Torah Portion Chukat

Torah Portion Chukat
Bemidbar – Numbers 19:1-22:1

The Red Heifer

Num 19:1 YHWH spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying,
Num 19:2 This is the statute of the law which YHWH has commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Yisra’el, that they bring you a red heifer without spot, in which is no blemish, [and] on which never came yoke.
Num 19:3 You shall give her to El`azar the Kohen, and he shall bring her forth outside of the camp, and one shall kill her before his face:
Num 19:4 and El`azar the Kohen shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle her blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.
Num 19:5 One shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
Num 19:6 and the Kohen shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

Num 19:7 Then the Kohen shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the Kohen shall be unclean until the even.
Num 19:8 He who burns her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
Num 19:9 A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside of the camp in a clean place; and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Yisra’el for a water for impurity: it is a sin offering.
Num 19:10 He who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be to the children of Yisra’el, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them, for a statute forever.

Num 19:11 He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days:
Num 19:12 the same shall purify himself therewith on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he doesn’t purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
Num 19:13 Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and doesn’t purify himself, defiles the tent of YHWH; and that soul shall be cut off from Yisra’el: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet on him.

It is for this reason that Orthodox Jews do not visit the Temple Mount – without a red heifer which which to undergo ritual purification, everyone is unclean. We have all knowingly or inadvertently incurred uncleanness, even from funeral homes, hospitals, or unmarked ancient and modern graves.

Numbers, continued:
Num 19:14 This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
Num 19:15 Every open vessel, which has no covering bound on it, is unclean.

It is presumed that someone who died in the tent would have been ill or very old – in either case, their immune systems would have been compromised and they would likely have been breathing germs into the tent – hence the uncleanness of uncovered vessels.

Numbers, continued:
Num 19:16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

You don’t have to know the bone or grave is there to incur uncleanness from walking on it.

Numbers, continued:
Num 19:17 For the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin offering; and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
Num 19:18 and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons who were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave:
Num 19:19 and the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify him; and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.

Since a regular immersion in a miqvah is not indicated for uncleanness related to death, there does not seem to be any modern equivalent we can substitute, though a miqvah immersion won’t hurt and would probably be sufficient for all purpose except visiting the Temple Mount and other holy sites in Israel. As we see below, defiling the Temple Mount with such uncleanness is absolutely forbidden and results in the punishment of karet, cutting off from your people.

Numbers, continued:
Num 19:20 But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of YHWH: the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
Num 19:21 It shall be a perpetual statute to them: and he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until even.
Num 19:22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the soul that touches it shall be unclean until even.

Num 20:1 The children of Yisra’el, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Tzin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miryam died there, and was buried there.

This would have taken place in Nisan.

Numbers, continued:
Num 20:2 There was no water for the congregation: and they assembled themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon.
Num 20:3 The people strove with Moshe, and spoke, saying, Would that we had died when our brothers died before YHWH!
Num 20:4 Why have you brought the assembly of YHWH into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our animals?
Num 20:5 Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.

Num 20:6 Moshe and Aharon went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tent of meeting, and fell on their faces: and the glory of YHWH appeared to them.
Num 20:7 YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
Num 20:8 Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aharon your brother, and speak you to the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.
Num 20:9 Moshe took the rod from before YHWH, as he commanded him.
Num 20:10 Moshe and Aharon gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?

“We” bring you forth water???? Here was Moshe’s terrible mistake, compounded with failing to follow the instructions properly, Moshe gave glory to himself and Aharon instead of Elohim.

Numbers, continued:
Num 20:11 Moshe lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice: and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
Num 20:12 YHWH said to Moshe and Aharon, Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Yisra’el, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.
Num 20:13 These are the waters of Merivah; because the children of Yisra’el strove with YHWH, and he was sanctified in them.

Num 20:14 Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus says your brother Yisra’el, You know all the travail that has happened to us:
Num 20:15 how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and our fathers:
Num 20:16 and when we cried to YHWH, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt: and behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of your border.
Num 20:17 Please let us pass through your land: we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go along the king’s highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your border.
Num 20:18 Edom said to him, You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.
Num 20:19 The children of Yisra’el said to him, We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then will I give the price of it: let me only, without [doing] anything [else], pass through on my feet.
Num 20:20 He said, You shall not pass through. Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
Num 20:21 Thus Edom refused to give Yisra’el passage through his border: why Yisra’el turned away from him.

