in the same room as a dead body,3:22or being under the same roof as a dead body,3:25then what happens is3:28that the person becomes tameh, met for seven days.3:32And then on the third3:34day—he counts3:35seven3:36days—on the third day of his counting,3:37he has to be sprinkled by the3:40parah adumah, where you take water,3:41you take a vessel, you put it in water,3:42fresh water,3:43then you take the ashes of the3:44parah adumah, you put it on top of the water,3:46and then you take the3:48ezov, which is, I guess translated as3:50hyssop, three stems of3:52ezov, dip it inside,3:53and sprinkle it on the person.3:55Okay,3:55this is to be sprinkled on him on the third day,3:57on his seventh day.3:59After he's sprinkled on the seventh day,4:01he goes and he dips in the mikveh,4:02and on that evening,4:04once the evening comes,4:05the person is considered completely, completely pure4:08from the4:10tumah of tamei met. The same thing is done on kelim,4:12on utensils4:13that come in contact with a dead body.4:17The Torah calls the mezvah4:20parah adumah chok,4:21as the parashah begins,4:22Zot4:23chukat haTorah. And the Chachamim explain4:24that there's some very strange things4:26about the4:27parah adumah which make people look at it in a very strange way.4:30One of those being4:32is that the person who's purifying,4:35the kohen who's involved in purifying the person4:37who's4:38tamei met, eventually he becomes4:40tamei, while the person who was4:42tamei, he becomes tahor.4:44And that's one of the strange things over here,4:46that the person who is helping the tamei become tahor4:50becomes himself4:51tamei, and that's why it's considered a4:53chok by many, many opinions.4:54From there the Torah moves on4:56and speaks about the incident with Moshe4:58hitting the rock.5:00The way it happened,5:02the Torah tells us that Miriam passed away,5:04and when Miriam passed away at the age of 123,5:07the water stopped coming.5:08How come the water stopped?5:09The Gemara in Ta'anit explains that the Jewish people5:11had three gifts with them5:12throughout the 40 years in the desert.5:14What are the three gifts?5:16Number one,5:17they had the traveling water,5:19and that was called Be'er Miriam.5:20That came in the merit of Miriam.5:22Number two, they had the5:24Ananei Kavod, the clouds which surrounded them on all sides,5:26and that came in the merit of5:29Aharon HaKohen. And the man,5:31which was this heavenly food that they had,5:34was in the merit of Moshe Rabbeinu.5:36When Miriam passed away,5:38the be'er stopped.5:40And therefore the Jewish people didn't have any water,5:42and they requested water from Moshe.5:44And Moshe was told by Hashem to go5:46take the stick,5:47and here there are different opinions5:49exactly if this was the stick of Aharon5:50or the stick of Moshe,5:52and to speak to the rock.5:54While Moshe went to speak to the rock,5:56there were a few wise guys5:58that made trouble for Moshe,5:59and he got confused exactly where the rock was,6:02and the rock that he spoke to6:03didn't respond.6:05So therefore Moshe struck the rock once6:07and drops of water came out,6:08and he struck it a second time,6:11and then the water flowed.6:13However, Hashem considered this a6:16sin on Moshe and Aharon,6:18and therefore Hashem made the famous decree6:20on Moshe and Aharon6:21that they are not to enter Eretz Yisrael6:24due to the sin of6:26Mei Meribah, where Moshe struck the rock.6:29From there, the Torah tells us6:30of how Aharon passed away,6:32and the Jewish people now,6:33like we mentioned,6:34at the end of the 40 years,6:35they're getting closer to Eretz Yisrael.6:36They want to enter Eretz Yisrael,6:38and they tried to gain entry6:40through the land of Edom6:41so they could get into Eretz Yisrael.6:43Now Edom is more to the south6:45of the land of Israel.6:47They send a message to the king of Edom6:48to allow them to go through their country6:51to get into Eretz Yisrael.6:52However, Edom refuses,6:53and he sets up his army for war6:57if the Jews decide to come anyway.7:00From there the Jews travel,7:01and they go to a place called7:03Hor Hahar, where Hashem commands Moshe to take Aharon7:06and his son7:07Elazar because Aharon is to pass away.7:09They go up to the mountain,7:11and inside this mountain7:12they enter a cave7:13where there was a bed waiting for Aharon.7:16Moshe commands Aharon to take off his clothing,7:19and he dresses Elazar in front of him,7:21so Aharon sees before his death7:23that his own son is replacing him.7:25Aharon is then told