Chukat
Encyclopedia
Chukat, Hukath, or Chukkas is the 39th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
and the sixth in the book of Numbers
. It constitutes . Jews in the Diaspora
generally read it in late June or July.
The lunisolar
Hebrew calendar
contains up to 55 week
s, the exact number varying among years. In most years (for example, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017), parshah Chukat is read separately. In some years (for example, 2009, when the second day of Shavuot
fell on a Sabbath in the Diaspora), parshah Chukat is combined with the subsequent parshah, Balak
, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings.
Jews also read the first part of the parshah, in addition to the regular weekly Torah portion, on the Sabbath after Purim
, called Shabbat Parah
. On Shabbat Parah, a reader chants the regular weekly Torah portion first, and then a reader chants the chapter of the red cow
(parah adumah). Shabbat Parah occurs shortly before Passover
, and sets out the procedure by which the Israelites could purify themselves from the contamination caused by a corpse, and so prepare for the pilgrimage festival of Passover.
told Moses
and Aaron
to instruct the Israelite
s the ritual
law
of the red heifer (פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה, parah aduma) used to create water
of lustration. The heifer (a cow that had not borne a calf) had to be without blemish, have no defect, and not have borne a yoke
. Eleazar
the priest
was to take it outside the camp, observe its slaughter, and take some of its blood
with his finger
and sprinkle it seven times toward the Tabernacle
. The cow was to be burned in its entirety along with cedar wood, hyssop
, and crimson
stuff. The priest and the one who burned the cow were both to wash their garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. The ashes of the cow were to be used to create the water of lustration.
One who touched the corpse of any human being was to be unclean for seven days. On the third and seventh days, the person who had touched the corpse was to cleanse with the water of lustration and then be clean. One who failed to do so would remain unclean, would defile the Tabernacle, and would be cut off from Israel.
When a person died in a tent, whoever entered the tent was to be unclean seven days, and every open vessel in the tent was to be unclean. In the open, anyone who touched a corpse, bone, or a grave was to be unclean seven days.
A person who was clean was to add fresh water to ashes of the red cow, dip hyssop it in the water, and sprinkle the water on the tent, the vessels, and people who had become unclean. The person who sprinkled the water was then to wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be clean at nightfall.
Anyone who became unclean and failed to cleanse himself was to be cut off from the congregation. The person who sprinkled the water of lustration was to wash his clothes, and whoever touched the water of lustration, whatever he touched, and whoever touched him were to be unclean until evening.
in the wilderness of Zin, and Miriam died and was buried there.
asking him to allow the Israelites to cross Edom, without passing through fields or vineyards, and without drinking water from wells. But the Edomites would not let the Israelites pass through, and turned out in heavy force to block their way, and the Israelites turned away.
, God told Moses and Aaron: “Let Aaron be gathered to his kin: he is not to enter the land that I have assigned to the Israelite people, because you disobeyed my command about the waters of Meribah
.” Moses took Aaron and his son Eleazar
up on Mount Hor, and there he stripped Aaron of his vestments and put them on Eleazar, and Aaron died there. The Israelites mourned Aaron 30 days.
.
, king of the Amorite
s, asking that he allow them to pass through his country, without entering the fields or vineyards, and without drinking water from wells. But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory and engaged the Israelites in battle. The Israelites defeated the Amorites and took possession of their land and towns.
Then the Israelites marched on, and King Og
of Bashan
engaged them in battle. The Israelites defeated his forces and took possession of his country. The Israelites then marched to the steppes of Moab
, across the Jordan River from Jericho
.
setting out the teaching that contact with the dead is antithetical to purity.
In Leviticus God instructed Moses to direct the priests not to allow themselves to become defiled by contact with the dead, except for a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister. And the priests were not to engage in mourning rituals of making baldness upon their heads, shaving off the corners of their beards, or cutting their flesh.
In God instructed Moses to command the Israelites to put out of the camp every person defiled by contact with the dead, so that they would not defile their camps, in the midst of which God dwelt.
sets out a procedure for a red cow mixture for decontamination from corpse contamination.
In its profession associated with tithing, Deuteronomy instructed Israelites to aver that they had not eaten from the tithe in mourning, nor put away any of it while unclean, nor given any of it to the dead.
In Ezekiel
the prophet
Ezekiel
cites the burial of kings within the Temple
as one of the practices that defiled the Temple and cause God to abandon it.
In the Hebrew Bible, uncleanness has a variety of associations. 11; 11; and and associate it with death. And perhaps similarly, associates it with childbirth, and associates it with skin disease. associates it with various sexuality-related events. And Jeremiah
23; and and Hosea
associate it with contact with the worship of alien gods.
and Tosefta
interpreted the laws of the red cow in (Mishnah Parah 1:1–12:11; Tosefta Parah 1:1–12:19.)
Rabbi Tanhum son of Rabbi Hannilai taught that was one of two sections in the Torah (along with on corpse contamination) that Moses gave the Israelites in writing that are both pure, dealing with the law of purity. Rabbi Tanhum taught that they were given on account of the tribe of Levi
, of whom it is written (in ), “he [God’s messenger] shall purify the sons of Levi
and purge them.” (Leviticus Rabbah
26:3.)
The Mishnah and Tosefta taught that if the month of Adar
began on a Sabbath, then the section on the red cow in was read on the third Sabbath of the month (thus preceding Passover, so as to caution the people to purify themselves in preparation for eating the Passover sacrifice). (Mishnah Megillah 3:4; Tosefta Megillah 3:3.)
Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in the name of Rabbi Levi that the Evil Inclination criticizes four laws as without logical basis, and Scripture uses the expression “statute” (chuk) in connection with each: the laws of (1) a brother’s wife
(in ), (2) mingled kinds (in and ), (3) the scapegoat
(in ), and (4) the red cow (in ). In connection with the red cow, the Mishnah noted the paradox that the garments of all those who took any part in the preparation of the red cow became defiled, but the cow itself made garments ritually clean. (Mishnah Parah 4:4.) And applies the term “statute” to the red cow. (Numbers Rabbah
19:5; see also Babylonian Talmud
Yoma 67b on “statutes” generally.)
A midrash
taught that an idolater once asked Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai
about the red cow, likening its procedures to witchcraft
. Rabban Johanan asked the idolater what he had seen done for a man possessed by a demon of madness. The idolater explained how in such a case, they would bring roots, make them smoke under the madman, sprinkle water on the man, and the demon would flee. Rabban Johanan told him that the red cow dealt similarly with the spirit of uncleanness, as says: “And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit
to pass out of the land.” Rabban Johanan told him that when they sprinkled the water of purification on the unclean, the spirit of uncleanness fled. But when the idolater had gone, Rabban Johanan’s disciples told Rabban Johanan that they saw that he had put off the idolater with a mere makeshift, and asked him what explanation Rabban Johanan would give them. Rabban Johanan told his disciples that the dead did not defile nor the water purify; God had merely laid down a statute, issued a decree, and commanded that we not transgress the decree, as says: “This is the statute of the law.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:8.)
Expounding upon the commandment of the red cow in Rabbi Jose ben Hanina taught that God told Moses the reason for the commandment, but to everyone else it would remain merely a statute. (Numbers Rabbah 19:6.)
All other communal sacrifices were of male animals, but the red cow was of a female animal. Rabbi Aibu explained the difference with a parable: When a handmaiden’s boy polluted a king’s palace, the king called on the boy’s mother to clear away the filth. In the same way, God called on the red cow to come and atone for the incident of the golden calf
. (Numbers Rabbah 19:8.)
Rabbi Eliezer
ruled that the calf (עֶגְלָה, eglah) prescribed in had to be no more than one year old and the red cow (פָרָה, parah) prescribed in had to be two years old. But the Sages ruled that the calf could be even two years old and the red cow could be three or four years old. Rabbi Meir
ruled that the red cow could be even five years old, but they did not wait with an older cow, as it might in the meantime grow some black hairs and thus become invalid. (Mishnah Parah 1:1.)
Rabbi Eliezer ruled that a red cow that was pregnant was nonetheless valid, but the Sages ruled it invalid. Rabbi Eliezer ruled that the red cow could not be purchased from Gentile
s, but the Sages ruled that such cow could be valid. (Mishnah Parah 2:1.) If the horns or the hoofs of the red cow were black, they were chopped off, and the red cow was then valid. The cow’s eye, teeth, and tongue could cause no invalidity. And a dwarf-like cow was nonetheless valid. If the red cow had a sebaceous cyst
and they cut it off, Rabbi Judah
ruled the cow invalid, but Rabbi Simeon ruled it invalid only if no red hair grew in its place. (Mishnah Parah 2:2.)
A red cow born by a caesarean section
, the hire of a harlot, or the price of a dog was invalid. Rabbi Eliezer ruled it valid, for states, “You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God,” and the red cow was not brought into the Temple. The Mishnah taught that all blemishes that caused consecrated animals to be invalid as sacrifices also caused the red cow to be invalid. If one had ridden on the cow, leaned on it, hung on its tail, crossed a river with its help, doubled up its leading rope, or put one’s cloak on it, the cow was invalid. But if one had only fastened it by its leading rope or made for it a sandal to prevent it from slipping, or spread one’s cloak on it because of flies, it remained valid. The general rule was that wherever one did something for its own sake, the cow remained valid; but if one did something for the sake of another purpose, it invalidated the cow. (Mishnah Parah 2:3.) If a bird rested on the cow, it remained valid. If a bull mounted it, it became invalid; but Rabbi Judah ruled that if people brought the bull to mate with the cow, the cow became invalid, but if the bull did so on its own, the cow remained valid. (Mishnah Parah 2:4.)