Num 20:22 They traveled from Kadesh: and the children of Yisra’el, even the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
Num 20:23 YHWH spoke to Moshe and Aharon in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying,
Num 20:24 Aharon shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Yisra’el, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Merivah.
Num 20:25 Take Aharon and El`azar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;
Num 20:26 and strip Aharon of his garments, and put them on El`azar his son: and Aharon shall be gathered [to his people], and shall die there.
Num 20:27 Moshe did as YHWH commanded: and they went up into Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
Num 20:28 Moshe stripped Aharon of his garments, and put them on El`azar his son; and Aharon died there on the top of the mountain: and Moshe and El`azar came down from the mountain.
Num 20:29 When all the congregation saw that Aharon was dead, they wept for Aharon thirty days, even all the house of Yisra’el.

Num 21:1 The Kena`ani, the king of `Arad, who lived in the South, heard tell that Yisra’el came by the way of Atarim; and he fought against Yisra’el, and took some of them captive.
Num 21:2 Yisra’el vowed a vow to YHWH, and said, If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
Num 21:3 YHWH listened to the voice of Yisra’el, and delivered up the Kena`anim; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and the name of the place was called Chormah.

Num 21:4 They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Sea of Suf, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
Num 21:5 The people spoke against Elohim, and against Moshe, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread.

Num 21:6 YHWH sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Yisra’el died.
Num 21:7 The people came to Moshe, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against YHWH, and against you; pray to YHWH, that he take away the serpents from us. Moshe prayed for the people.
Num 21:8 YHWH said to Moshe, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard: and it shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.
Num 21:9 Moshe made a serpent of brass, and set it on the standard: and it happened, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the serpent of brass, he lived.

Later, during the time of the Kings, the brass serpent had to be destroyed, because the people had turned it into an idol and worshipped it. It is said to be the origin of the modern symbol for “medicine” as well.

Second Kings 18:4 He [the King] removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah: and he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moshe had made; for to those days the children of Yisra’el did burn incense to it; and he called it Nechushtan.

Numbers, continued:
Num 21:10 The children of Yisra’el traveled, and encamped in Ovot.
Num 21:11 They traveled from Ovot, and encamped at `Iye-Avarim, in the wilderness which is before Mo’av, toward the sunrise.
Num 21:12 From there they traveled, and encamped in the valley of Zered.
Num 21:13 From there they traveled, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that comes out of the border of the Amori: for the Arnon is the border of Mo’av, between Mo’av and the Amori.
Num 21:14 Therefore it is said in the book of the Wars of YHWH, “Vahev in Sufah, the valleys of the Arnon,
Num 21:15 the slope of the valleys that incline toward the dwelling of `Ar, leans on the border of Mo’av.”
Num 21:16 From there they traveled to Be’er: that is the well of which YHWH said to Moshe, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

Num 21:17 Then sang Yisra’el this song: “Spring up, well; sing to it:
Num 21:18 the well, which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter, and with their poles.” From the wilderness [they traveled] to Mattanah;
Num 21:19 and from Mattanah to Nachali’el; and from Nachali’el to Bamot;
Num 21:20 and from Bamot to the valley that is in the field of Mo’av, to the top of Pisgah, which looks down on the desert.

Num 21:21 Yisra’el sent messengers to Sichon king of the Amori, saying,
Num 21:22 Let me pass through your land: we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s highway, until we have passed your border.
Num 21:23 Sichon would not allow Yisra’el to pass through his border: but Sichon gathered all his people together, and went out against Yisra’el into the wilderness, and came to Yahatz; and he fought against Yisra’el.
Num 21:24 Yisra’el struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Yabbok, even to the children of `Ammon; for the border of the children of `Ammon was strong.
Num 21:25 Yisra’el took all these cities: and Yisra’el lived in all the cities of the Amori, in Cheshbon, and in all the towns of it.
Num 21:26 For Cheshbon was the city of Sichon the king of the Amori, who had fought against the former king of Mo’av, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to the Arnon.
Num 21:27 Therefore those who speak in proverbs say, “Come to Cheshbon. Let the city of Sichon be built and established;
Num 21:28 for a fire has gone out of Cheshbon, a flame from the city of Sichon. It has devoured `Ar of Mo’av, The lords of the high places of the Arnon.
Num 21:29 Woe to you, Mo’av! You are undone, people of Kemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sichon king of the Amori.
Num 21:30 We have shot at them. Cheshbon has perished even to Divon. We have laid waste even to Nofach, Which reaches to Medeva.”

Num 21:31 Thus Yisra’el lived in the land of the Amori.
Num 21:32 Moshe sent to spy out Ya`zer; and they took the towns of it, and drove out the Amori who were there.
Num 21:33 They turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and `Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edre`i.
Num 21:34 YHWH said to Moshe, Don’t fear him: for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people, and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sichon king of the Amori, who lived at Cheshbon.
Num 21:35 So they struck him, and his sons and all his people, until there was none left him remaining: and they possessed his land.

Num 22:1 The children of Yisra’el traveled, and encamped in the plains of Mo’av beyond the Yarden at Yericho.

Next: Haftarah Chukat.