to lie down on the bed7:29and to put his arms on his chest7:31and his feet together to close his eyes,7:33and the Chachamim tell us that Aharon passed away.7:36Through neshikah.7:38Neshikah is the ultimate connection7:39with HaKadosh Baruch Hu,7:41and only a few people were privileged7:42to die such a death.7:44From there,7:45Elazar Moshe descended from the mountain,7:46the Jewish people realized Aharon passed away,7:48and they mourned him for thirty days.7:51And like we said,7:53the clouds, the Ananim, came7:54in the merit of Aharon,7:56so therefore the clouds now went away,7:58and the Jewish people were exposed now.8:00To the8:01non-Jews. And the Gemara says that the Amalek,8:04who lived in the south,8:06came and they came to attack the Jewish people.8:09However, Amalek changed their language8:12to speak like the8:14Canaanim. The Jewish people looked at this nation8:15coming to attack them,8:17and they speak in the language of the Amoraim,8:22yet they're dressed like Amalek.8:25So they didn't know who was attacking them,8:27so they figured, you know,8:28we're just going to pray to Hashem8:29to protect us from this nation,8:31and this way the Jewish people8:32were able to completely defeat the Amalekim.8:35Why did Amalek try to do the trick?8:37Because Amalek said,8:38if we speak a different language,8:39maybe we'll trick them8:40that they won't know who to pray for8:42or who to pray against.8:43So this way they will not be able to defeat us.8:46But the Jewish people,8:47Hashem saved them, that they prayed anonymously,8:50and He said, Hashem, protect us,8:51and Hashem did protect them.8:53The Jewish people now told to travel backwards,8:55and on the way traveling backwards,8:58they felt, oh, now we're not going to enter9:00Eretz Yisrael, and if we're not going to enter9:02Eretz Yisrael, like the way our forefathers are not going to enter,9:05so what's going to be with us?9:06And they started complaining,9:07and one of the things they complained was about Moshe,9:09about Hashem, and about the man.9:11So Hashem sends the snakes,9:12and the snakes start biting people,9:15and people start dying.9:16And they come to Moshe,9:17they ask him for forgiveness9:18and to pray for them that the death should go away.9:22Moshe prays to Hashem.9:23Hashem tells him, I want you to take a snake,9:26make a snake and put it on a stick and hold it up.9:30Moshe makes a copper snake,9:32he puts it on a stick, and the Gemara says,9:34and the Torah says,9:36the Gemara explains,9:37whoever looked and stared at the snake9:39understood that the punishment came from God.9:42They did teshuva, and they were forgiven.9:45From there we move on9:45to the fourth part of this week's parasha,9:48the second9:49shirah, the second song that the Jewish people sing,9:51Shirat9:52HaBe'er. In order— Understand the9:55story, you really have to look in the Gemara9:56Masechet Bechorot, because the Torah doesn't provide us9:58with any part of the story.10:00The Gemara Masechet Bechorot explains10:03that the goyim,10:05seeing that the Jewish people are getting close to10:07Eretz Yisrael, decided to ambush the Jewish people,10:09decided to hide in a certain cave in the mountain,10:12and when the Jewish people pass10:13in, they'll come from behind and attack them.10:15And so they entered a certain cave in the mountain.10:18Now it happens to be that10:19there was a mountain right opposite that one,10:21which had stones that were sticking out of it10:25that were aligned exactly10:27where the goyim were hiding in that cave.10:29And as they were hiding in the cave,10:31Hashem commanded that the two mountains come together,10:34and therefore the stones that were sticking out of10:38the other mountain10:40came inside the cave10:42and crushed all the goyim10:44that were waiting to ambush the Jewish people.10:46The Jews traveled right along the10:49mountains without realizing any part of the miracle.10:50Hashem said,10:51How could it be10:52that my children should just pass by10:53without realizing the10:54miracle? So Hashem commanded10:56that the nahal Arnon,10:59the stream of Arnon,11:00the water should flow through the cave,11:03pick up the body parts,11:04and take it to the Jewish people,11:06that they should realize what happened.11:07And indeed, the Jewish people realized what happened,11:10and they sing the song of the11:12Be'er. They realize the miracles that Hashem is doing for them11:16even when they're not asking for it,11:18without their own realization.11:20And this is called the