If a cow had two black or white hairs growing within one follicle, it was invalid. Rabbi Judah said even within one hollow. If the hairs grew within two adjacent follicles, the cow was invalid. Rabbi Akiba ruled that even if there were four or even five non-red hairs, if they were dispersed, they could be plucked out. Rabbi Eliezer ruled that even as many as 50 such hairs could be plucked. But Rabbi Joshua ben Bathyra ruled that even if it had only one non-red hair on its head and one on its tail, it was invalid. If the cow had two hairs in one follicle with their roots black and their tips red or with their roots red and their tips black, Rabbi Meir taught that what was visible determined validity; but the Sages ruled that validity followed the root. (Mishnah Parah 2:5.)
Rav Judah
reported in Samuel’s
name an account of the rarity of completely red cows: When they asked Rabbi Eliezer how far the honor due parents extended, Rabbi Eliezer told of a non-Jew from Ashkelon
named Dama son of Nethinah. The Sages offered Dama a profit of 600,000 gold denarii
(or Rav Kahana said 800,000 denarii) in exchange for jewels that he had that the Sages could use in the ephod
, but as the key to the jewels lay under Dama’s father’s pillow, Dama declined the offer so as not to trouble his father. The next year, God rewarded Dama by causing a red cow to be born in his herd. When the Sages went to buy it, Dama told them that he knew that he could ask for all the money in the world and they would pay it, but he asked for only the money that he had lost in honoring his father. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 31a.)
Rabbi Eliezer noted that both (with regard to burning the Yom Kippur
sin offerings) and (with regard to slaughtering the red cow) say “outside the camp.” Rabbi Eliezer concluded that both actions had to be conducted outside the three camps of the Israelites, and in the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, both actions had to be conducted to the east of Jerusalem. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 68a.)
Rabbi Isaac contrasted the red cow in and the bull that the High Priest
brought for himself on Yom Kippur in Rabbi Isaac taught that a lay Israelite could slaughter one of the two, but not the other, but Rabbi Isaac did not know which was which. The Gemara
reported that Rav
and Samuel disagreed about the answer. Rav held it invalid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the red cow and valid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the High Priest’s bull, while Samuel held it invalid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the High Priest’s bull and valid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the red cow. The Gemara reported that Rav Zeira
(or some say Rav Zeira in the name of Rav) said that the slaughtering of the red cow by a lay Israelite was invalid, and Rav deduced from this statement the importance that specifies “Eleazar” and specifies that the law of the red cow is a “statute” (and thus required precise execution). But the Gemara challenged Rav’s conclusion that the use of the terms “Eleazar” and “statute” in in connection with the red cow decided the matter, for in connection with the High Priest’s bull, specifies “Aaron,” and calls the law of a “statute,” as well. The Gemara supposed that the characterization of of the law as a “statute” might apply to only the Temple services described in and the slaughtering of the High Preist’s bull might be regarded as not a Temple service. But the Gemara asked whether the same logic might apply to the red cow, as well, as it was not a Temple service, either. The Gemara posited that one might consider the red cow to have been in the nature of an offering for Temple upkeep. Rav Shisha son of Rav Idi taught that the red cow was like the inspection of skin diseases in which was not a Temple service, yet required a priest's participation. The Gemara then turned to Samuel’s position, that a lay Israelite could kill the red cow. Samuel interpreted the words “and he shall slay it before him” in to mean that a lay Israelite could slaughter the cow as Eleazar watched. The Gemara taught that Rav, on the other hand, explained the words “and he shall slay it before him” in to enjoin Eleazar not to divert his attention from the slaughter of the red cow. The Gemara reasoned that Samuel deduced that Eleazer must not divert his attention from the words “and the heifer shall be burnt in his sight” in (which one could similarly read to imply an injunction for Eleazar to pay close attention). And Rav explained the words “in his sight” in one place to refer to the slaughtering, and in the other to the burning, and the law enjoined his attention to both. In contrast, the Gemara posited that Eleazar might not have needed to pay close attention to the casting in of cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet, because they were not part of the red cow itself. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 42a–b.)
Ulla
interpreted the words “and he shall bring it forth” in to teach that he could not bring forth another cow with the red cow. As the Mishnah taught (in Mishnah Parah 3:7), if the red cow refused to go forth, one could not send a black cow with the red cow, lest people say that they slaughtered a black cow, nor could two red cows be brought forth together, lest people say that they slaughtered two. Rabbi (or others say Rabbi Jose
) taught that a second cow was not to be taken out because says “and he shall bring it forth” and “it” implies by itself. The Gemara taught that the teaching of the Mishnah and Rabbi differed in the case of whether one could bring forth a donkey with the red cow. (According to the Mishnah, that would be permitted, because the presence of the donkey would not mislead people that they were sacrificing the donkey, but according to Rabbi, it would be forbidden, for “it” excludes permission for any other animal to be brought forth together with the red cow.) (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 42b.)
Ulla interpreted the words “And he shall slay it” in to teach that one could not slaughter any other one with it. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 43a.)
A midrash noted that God commanded the Israelites to perform certain precepts with similar material from trees: God commanded that the Israelites throw cedar wood and hyssop into the red cow mixture of and use hyssop to sprinkle the resulting waters of lustration in God commanded that the Israelites use cedar wood and hyssop to purify those stricken with skin disease in and in Egypt God commanded the Israelites to use the bunch of hyssop to strike the lintel and the two side-posts with blood in Exodus (Exodus Rabbah
17:1.) Noting that the cedar was among the tallest of tall trees and the hyssop was among the lowest of low plants, the midrash associated the cedar with arrogance and the hyssop with humility. (Numbers Rabbah 19:3; Ecclesiastes Rabbah
7:35.)
Rabbi Isaac noted two red threads, one in connection with the red cow in and the other in connection with the scapegoat in the Yom Kippur service of (which Mishnah Yoma 4:2 indicates was marked with a red thread). Rabbi Isaac had heard that one required a definite size, while the other did not, but he did not know which was which. Rav Joseph reasoned that because (as Mishnah Yoma 6:6 explains) the red thread of the scapegoat was divided, that thread required a definite size, whereas that of the red cow, which did not need to be divided, did not require a definite size. Rami bar Hama
objected that the thread of the red cow required a certain weight (to be cast into the flames, as described in ). Rava
said that the matter of this weight was disputed by Tannaim
(as explained below). Abaye
objected (based on Mishnah Parah 3:11) that they wrapped the red thread together with the cedar wood and hyssop. Rabbi Hanin said in the name of Rav that if the cedar wood and the red thread were merely caught by the flame, they were used validly. They objected to Rabbi Hanin based on a Baraita
which taught that if the thread caught fire in midair, they brought another thread to prepare the water of lustration. Abaye reconciled the two opinions by interpreting the Baraita to speak of a flame that blazed high above the cow, and interpreting Rabbi Hanin to speak of a subdued flame that consumed the thread near the burning cow. Rava explained the dispute among Tannaim about the weight of the red thread in connection with the red cow. Rabbi taught that they wrapped the cedar wood and hyssop together with the red thread so that they formed one bunch. Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Simeon said that they wrapped them together so that they had sufficient weight to fall into the midst of the burning cow. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b.)
When Rav Dimi came from the Land of Israel
, he said in the name of Rabbi Johanan
that there were three red threads: one in connection with the red cow, the second in connection with the scapegoat, and the third in connection with the person with skin disease (the m’tzora
) in Rav Dimi reported that one weighed ten zuz
, another weighed two selas, and the third weighed a shekel
, but he could not say which was which. When Rabin came, he said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan that the thread in connection with the red cow weighed ten zuz, that of the scapegoat weighed two selas, and that of the person with skin disease weighed a shekel. Rabbi Johanan said that Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta and the Sages disagreed about the thread of the red cow, one saying that it weighed ten shekels, the other that it weighed one shekel. Rabbi Jeremiah of Difti said to Ravina
that they disagreed not about the thread of the red cow, but about that of the scapegoat. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b–42a.)
The Mishnah taught that seven days before the burning of the red cow, they removed the priest who was to burn the cow from his house to a room called the stone chamber facing the north-eastern corner of the Temple. The Mishnah taught that throughout the seven days, they sprinkled on the priest a mixture of all the sin-offerings that were there, but Rabbi Jose taught that they sprinkled only on the third and the seventh days. And Rabbi Hanina the Deputy High Priest taught that on the priest who was to burn the cow they sprinkled all the seven days, but on the one who was to perform the service on Yom Kippur
they sprinkled only on the third and the seventh days. (Mishnah Parah 3:1.)
To protect against defilement from contact with the dead, they built courtyards over bedrock, and left beneath them a hollow to serve as protection against a grave in the depths. They used to bring pregnant women there to give birth and rear their children in this ritually pure place. They placed doors on the backs of oxen and placed the children upon them with stone cups in their hands. When the children reached the pool of Siloam
, the children stepped down, filled the cups with water, and then climbed back up on the doors. Rabbi Jose said that each child used to let down his cup and fill it from on top of the oxen. (Mishnah Parah 3:2.) When the children arrived at the Temple Mount with the water, they got down. Beneath the Temple Mount and the Temple courtyards was a hollow, which protected against contamination from a grave in the depths. At the entrance of the court of the women, they kept a jar of the ashes of the sin-offerings. (Mishnah Parah 3:3.) If they did not find the residue of the ashes of seven red cows, they performed the sprinkling with those of six, of five, of four, of three, of two or of one. (Mishnah Parah 3:5.)
Rabbi Meir taught that Moses prepared the first red cow ashes, Ezra
prepared the second, and five were prepared since then. But the Sages taught that seven were prepared since Ezra. They said that Simeon the Just
and Johanan the High Priest prepared two each, and Eliehoenai the son of Hakof, Hanamel the Egyptian, and Ishmael the son of Piabi each prepared one. (Mishnah Parah 3:5.)
The Mishnah taught that they bound the red cow with a bast rope and placed it on the pile with its head towards the south and its face towards the west. The priest stood on the east side facing west. He slaughtered the cow with his right hand and received the blood with his left hand. But Rabbi Judah said that he received the blood with his right hand, put it on his left hand, and then sprinkled with his right hand. He dipped his finger in the blood and sprinkled it towards the Holy of Holies
seven times, dipping once for each sprinkling. (Mishnah Parah 3:9.)
The Mishnah taught that during the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, all the walls of the Temple were high except the eastern wall. This was so that the priest who burned the red cow, while standing on the top of the Mount of Olives
, might see the door of the main Temple building when he sprinkled the blood. (Mishnah Middot 2:4.)
The Mishnah taught that when the priest had finished the sprinkling, he wiped his hand on the body of the cow, climbed down, and kindled the fire with wood chips. But Rabbi Akiba said that he kindled the fire with dry branches of palm trees. (Mishnah Parah 3:9.) When the cow’s carcass burst in the fire, the priest took up a position outside the pit, took hold of the cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool, and said to the observers: “Is this cedar wood? Is this hyssop? Is this scarlet wool?” He repeated each question three times, and the observers answered “Yes” three times to each question. (Mishnah Parah 3:10.) The priest then wrapped the cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool together with the ends of the wool and cast them into the burning pyre. When the fire burned out, they beat the ashes with rods and then sifted them with sieves. They then divided the ashes into three parts: One part was deposited on the rampart, one on the Mount of Olives, and one was divided among the courses of priests who performed the Temple services in turn. (Mishnah Parah 3:11.)
Reading the Mishnah noted that the person who burned the red cow (as well as the person who burned the bulls burned pursuant to or and the person who led away the scapegoat pursuant to and 26) rendered unclean the clothes worn while so doing. But the red cow (as well as the bull and the scapegoat) did not itself render unclean clothes with which it came in contact. The Mishnah imagined the clothing saying to the person: “Those that render you unclean do not render me unclean, but you render me unclean.” (Mishnah Parah 8:3.)
Tractate Oholot
in the Mishnah and Tosefta interpreted the laws of corpse contamination in (Mishnah Oholot 1:1–18:10; Tosefta Oholot 1:1–18:18.)
Ulla taught that the Rabbis ruled the skin of dead people contaminating so as to prevent people from fashioning their parents’ skin into keepsakes. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 122a.) Similarly, the Mishnah taught that the Sadducees
mocked the Pharisees
, because the Pharisees taught that the Holy Scrolls rendered unclean the hands that touched them, but the books of Homer
did not. In response, Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai noted that both the Pharisees and the Saducees taught that a donkey’s bones were clean, yet the bones of Johanan the High Priest
were unclean. The Saducees replied to Rabban Johanan that the uncleanness of human bones flowed from the love for them, so that people should not make keepsakes out of their parents’ bones. Rabban Johanan replied that the same was true of the Holy Scriptures, for their uncleanness flowed from the love for them. Homer’s books, which were not as precious, thus did not render unclean the hands that touched them. (Mishnah Yadayim 4:6.)
Rabbi Akiba interpreted the words “and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean” in to teach that if the sprinkler sprinkled upon an unclean person, the person became clean, but if he sprinkled upon a clean person, the person became unclean. The Gemara explained that Rabbi Akiba’s view hinged on the superfluous words “upon the unclean,” which must have been put in to teach this. But the Sages held that these effects of sprinkling applied only in the case of things that were susceptible to uncleanness. The Gemara explained that the Rabbis’ view could be deduced from the logical proposition that the greater includes the lesser: If sprinkling upon the unclean makes clean, how much more so should sprinkling upon the clean keep clean or make cleaner? And the Gemara said that it is with reference to Rabbi Akiba’s position that Solomon
said in “I said, ‘I will get wisdom,’ but it is far from me.” That is, even Solomon could not explain it. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 14a.)
Rabbi Joshua ben Kebusai taught that all his days he had read the words “and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean” in and only discovered its meaning from the storehouse of Yavneh
. And from the storehouse of Yavneh Rabbi Joshua ben Kebusai learned that one clean person could sprinkle even a hundred unclean persons. (Tosefta Demai 1:14, Makhshirin 3:15.)
taught that the Torah places the account of Miriam's death in immediately after the laws of the red cow in to teach that even as the red cow provided atonement, so the death of the righteous provides atonement for those whom they leave behind. ( Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 28a.)
Rabbi Eleazar taught that Miriam died with a Divine kiss, just as Moses had. As says, “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab by the mouth of the Lord,” and says, “And Miriam died there” — both using the word “there” — Rabbi Eleazar deduced that both Moses and Miriam died the same way. Rabbi Eleazar explained that does not say that Miriam died “by the mouth of the Lord” because it would be indelicate to say so. ( Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 28a.)
Rabbi Jose the son of Rabbi Judah taught that three good leaders arose for Israel — Moses, Aaron, and Miriam — and for their sake Providence conferred three good things on Israel — the well that accompanied the Israelites on their journeys for the merit of Miriam, the pillar of cloud for the merit of Aaron, and the manna
for the merit of Moses. When Miriam died, the well disappeared, as reports, “And Miriam died there,” and immediately thereafter reports, “And there was no water for the congregation.” The well returned for the merit of Moses and Aaron. When Moses died, the well, the pillar of cloud, and the manna all disappeared, as Zechariah
reports, “And I cut off the three shepherds in one month.” (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 9a.)
The Mishnah counted the well that accompanied the Israelites through the desert in the merit of Miriam, or others say, the well that Moses opened by striking the rock in among ten miraculous things that God created at twilight on the eve of the first Sabbath. (Mishnah Avot 5:6.)
A midrash interpreted to teach that Moses struck the rock once and small quantities of water began to trickle from the rock, as Psalm
says, “Behold, He smote the rock, that waters issued.” Then the people ridiculed Moses, asking if this was water for sucklings, or babes weaned from milk. So Moses lost his temper and struck the rock “twice; and water came forth abundantly” (in the words of ), overwhelming all those who had railed at Moses, and as says, “And streams overflowed.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:9.)
Reading God’s criticism of Moses in “Because you did not believe in Me,” a midrash asked whether Moses had not previously said worse when in he showed a greater lack of faith and questioned God’s powers asking: “If flocks and herds be slain for them, will they suffice them? Or if all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, will they suffice them?” The midrash explained by relating the case of a king who had a friend who displayed arrogance towards the king privately, using harsh words. The king did not, however, lose his temper with his friend. Later, the friend displayed his arrogance in the presence of the king’s legions, and the king sentenced his friend to death. So also God told Moses that the first offense that Moses committed (in ) was a private matter between Moses and God. But now that Moses had committed a second offense against God in public, it was impossible for God to overlook it, and God had to react, as reports, “To sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:10.)
Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar taught that Moses and Aaron died because of their sin, as reports God told them, “Because you did not believe in Me . . . you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar thus taught that had they believed in God, their time would not yet have come to depart from the world. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 55b.)
The Gemara implied that the sin of Moses in striking the rock at Meribah compared favorably to the sin of David
. The Gemara reported that Moses and David were two good leaders of Israel. Moses begged God that his sin be recorded, as it is in and and David, however, begged that his sin be blotted out, as says, “Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned.” The Gemara compared the cases of Moses and David to the cases of two women whom the court sentenced to be lashed. One had committed an indecent act, while the other had eaten unripe figs of the seventh year in violation of The woman who had eaten unripe figs begged the court to make known for what offense she was being flogged, lest people say that she was being punished for the same sin as the other woman. The court thus made known her sin, and the Torah repeatedly records the sin of Moses. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 86b.)
Resh Lakish taught that Providence punishes bodily those who unjustifiably suspect the innocent. In Moses said that the Israelites “will not believe me,” but God knew that the Israelites would believe. God thus told Moses that the Israelites were believers and descendants of believers, while Moses would ultimately disbelieve. The Gemara explained that reports that “the people believed” and Genesis reports that the Israelites’ ancestor Abraham
“believed in the Lord,” while reports that Moses “did not believe.” Thus, Moses was smitten when in God turned his hand white as snow. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 97a.)