Shirat11:22HaBe'er. And from that, we move on11:23to the last part of this week's parashah,11:25the wars against the two giant brothers, Sichon and Og.11:29The Chachamim tell us that Sihon and Og,11:32who lived right on the east of Eretz Yisrael,11:35right on the east of the Jordan,11:37they were hired by all the nations in Eretz Yisrael,11:40which is at the time known as11:42Eis Canaan, to be the guards of Eretz Yisrael,11:45that nobody should enter11:46it, especially the Jewish people.11:47Now the Jewish people sent messengers to11:51Og, asking him to allow them entrance into Eretz Yisrael11:54through his land.11:55And they told him, Listen, we will pay for everything.11:58We won't even eat our food.11:59We'll buy from you.12:00We'll give you great business.12:01So Og says, You, the Jewish people,12:04want to go through my land?12:06I'm hired in order to protect them from you.12:09So therefore Sihon gathers up his army,12:11a few people join him,12:12and they go to fight against the Jewish people.12:15Moshe and the Jewish people fight against Sihon12:17without one casualty on the Jewish people's part.12:22They wipe out Sihon, who is this big giant,12:24and as a result,12:25they take all of that area east of the Jordan River,12:30which becomes eventually annexed to Eretz Yisrael.12:33Now the Torah over there speaks12:35a few pesukim that tell us12:36that there's a greater miracle that took place,12:38because a few cities that belonged to Moab12:41were captured by Sihon a long time ago,12:44and now the Jewish people were zocheh to receive those cities12:48because they defeated Sihon.12:51And had they not fought against Sihon,12:54they would never have had these12:54cities because they were commanded not to fight Moab12:56until the time comes,12:58as we're going to see in Parashat Balak.13:01Meanwhile, Og, who was the brother of Sihon,13:06saw what happened to his brother,13:08and Og gathers his army13:10and they decide we're going to finish the Jewish people,13:12and they come to attack the Jewish people.13:14The Gemara again in Masechet Berachot13:16explains the miracle that took place.13:18Here Moshe first gets nervous,13:20because Og is not like anybody else.13:23Og had a13:25zechut. Og was the person who informed Abraham13:28Avinu when his nephew and brother-in-law Lot13:30was taken by Nimrod,13:32and therefore Moshe felt that that13:34zechut might stand for him,13:35and we might not be able to defeat him.13:38So Hashem tells Moshe,13:39Al tira, don't be scared.13:41He's wiped out.13:41You could take care of him.13:43The Gemara says that Og took a humongous mountain13:45the size of all the Jewish people,13:47and he was going to finish them with one shot,13:49just take the mountain and throw it on them.13:51However, when he placed the mountain on his head,13:52Hashem sent certain termites13:54that ate up from the mountain,13:55and the mountain fell onto his neck,13:58and he wasn't able to move.13:59When he was trying to pull off14:01the mountain from his neck,14:02Hashem made Og's teeth grow14:04and stick into the mountain,14:05that he was completely stuck in the mountain,14:08while Moshe jumped with his stick14:11and struck Og by his ankle,14:14and that's how Og was killed,14:16and the Jewish people now take the land of Og as well.14:19So they gained now extra real estate,14:22the land of Og and the land of14:25Sichon. And now to the lesson of the parasha.14:28In this week's parasha,14:29we mentioned there's 87 pesukim.14:3287 is the gematria of Elokim,14:35including the kolel.14:3786, which is gematria of14:40Elokim, represents, we know the name Elokim represents din.14:43In this week's parasha, we14:45learn that although things may look bad,14:47like midat hadin,14:48really Elokim, like the14:51Mekubalim explain, comes from pure kindness.14:54And it looks like Aharon died,14:56and that was bad,14:57and the Jewish people got bit by the snake,14:58and that was bad,14:59and Miriam died.15:00But really, at the end of the day,15:02Hashem had a whole goal for the Jewish people15:04to bring about the ultimate redemption,15:07as we see in the end of the parasha.15:09It looks like it was bad15:10when the Sichon and Og came to attack.15:12However, it turned out to be15:13to the benefit of the Jewish people,15:15because now they gained access15:17to more area15:19that became part of Eretz15:22Yisrael, and therefore we have to learn15:23that although we may see things15:24that may look bad,15:27the source of it is all15:54rachamim. Shabbat shalom.