A midrash employed a parable to explain why God held Aaron as well as Moses responsible when Moses struck the rock, as reports, “and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ‘Because you did not believe in Me.’” The midrash told how a creditor came to take away a debtor's granary and took both the debtor's granary and the debtor's neighbor’s granary. The debtor asked the creditor what his neighbor had done to warrant such treatment. Similarly, Moses asked God what Aaron had done to be blamed when Moses lost his temper. The midrash taught that it on this account that praises Aaron, saying, “And of Levi he said: ‘Your Thummim and your Urim
be with your holy one, whom you proved at Massah
, with whom you strove at the waters of Meribah.’” (Numbers Rabbah 19:9.)
A midrash interpreted the name “Mount Hor” (הֹר הָהָר, hor hahar) in to mean a mountain on top of a mountain, like a small apple on top of a larger apple. The midrash taught that the Cloud went before the Israelites to level mountains and raise valleys so that the Israelites would not become exhausted, except that God left Mount Sinai for the Divine Presence, Mount Hor for the burial of Aaron, and Mount Nebo for the burial of Moses. (Midrash Tanhuma
Chukas 14.)
A midrash noted the use of the verb “take” (קַח, kach) in and interpreted it to mean that God instructed Moses to take Aaron with comforting words. The midrash thus taught that Moses comforted Aaron by explaining to him that he would pass his crown on to his son, a fate that Moses himself would not merit. (Midrash Tanhuma Chukas 17; Numbers Rabbah 19:19.)
The Sifre
taught that when Moses saw the merciful manner of Aaron’s death, Moses concluded that he would want to die the same way. The Sifre taught that God told Aaron to go in a cave, to climb onto a bier, to spread his hands, to spread his legs, to close his mouth, and to close his eyes, and then Aaron died. At that moment, Moses concluded that one would be happy to die that way. And that is why God later told Moses in that Moses would die “as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people,” for that was the manner of death that Moses had wanted. (Sifre to Deuteronomy 339:3.)
A midrash interpreted the words “all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead” in The midrash taught that when Moses and Eleazar descended from the mountain without Aaron, all the congregation assembled against Moses and Eleazar and demanded to know where Aaron was. When Moses and Eleazar answered that Aaron had died, the congregation objected that surely the Angel of Death could not strike the one who had withstood the Angel of Death and had restrained him, as reported in “And he stood between the dead and the living and the plague was stayed.” The congregation demanded that Moses and Eleazar bring Aaron back, or they would stone Moses and Eleazar. Moses prayed to God to deliver them from suspicion, and God immediately opened the cave and showed the congregation Aaron’s body, as reflected by the words of that “all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:20.)
deduced that what the King of Arad heard in was that Aaron had died and that the clouds of glory had dispersed, as the previous verse, reports that “all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead.” The King thus concluded that he had received permission to fight the Israelites. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 3a.)
A midrash taught that of four who made vows, two vowed and profited, and two vowed and lost. The Israelites vowed and profited in and Hannah
vowed and profited in 1 Samuel
Jephthah vowed and lost in Judges
and Jacob vowed in and lost (some say in the loss of Rachel in and some say in the disgrace of Dinah in for Jacob’s vow in was superfluous, as Jacob had already received God's promise, and therefore Jacob lost because of it). (Genesis Rabba
h 70:3.)
A midrash taught that according to some authorities, Israel fought Sihon in the month of Elul
, celebrated the Festival in Tishri, and after the Festival fought Og. The midrash inferred this from the similarity of the expression in “And you shall turn in the morning, and go to your tents,” which speaks of an act that was to follow the celebration of a Festival, and the expression in “and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people.” The midrash inferred that God assembled the Amorites to deliver them into the Israelites’ hands, as says, “and the Lord said to Moses: ‘Fear him not; for I have delivered him into your hand.” The midrash taught that Moses was afraid, as he thought that perhaps the Israelites had committed a trespass in the war against Sihon, or had soiled themselves by the commission of some transgression. God reassured Moses that he need not fear, for the Israelites had shown themselves perfectly righteous. The midrash taught that there was not a mighty man in the world more difficult to overcome than Og, as says, “only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The midrash told that Og had been the only survivor of the strong men whom Amraphel
and his colleagues had slain, as may be inferred from which reports that Amraphel “smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim,” and one may read to indicate that Og lived near Ashteroth. The midrash taught that Og was the refuse among the Rephaim, like a hard olive that escapes being mashed in the olive press. The midrash inferred this from which reports that “there came one who had escaped, and told Abram
the Hebrew,” and the midrash indentified the man who had escaped as Og, as describes him as a remnant, saying, “only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The midrash taught that Og intended that Abram should go out and be killed. God rewarded Og for delivering the message by allowing him to live all the years from Abraham to Moses, but God collected Og’s debt to God for his evil intention toward Abraham by causing Og to fall by the hand of Abraham’s descendants. On coming to make war with Og, Moses was afraid, thinking that he was only 120 years old, while Og was more than 500 years old, and if Og had not possessed some merit, he would not have lived all those years. So God told Moses (in the words of ), “fear him not; for I have delivered him into your land,” implying that Moses should slay Og with his own hand. The midrash noted that in God told Moses to “do to him as you did to Sihon,” and reports that the Israelites “utterly destroyed them,” but reports, “All the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.” The midrash concluded that the Israelites utterly destroyed the people so as not to derive any benefit from them. (Numbers Rabbah 19:32.)
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A midrash explained that God punished the Israelites by means of serpents in because the serpent was the first to speak slander in God cursed the serpent, but the Israelites did not learn a lesson from the serpent’s fate, and nonetheless spoke slander. God therefore sent the serpent, who was the first to introduce slander, to punish those who spoke slander. (Numbers Rabbah 19:22.)
The Mishnah taught that the brass serpent of effected its miraculous cure because when the Israelites directed their thoughts upward and turned their hearts to God they were healed, but otherwise they perished. (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8; Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 29a.)
The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael
counted 10 songs in the Tanakh
: (1) the one that the Israelites recited at the first Passover in Egypt, as says, “You shall have a song as in the night when a feast is hallowed”; (2) the Song of the sea
in (3) the one that the Israelites sang at the well in the wilderness, as reports, “Then sang Israel this song: ‘Spring up, O well’”; (4) the one that Moses spoke in his last days, as reports, “Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song”; (5) the one that Joshua recited, as Joshua
reports, “Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorite
s”; (6) the one that Deborah
and Barak
sang, as reports, “Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam
”; (7) the one that David
spoke, as reports, “David spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul
”; (8) the one that Solomon
recited, as reports, “a song at the Dedication of the House of David
”; (9) the one that Jehoshaphat
recited, as 2 Chronicles
reports: “when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing to the Lord, and praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures for ever’”; and (10) the song that will be sung in the time to come, as says, “Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth,” and says, “Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of the saints.” (Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael Shirata 1:5.)
A midrash interpreted the Israelites’ encounter with Sihon in and Noting the report of that “Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying: ‘Let me pass through your land,’” the midrash taught that the Israelites sent messengers to Sihon just as they had to Edom to inform the Edomites that the Israelites would not cause Edom any damage. Noting the report of that the Israelites offered Sihon, “You shall sell me food for money . . . and give me water for money,” the midrash noted that water is generally given away for free, but the Israelites offered to pay for it. The midrash noted that in the Israelites offered, “We will go by the king's highway,” but in the Israelites admitted that they would go “until [they] shall pass over the Jordan,” thus admitting that they were going to conquer Canaan. The midrash compared the matter to a watchman who received wages to watch a vineyard, and to whom a visitor came and asked the watchman to go away so that the visitor could cut off the grapes from the vineyard. The watchman replied that the sole reason that the watchman stood guard was because of the visitor. The midrash explained that the same was true of Sihon, as all the kings of Canaan paid Sihon money from their taxes, since Sihon appointed them as kings. The midrash interpreted which says, “Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan,” to teach that Sihon and Og were the equal of all the other kings of Canaan. So the Israelites asked Sihon to let them pass through Sihon’s land to conquer the kings of Canaan, and Sihon replied that the sole reason that he was there was to protect the kings of Canaan from the Israelites. Interpreting the words of “and Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together,” the midrash taught that God brought this about designedly so as to deliver Sihon into the Israelites’ hands without trouble. The midrash interpreted the words of “Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon,” to say that if Heshbon had been full of mosquitoes, no person could have conquered it, and if Sihon had been living in a plain, no person could have prevailed over him. The midrash taught that Sihon thus would have been invincible, as he was powerful and dwelt in a fortified city. Interpreting the words, “Who dwelt at Heshbon,” the midrash taught that had Sihon and his armies remained in different towns, the Israelites would have worn themselves out conquering them all. But God assembled them in one place to deliver them into the Israelites’ hands without trouble. In the same vein, in God said, “Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon . . . before you,” and says, “Sihon gathered all his people together,” and reports, “And Israel took all these cities.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:29.)
Even though in and God forbade the Israelites from occupying the territory of Ammon and Moab, Rav Papa
taught that the land of Ammon and Moab that Sihon conquered (as reported in ) became purified for acquisition by the Israelites through Sihon’s occupation of it (as discussed in ). (Babylonian Talmud Gittin 38a.)
cited a verse in the parshah for 1 positive commandment
:
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
, Positive Commandment 113. Cairo
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:125. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4.)
, there are 3 positive commandments in the parshah:
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 4:159–71. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1988. ISBN 0-87306-457-7.)
for the parshah is Both the parshah and the haftarah involve diplomatic missions about land issues. In the parshah, Moses sent messengers and tried to negotiate passage over the lands of the Edomites and the Amorites of Sihon. In the haftarah, Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonites prior to hostilities over their land. In the course of Jephthah's message to the Ammonites, he recounted the embassies described in the parshah. ( ) And Jephthah's also recounted the Israelites' victory over the Amorites described in the parshah. Both the parshah and the haftarah involve vows. In the parshah, the Israelites vowed that if God delivered the Canaanites of Arad into their hands, then the Israelites would utterly destroy their cities. In the haftarah, Jephthah vowed that if God would deliver the Ammonites into his hand, then Jephthah would offer as a burnt-offering whatever first came forth out of his house to meet him when he returned. The haftarah concludes just before the verses that report that Jephthah's daughter was first to greet him, proving his vow to have been improvident.
(as it does in 2011 and 2014), the haftarah is Isaiah
. (Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
for Shabbat and Festivals, 15. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8.)
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Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
and the sixth in the book of Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
. It constitutes . Jews in the Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
generally read it in late June or July.
The lunisolar
Lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will...
Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
contains up to 55 week
Week
A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...
s, the exact number varying among years. In most years (for example, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017), parshah Chukat is read separately. In some years (for example, 2009, when the second day of Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
fell on a Sabbath in the Diaspora), parshah Chukat is combined with the subsequent parshah, Balak
Balak (parsha)
Balak is the 40th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Numbers...
, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings.
Jews also read the first part of the parshah, in addition to the regular weekly Torah portion, on the Sabbath after Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
, called Shabbat Parah
Special Sabbaths
Special Shabbatot are fixed Jewish Shabbat days, which precede or coincide with certain Jewish holidays during the year. Each one has a special name.-Shabbat Shuvah:...
. On Shabbat Parah, a reader chants the regular weekly Torah portion first, and then a reader chants the chapter of the red cow
Red heifer
The red heifer or red cow was a sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible the ashes of which are used for the ritual purification of an ancient Israelite who had come into contact with a corpse.- Hebrew Bible :...
(parah adumah). Shabbat Parah occurs shortly before Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, and sets out the procedure by which the Israelites could purify themselves from the contamination caused by a corpse, and so prepare for the pilgrimage festival of Passover.
Summary
The red heifer
GodNames of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
told Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
to instruct the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s the ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
of the red heifer (פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה, parah aduma) used to create water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
of lustration. The heifer (a cow that had not borne a calf) had to be without blemish, have no defect, and not have borne a yoke
Yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam, normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen...
. Eleazar
Eleazar
Eleazar , was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second Kohen Gadol - succeeding his father Aaron. He was a nephew of Moses.-Life:...
the priest
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
was to take it outside the camp, observe its slaughter, and take some of its blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
with his finger
Finger
A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates....
and sprinkle it seven times toward the Tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
. The cow was to be burned in its entirety along with cedar wood, hyssop
Hyssop
Hyssop is a genus of about 10-12 species of herbaceous or semi-woody plants in the family Lamiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to central Asia. They are aromatic, with erect branched stems up to 60 cm long covered with fine hairs at the tips. The leaves are narrow oblong, 2–5 cm...
, and crimson
Crimson
Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used as a generic term for those slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose; besides crimson itself, these colors include...
stuff. The priest and the one who burned the cow were both to wash their garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. The ashes of the cow were to be used to create the water of lustration.
One who touched the corpse of any human being was to be unclean for seven days. On the third and seventh days, the person who had touched the corpse was to cleanse with the water of lustration and then be clean. One who failed to do so would remain unclean, would defile the Tabernacle, and would be cut off from Israel.
When a person died in a tent, whoever entered the tent was to be unclean seven days, and every open vessel in the tent was to be unclean. In the open, anyone who touched a corpse, bone, or a grave was to be unclean seven days.
Anyone who became unclean and failed to cleanse himself was to be cut off from the congregation. The person who sprinkled the water of lustration was to wash his clothes, and whoever touched the water of lustration, whatever he touched, and whoever touched him were to be unclean until evening.
Miriam’s death
The Israelites arrived at KadeshKadesh
This article is about Kadesh in the lands of the Amurru, bordering on Damascus Syria up to Hammath; see also Kadesh or Kedesh Kadesh was an ancient city of the Levant, located on or near the headwaters or ford of the Orontes River...
in the wilderness of Zin, and Miriam died and was buried there.
Water from a rock
The people were without water, and they complained against Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of God appeared to them, telling them to take the rod and order the rock to yield its water. Moses took the rod, assembled the congregation in front of the rock, and said to them: “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses struck the rock twice with his rod, out came water, and the community and their animals drank. But God told Moses and Aaron: “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them.”Emissary to Edom
Moses sent messengers to the king of EdomEdom
Edom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...
asking him to allow the Israelites to cross Edom, without passing through fields or vineyards, and without drinking water from wells. But the Edomites would not let the Israelites pass through, and turned out in heavy force to block their way, and the Israelites turned away.
Aaron’s death
At Mount HorMount Hor
Mount Hor is the name given in the Old Testament to two distinct mountains. One is in the Land of Edom on the East shore of the Dead Sea , the other by the Mediterranean Sea at the Northern border of the Land of Israel.-Mount Hor in Edom:This Mount Hor is situated "in the edge of the land of Edom"...
, God told Moses and Aaron: “Let Aaron be gathered to his kin: he is not to enter the land that I have assigned to the Israelite people, because you disobeyed my command about the waters of Meribah
Meribah
Meribah is one of the locations which the Torah identifies as having been travelled through by the Israelites, during the Exodus, although the continuous list of visited stations in the Book of Numbers doesn't mention it...
.” Moses took Aaron and his son Eleazar
Eleazar
Eleazar , was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second Kohen Gadol - succeeding his father Aaron. He was a nephew of Moses.-Life:...
up on Mount Hor, and there he stripped Aaron of his vestments and put them on Eleazar, and Aaron died there. The Israelites mourned Aaron 30 days.
Victory over Arad
The king of Arad engaged the Israelites in battle and took some of them captive. The Israelites vowed that if God gave them victory, they would destroy Arad. God delivered up the Canaanites, and the Israelites killed them and destroyed their cities, calling the place HormahHormah
Hormah , also known by its Canaanite name Zephath in an unidentified city in the Hebrew Bible, mentioned as one of the cities captured by Joshua...
.
Serpents
The people grew restive and spoke against God and Moses, so God let loose serpents that killed many of the Israelites. The people came to Moses, admitted their sin by speaking against God, and asked Moses to intercede with God to take away the serpents, and Moses did so. God told Moses to mount a serpent figure on a standard, saying: “If anyone who is bitten looks at it, he shall recover.”Victories over Sihon and Og
The Israelites traveled on, and sent messengers to SihonSihon
Sihon, according to the Old Testament, was an Amorite king, who refused to let the Israelites pass through his country. The Bible describes that as the Israelites in their Exodus came to the country east of the Jordan, near Heshbon, King of the Amorites refused to let them pass through his...
, king of the Amorite
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
s, asking that he allow them to pass through his country, without entering the fields or vineyards, and without drinking water from wells. But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory and engaged the Israelites in battle. The Israelites defeated the Amorites and took possession of their land and towns.
Then the Israelites marched on, and King Og
Og
Og, according to the bible, was an Amorite king of Bashan who, along with his army, was slain by Moses and his men at the battle of Edrei...
of Bashan
Bashan
Bashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth", where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
engaged them in battle. The Israelites defeated his forces and took possession of his country. The Israelites then marched to the steppes of Moab
Moab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
, across the Jordan River from Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
.
Corpse contamination
The discussion of the red cow mixture for decontamination from corpse contamination in is one of a series of passages in the Hebrew BibleTanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
setting out the teaching that contact with the dead is antithetical to purity.
In Leviticus God instructed Moses to direct the priests not to allow themselves to become defiled by contact with the dead, except for a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister. And the priests were not to engage in mourning rituals of making baldness upon their heads, shaving off the corners of their beards, or cutting their flesh.
In God instructed Moses to command the Israelites to put out of the camp every person defiled by contact with the dead, so that they would not defile their camps, in the midst of which God dwelt.
sets out a procedure for a red cow mixture for decontamination from corpse contamination.
In its profession associated with tithing, Deuteronomy instructed Israelites to aver that they had not eaten from the tithe in mourning, nor put away any of it while unclean, nor given any of it to the dead.
In Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
the prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Ezekiel
Ezekiel
Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...
cites the burial of kings within the Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
as one of the practices that defiled the Temple and cause God to abandon it.
In the Hebrew Bible, uncleanness has a variety of associations. 11; 11; and and associate it with death. And perhaps similarly, associates it with childbirth, and associates it with skin disease. associates it with various sexuality-related events. And Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
23; and and Hosea
Book of Hosea
The Book of Hosea is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It stands first in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets.-Background and Content:...
associate it with contact with the worship of alien gods.
Numbers chapter 19
Tractate Parah in the MishnahMishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
and Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
interpreted the laws of the red cow in (Mishnah Parah 1:1–12:11; Tosefta Parah 1:1–12:19.)
Rabbi Tanhum son of Rabbi Hannilai taught that was one of two sections in the Torah (along with on corpse contamination) that Moses gave the Israelites in writing that are both pure, dealing with the law of purity. Rabbi Tanhum taught that they were given on account of the tribe of Levi
Levite
In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their inheritance"...
, of whom it is written (in ), “he [God’s messenger] shall purify the sons of Levi
Levi
Levi/Levy was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi ; however Peake's commentary suggests this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
and purge them.” (Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
26:3.)
Adar
Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days...
began on a Sabbath, then the section on the red cow in was read on the third Sabbath of the month (thus preceding Passover, so as to caution the people to purify themselves in preparation for eating the Passover sacrifice). (Mishnah Megillah 3:4; Tosefta Megillah 3:3.)
Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in the name of Rabbi Levi that the Evil Inclination criticizes four laws as without logical basis, and Scripture uses the expression “statute” (chuk) in connection with each: the laws of (1) a brother’s wife
Levirate marriage
Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obligated to marry his brother's widow, and the widow is obligated to marry her deceased husband's brother....
(in ), (2) mingled kinds (in and ), (3) the scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
(in ), and (4) the red cow (in ). In connection with the red cow, the Mishnah noted the paradox that the garments of all those who took any part in the preparation of the red cow became defiled, but the cow itself made garments ritually clean. (Mishnah Parah 4:4.) And applies the term “statute” to the red cow. (Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
19:5; see also Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Yoma 67b on “statutes” generally.)
A midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
taught that an idolater once asked Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai
Yochanan ben Zakai
Johanan ben Zakai , also known as Johanan B. Zakkai was one of the tannaim, an important Jewish sage in the era of the Second Temple, and a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinical Judaism, the Mishnah. He is widely regarded as one of the most important Jewish figures of his time...
about the red cow, likening its procedures to witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. Rabban Johanan asked the idolater what he had seen done for a man possessed by a demon of madness. The idolater explained how in such a case, they would bring roots, make them smoke under the madman, sprinkle water on the man, and the demon would flee. Rabban Johanan told him that the red cow dealt similarly with the spirit of uncleanness, as says: “And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit
Unclean spirit
In English translations of the Bible, unclean spirit is a common rendering of Greek pneuma akatharton , which in its single occurrence in the Septuagint translates Hebrew ....
to pass out of the land.” Rabban Johanan told him that when they sprinkled the water of purification on the unclean, the spirit of uncleanness fled. But when the idolater had gone, Rabban Johanan’s disciples told Rabban Johanan that they saw that he had put off the idolater with a mere makeshift, and asked him what explanation Rabban Johanan would give them. Rabban Johanan told his disciples that the dead did not defile nor the water purify; God had merely laid down a statute, issued a decree, and commanded that we not transgress the decree, as says: “This is the statute of the law.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:8.)
Expounding upon the commandment of the red cow in Rabbi Jose ben Hanina taught that God told Moses the reason for the commandment, but to everyone else it would remain merely a statute. (Numbers Rabbah 19:6.)
All other communal sacrifices were of male animals, but the red cow was of a female animal. Rabbi Aibu explained the difference with a parable: When a handmaiden’s boy polluted a king’s palace, the king called on the boy’s mother to clear away the filth. In the same way, God called on the red cow to come and atone for the incident of the golden calf
Golden calf
According to the Hebrew Bible, the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai...
. (Numbers Rabbah 19:8.)
Rabbi Eliezer
Eliezer ben Hurcanus
Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a Kohen, was one of the most prominent tannaim of the 1st and 2nd centuries, disciple of R. Johanan ben Zakkai and colleague of Gamaliel II, whose sister he married , and of Joshua ben Hananiah...
ruled that the calf (עֶגְלָה, eglah) prescribed in had to be no more than one year old and the red cow (פָרָה, parah) prescribed in had to be two years old. But the Sages ruled that the calf could be even two years old and the red cow could be three or four years old. Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishna. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation . According to legend , his father was a descendant of the Roman Emperor Nero who had converted to Judaism. His wife Bruriah is...
ruled that the red cow could be even five years old, but they did not wait with an older cow, as it might in the meantime grow some black hairs and thus become invalid. (Mishnah Parah 1:1.)
Rabbi Eliezer ruled that a red cow that was pregnant was nonetheless valid, but the Sages ruled it invalid. Rabbi Eliezer ruled that the red cow could not be purchased from Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
s, but the Sages ruled that such cow could be valid. (Mishnah Parah 2:1.) If the horns or the hoofs of the red cow were black, they were chopped off, and the red cow was then valid. The cow’s eye, teeth, and tongue could cause no invalidity. And a dwarf-like cow was nonetheless valid. If the red cow had a sebaceous cyst
Sebaceous cyst
A sebaceous cyst is a term that loosely refers to either epidermoid cysts or pilar cysts . Because an epidermoid cyst originates in the epidermis and a pilar cyst originates from hair follicles, by definition, neither type of cyst is strictly a sebaceous cyst...
and they cut it off, Rabbi Judah
Judah ben Ilai
Judah bar Ilai, also known as Judah ben Ilai, Rabbi Judah or Judah the Palestinian , was a tanna of the 2nd Century and son of Rabbi Ilai I. Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.Judah bar Ilai...
ruled the cow invalid, but Rabbi Simeon ruled it invalid only if no red hair grew in its place. (Mishnah Parah 2:2.)
A red cow born by a caesarean section
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
, the hire of a harlot, or the price of a dog was invalid. Rabbi Eliezer ruled it valid, for states, “You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God,” and the red cow was not brought into the Temple. The Mishnah taught that all blemishes that caused consecrated animals to be invalid as sacrifices also caused the red cow to be invalid. If one had ridden on the cow, leaned on it, hung on its tail, crossed a river with its help, doubled up its leading rope, or put one’s cloak on it, the cow was invalid. But if one had only fastened it by its leading rope or made for it a sandal to prevent it from slipping, or spread one’s cloak on it because of flies, it remained valid. The general rule was that wherever one did something for its own sake, the cow remained valid; but if one did something for the sake of another purpose, it invalidated the cow. (Mishnah Parah 2:3.) If a bird rested on the cow, it remained valid. If a bull mounted it, it became invalid; but Rabbi Judah ruled that if people brought the bull to mate with the cow, the cow became invalid, but if the bull did so on its own, the cow remained valid. (Mishnah Parah 2:4.)
If a cow had two black or white hairs growing within one follicle, it was invalid. Rabbi Judah said even within one hollow. If the hairs grew within two adjacent follicles, the cow was invalid. Rabbi Akiba ruled that even if there were four or even five non-red hairs, if they were dispersed, they could be plucked out. Rabbi Eliezer ruled that even as many as 50 such hairs could be plucked. But Rabbi Joshua ben Bathyra ruled that even if it had only one non-red hair on its head and one on its tail, it was invalid. If the cow had two hairs in one follicle with their roots black and their tips red or with their roots red and their tips black, Rabbi Meir taught that what was visible determined validity; but the Sages ruled that validity followed the root. (Mishnah Parah 2:5.)
Rav Judah
Judah ben Ezekiel
Judah ben Ezekiel , was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation. He was the most prominent disciple of Rav , in whose house he often stayed, and whose son Hiyya was his pupil...
reported in Samuel’s
Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia...
name an account of the rarity of completely red cows: When they asked Rabbi Eliezer how far the honor due parents extended, Rabbi Eliezer told of a non-Jew from Ashkelon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
named Dama son of Nethinah. The Sages offered Dama a profit of 600,000 gold denarii
Denarius
In the Roman currency system, the denarius was a small silver coin first minted in 211 BC. It was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased until its replacement by the antoninianus...
(or Rav Kahana said 800,000 denarii) in exchange for jewels that he had that the Sages could use in the ephod
Ephod
An ephod was an article of clothing, and a worship object, in ancient Israelite culture, and was closely connected with oracular practices....
, but as the key to the jewels lay under Dama’s father’s pillow, Dama declined the offer so as not to trouble his father. The next year, God rewarded Dama by causing a red cow to be born in his herd. When the Sages went to buy it, Dama told them that he knew that he could ask for all the money in the world and they would pay it, but he asked for only the money that he had lost in honoring his father. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 31a.)
Rabbi Eliezer noted that both (with regard to burning the Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
sin offerings) and (with regard to slaughtering the red cow) say “outside the camp.” Rabbi Eliezer concluded that both actions had to be conducted outside the three camps of the Israelites, and in the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, both actions had to be conducted to the east of Jerusalem. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 68a.)
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
brought for himself on Yom Kippur in Rabbi Isaac taught that a lay Israelite could slaughter one of the two, but not the other, but Rabbi Isaac did not know which was which. The Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
reported that Rav
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
and Samuel disagreed about the answer. Rav held it invalid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the red cow and valid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the High Priest’s bull, while Samuel held it invalid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the High Priest’s bull and valid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the red cow. The Gemara reported that Rav Zeira
Rav Zeira
Ze'era or Zeira was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the 3rd generation. He was born in Babylonia, where he spent his early youth. He was a pupil of Ḥisda , of Huna , and of Judah b. Ezekiel in Pumbedita.He associated also with other prominent teachers of...
(or some say Rav Zeira in the name of Rav) said that the slaughtering of the red cow by a lay Israelite was invalid, and Rav deduced from this statement the importance that specifies “Eleazar” and specifies that the law of the red cow is a “statute” (and thus required precise execution). But the Gemara challenged Rav’s conclusion that the use of the terms “Eleazar” and “statute” in in connection with the red cow decided the matter, for in connection with the High Priest’s bull, specifies “Aaron,” and calls the law of a “statute,” as well. The Gemara supposed that the characterization of of the law as a “statute” might apply to only the Temple services described in and the slaughtering of the High Preist’s bull might be regarded as not a Temple service. But the Gemara asked whether the same logic might apply to the red cow, as well, as it was not a Temple service, either. The Gemara posited that one might consider the red cow to have been in the nature of an offering for Temple upkeep. Rav Shisha son of Rav Idi taught that the red cow was like the inspection of skin diseases in which was not a Temple service, yet required a priest's participation. The Gemara then turned to Samuel’s position, that a lay Israelite could kill the red cow. Samuel interpreted the words “and he shall slay it before him” in to mean that a lay Israelite could slaughter the cow as Eleazar watched. The Gemara taught that Rav, on the other hand, explained the words “and he shall slay it before him” in to enjoin Eleazar not to divert his attention from the slaughter of the red cow. The Gemara reasoned that Samuel deduced that Eleazer must not divert his attention from the words “and the heifer shall be burnt in his sight” in (which one could similarly read to imply an injunction for Eleazar to pay close attention). And Rav explained the words “in his sight” in one place to refer to the slaughtering, and in the other to the burning, and the law enjoined his attention to both. In contrast, the Gemara posited that Eleazar might not have needed to pay close attention to the casting in of cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet, because they were not part of the red cow itself. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 42a–b.)
Ulla
Ulla (Talmud)
Ulla or Ulla was a Jewish Talmudist and one of the leading Halakhic amoraim in the Land of Israel during the latter part of the third and in the beginning of the fourth centuries CE ....
interpreted the words “and he shall bring it forth” in to teach that he could not bring forth another cow with the red cow. As the Mishnah taught (in Mishnah Parah 3:7), if the red cow refused to go forth, one could not send a black cow with the red cow, lest people say that they slaughtered a black cow, nor could two red cows be brought forth together, lest people say that they slaughtered two. Rabbi (or others say Rabbi Jose
Jose ben Halafta
Rabbi Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a Tanna of the fourth generation . Jose was a student of Rabbi Akiba and was regarded as one of the foremost scholars of halakha and aggadah of his day...
) taught that a second cow was not to be taken out because says “and he shall bring it forth” and “it” implies by itself. The Gemara taught that the teaching of the Mishnah and Rabbi differed in the case of whether one could bring forth a donkey with the red cow. (According to the Mishnah, that would be permitted, because the presence of the donkey would not mislead people that they were sacrificing the donkey, but according to Rabbi, it would be forbidden, for “it” excludes permission for any other animal to be brought forth together with the red cow.) (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 42b.)
Ulla interpreted the words “And he shall slay it” in to teach that one could not slaughter any other one with it. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 43a.)
Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah is the midrash to Exodus, containing in the printed editions 52 parashiyyot. It is not uniform in its composition.- Structure :In parashiyyot i.-xiv...
17:1.) Noting that the cedar was among the tallest of tall trees and the hyssop was among the lowest of low plants, the midrash associated the cedar with arrogance and the hyssop with humility. (Numbers Rabbah 19:3; Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah is an haggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the Biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without comment. In the list of the old sedarim for the Bible four sedarim are assigned to...
7:35.)
Rabbi Isaac noted two red threads, one in connection with the red cow in and the other in connection with the scapegoat in the Yom Kippur service of (which Mishnah Yoma 4:2 indicates was marked with a red thread). Rabbi Isaac had heard that one required a definite size, while the other did not, but he did not know which was which. Rav Joseph reasoned that because (as Mishnah Yoma 6:6 explains) the red thread of the scapegoat was divided, that thread required a definite size, whereas that of the red cow, which did not need to be divided, did not require a definite size. Rami bar Hama
Rami bar Hama
Rami bar Hama was a Babylonian amora of the third generation, a pupil of R. Ḥisda, and a fellow student of Raba, who was somewhat his junior ....
objected that the thread of the red cow required a certain weight (to be cast into the flames, as described in ). Rava
Rava (amora)
For the third generation Amora sage of Babylon, with a similar name, see: Joseph b. Hama .Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama, who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava , was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora, born in 270. He is one of the most often-cited Rabbis...
said that the matter of this weight was disputed by Tannaim
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
(as explained below). Abaye
Abaye
Abaye was a rabbi of the Jewish Talmud who lived in Babylonia [בבל], known as an amora [אמורא] born about the close of the third century; died 339 . His father, Kaylil, was the brother of Rabbah bar Nachmani, a teacher at the Academy of Pumbedita. Abaye's real name was Nachmani, after his...
objected (based on Mishnah Parah 3:11) that they wrapped the red thread together with the cedar wood and hyssop. Rabbi Hanin said in the name of Rav that if the cedar wood and the red thread were merely caught by the flame, they were used validly. They objected to Rabbi Hanin based on a Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
which taught that if the thread caught fire in midair, they brought another thread to prepare the water of lustration. Abaye reconciled the two opinions by interpreting the Baraita to speak of a flame that blazed high above the cow, and interpreting Rabbi Hanin to speak of a subdued flame that consumed the thread near the burning cow. Rava explained the dispute among Tannaim about the weight of the red thread in connection with the red cow. Rabbi taught that they wrapped the cedar wood and hyssop together with the red thread so that they formed one bunch. Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Simeon said that they wrapped them together so that they had sufficient weight to fall into the midst of the burning cow. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b.)
When Rav Dimi came from the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
, he said in the name of Rabbi Johanan
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
that there were three red threads: one in connection with the red cow, the second in connection with the scapegoat, and the third in connection with the person with skin disease (the m’tzora
Tzaraath
The Hebrew noun tzaraath describes a disfigurative condition mainly referred to in chapters 13-14 of Leviticus, as well as conditions equivalent to be "mildew" on clothes and houses.Tzaraath affects both animate...
) in Rav Dimi reported that one weighed ten zuz
Zuz (coin)
A Zuz was an ancient Hebrew silver coin struck during the Bar Kochba revolt. They were overstruck on Roman Imperial denarii or Roman provincial drachmas of Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Trajan and Hadrian...
, another weighed two selas, and the third weighed a shekel
Shekel
Shekel , is any of several ancient units of weight or of currency. The first usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. Initially, it may have referred to a weight of barley...
, but he could not say which was which. When Rabin came, he said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan that the thread in connection with the red cow weighed ten zuz, that of the scapegoat weighed two selas, and that of the person with skin disease weighed a shekel. Rabbi Johanan said that Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta and the Sages disagreed about the thread of the red cow, one saying that it weighed ten shekels, the other that it weighed one shekel. Rabbi Jeremiah of Difti said to Ravina
Ravina I
Ravina I was a Jewish Talmudist, and rabbi, accounted as an Amora sage of the 5th and 6th generation of the Amora era. He began the process of compiling the Talmud with Rav Ashi. He died in 421. The Talmud was ultimately completed by his nephew Ravina II....
that they disagreed not about the thread of the red cow, but about that of the scapegoat. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b–42a.)
The Mishnah taught that seven days before the burning of the red cow, they removed the priest who was to burn the cow from his house to a room called the stone chamber facing the north-eastern corner of the Temple. The Mishnah taught that throughout the seven days, they sprinkled on the priest a mixture of all the sin-offerings that were there, but Rabbi Jose taught that they sprinkled only on the third and the seventh days. And Rabbi Hanina the Deputy High Priest taught that on the priest who was to burn the cow they sprinkled all the seven days, but on the one who was to perform the service on Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
they sprinkled only on the third and the seventh days. (Mishnah Parah 3:1.)
To protect against defilement from contact with the dead, they built courtyards over bedrock, and left beneath them a hollow to serve as protection against a grave in the depths. They used to bring pregnant women there to give birth and rear their children in this ritually pure place. They placed doors on the backs of oxen and placed the children upon them with stone cups in their hands. When the children reached the pool of Siloam
Siloam
Siloam is an ancient Greek name derived from the more ancient Hebrew Shiloah. The Arabic, Silwan, was derived form the Greek, Siloam. It is an ancient site in Jerusalem, south of the Old City.-Antiquity:...
, the children stepped down, filled the cups with water, and then climbed back up on the doors. Rabbi Jose said that each child used to let down his cup and fill it from on top of the oxen. (Mishnah Parah 3:2.) When the children arrived at the Temple Mount with the water, they got down. Beneath the Temple Mount and the Temple courtyards was a hollow, which protected against contamination from a grave in the depths. At the entrance of the court of the women, they kept a jar of the ashes of the sin-offerings. (Mishnah Parah 3:3.) If they did not find the residue of the ashes of seven red cows, they performed the sprinkling with those of six, of five, of four, of three, of two or of one. (Mishnah Parah 3:5.)
Ezra
Ezra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...
prepared the second, and five were prepared since then. But the Sages taught that seven were prepared since Ezra. They said that Simeon the Just
Simeon the Just
Simeon the Just was a Jewish High Priest during the time of the Second Temple...
and Johanan the High Priest prepared two each, and Eliehoenai the son of Hakof, Hanamel the Egyptian, and Ishmael the son of Piabi each prepared one. (Mishnah Parah 3:5.)
The Mishnah taught that they bound the red cow with a bast rope and placed it on the pile with its head towards the south and its face towards the west. The priest stood on the east side facing west. He slaughtered the cow with his right hand and received the blood with his left hand. But Rabbi Judah said that he received the blood with his right hand, put it on his left hand, and then sprinkled with his right hand. He dipped his finger in the blood and sprinkled it towards the Holy of Holies
Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur...
seven times, dipping once for each sprinkling. (Mishnah Parah 3:9.)
The Mishnah taught that during the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, all the walls of the Temple were high except the eastern wall. This was so that the priest who burned the red cow, while standing on the top of the Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
, might see the door of the main Temple building when he sprinkled the blood. (Mishnah Middot 2:4.)
The Mishnah taught that when the priest had finished the sprinkling, he wiped his hand on the body of the cow, climbed down, and kindled the fire with wood chips. But Rabbi Akiba said that he kindled the fire with dry branches of palm trees. (Mishnah Parah 3:9.) When the cow’s carcass burst in the fire, the priest took up a position outside the pit, took hold of the cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool, and said to the observers: “Is this cedar wood? Is this hyssop? Is this scarlet wool?” He repeated each question three times, and the observers answered “Yes” three times to each question. (Mishnah Parah 3:10.) The priest then wrapped the cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool together with the ends of the wool and cast them into the burning pyre. When the fire burned out, they beat the ashes with rods and then sifted them with sieves. They then divided the ashes into three parts: One part was deposited on the rampart, one on the Mount of Olives, and one was divided among the courses of priests who performed the Temple services in turn. (Mishnah Parah 3:11.)
Reading the Mishnah noted that the person who burned the red cow (as well as the person who burned the bulls burned pursuant to or and the person who led away the scapegoat pursuant to and 26) rendered unclean the clothes worn while so doing. But the red cow (as well as the bull and the scapegoat) did not itself render unclean clothes with which it came in contact. The Mishnah imagined the clothing saying to the person: “Those that render you unclean do not render me unclean, but you render me unclean.” (Mishnah Parah 8:3.)
Tractate Oholot
Oholot
Oholot is the second tractate of the Order of Tohorot in the Mishnah. It consists of eighteen chapters, which discuss the ritual impurity of corpses, and the peculiar quality they have to make all objects in the same tent-like structure impure as well...
in the Mishnah and Tosefta interpreted the laws of corpse contamination in (Mishnah Oholot 1:1–18:10; Tosefta Oholot 1:1–18:18.)
Ulla taught that the Rabbis ruled the skin of dead people contaminating so as to prevent people from fashioning their parents’ skin into keepsakes. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 122a.) Similarly, the Mishnah taught that the Sadducees
Sadducees
The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...
mocked the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
, because the Pharisees taught that the Holy Scrolls rendered unclean the hands that touched them, but the books of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
did not. In response, Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai noted that both the Pharisees and the Saducees taught that a donkey’s bones were clean, yet the bones of Johanan the High Priest
Johanan (High Priest)
Johanan , son of Joiada, was the fifth Jewish high priest after the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem by the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian captivity. His reign is estimated to have been from c. 410-371 BCE; he was succeeded by his son Jaddua. The bible gives no details about his life...
were unclean. The Saducees replied to Rabban Johanan that the uncleanness of human bones flowed from the love for them, so that people should not make keepsakes out of their parents’ bones. Rabban Johanan replied that the same was true of the Holy Scriptures, for their uncleanness flowed from the love for them. Homer’s books, which were not as precious, thus did not render unclean the hands that touched them. (Mishnah Yadayim 4:6.)
Rabbi Akiba interpreted the words “and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean” in to teach that if the sprinkler sprinkled upon an unclean person, the person became clean, but if he sprinkled upon a clean person, the person became unclean. The Gemara explained that Rabbi Akiba’s view hinged on the superfluous words “upon the unclean,” which must have been put in to teach this. But the Sages held that these effects of sprinkling applied only in the case of things that were susceptible to uncleanness. The Gemara explained that the Rabbis’ view could be deduced from the logical proposition that the greater includes the lesser: If sprinkling upon the unclean makes clean, how much more so should sprinkling upon the clean keep clean or make cleaner? And the Gemara said that it is with reference to Rabbi Akiba’s position that Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
said in “I said, ‘I will get wisdom,’ but it is far from me.” That is, even Solomon could not explain it. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 14a.)
Rabbi Joshua ben Kebusai taught that all his days he had read the words “and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean” in and only discovered its meaning from the storehouse of Yavneh
Yavne
Yavne is a city in the Central District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a population of 33,000.-History:...
. And from the storehouse of Yavneh Rabbi Joshua ben Kebusai learned that one clean person could sprinkle even a hundred unclean persons. (Tosefta Demai 1:14, Makhshirin 3:15.)
Numbers chapter 20
Rabbi AmmiRabbi Ammi
Ammi, Aimi, Immi is the name of several Jewish Talmudists, known as amoraim, who lived in the Land of Israel and Babylonia. In the Babylonian Talmud the first form only is used; in the Jerusalem Talmud all three forms appear, Immi predominating, and sometimes R. Ammi is contracted into "Rabmi" or...
taught that the Torah places the account of Miriam's death in immediately after the laws of the red cow in to teach that even as the red cow provided atonement, so the death of the righteous provides atonement for those whom they leave behind. ( Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 28a.)
Rabbi Eleazar taught that Miriam died with a Divine kiss, just as Moses had. As says, “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab by the mouth of the Lord,” and says, “And Miriam died there” — both using the word “there” — Rabbi Eleazar deduced that both Moses and Miriam died the same way. Rabbi Eleazar explained that does not say that Miriam died “by the mouth of the Lord” because it would be indelicate to say so. ( Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 28a.)
Rabbi Jose the son of Rabbi Judah taught that three good leaders arose for Israel — Moses, Aaron, and Miriam — and for their sake Providence conferred three good things on Israel — the well that accompanied the Israelites on their journeys for the merit of Miriam, the pillar of cloud for the merit of Aaron, and the manna
Manna
Manna or Manna wa Salwa , sometimes or archaically spelled mana, is the name of an edible substance that God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert according to the Bible.It was said to be sweet to the taste, like honey....
for the merit of Moses. When Miriam died, the well disappeared, as reports, “And Miriam died there,” and immediately thereafter reports, “And there was no water for the congregation.” The well returned for the merit of Moses and Aaron. When Moses died, the well, the pillar of cloud, and the manna all disappeared, as Zechariah
Book of Zechariah
The Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
reports, “And I cut off the three shepherds in one month.” (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 9a.)
The Mishnah counted the well that accompanied the Israelites through the desert in the merit of Miriam, or others say, the well that Moses opened by striking the rock in among ten miraculous things that God created at twilight on the eve of the first Sabbath. (Mishnah Avot 5:6.)
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
says, “Behold, He smote the rock, that waters issued.” Then the people ridiculed Moses, asking if this was water for sucklings, or babes weaned from milk. So Moses lost his temper and struck the rock “twice; and water came forth abundantly” (in the words of ), overwhelming all those who had railed at Moses, and as says, “And streams overflowed.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:9.)
Reading God’s criticism of Moses in “Because you did not believe in Me,” a midrash asked whether Moses had not previously said worse when in he showed a greater lack of faith and questioned God’s powers asking: “If flocks and herds be slain for them, will they suffice them? Or if all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, will they suffice them?” The midrash explained by relating the case of a king who had a friend who displayed arrogance towards the king privately, using harsh words. The king did not, however, lose his temper with his friend. Later, the friend displayed his arrogance in the presence of the king’s legions, and the king sentenced his friend to death. So also God told Moses that the first offense that Moses committed (in ) was a private matter between Moses and God. But now that Moses had committed a second offense against God in public, it was impossible for God to overlook it, and God had to react, as reports, “To sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:10.)
Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar taught that Moses and Aaron died because of their sin, as reports God told them, “Because you did not believe in Me . . . you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar thus taught that had they believed in God, their time would not yet have come to depart from the world. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 55b.)
The Gemara implied that the sin of Moses in striking the rock at Meribah compared favorably to the sin of David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
. The Gemara reported that Moses and David were two good leaders of Israel. Moses begged God that his sin be recorded, as it is in and and David, however, begged that his sin be blotted out, as says, “Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned.” The Gemara compared the cases of Moses and David to the cases of two women whom the court sentenced to be lashed. One had committed an indecent act, while the other had eaten unripe figs of the seventh year in violation of The woman who had eaten unripe figs begged the court to make known for what offense she was being flogged, lest people say that she was being punished for the same sin as the other woman. The court thus made known her sin, and the Torah repeatedly records the sin of Moses. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 86b.)
Resh Lakish taught that Providence punishes bodily those who unjustifiably suspect the innocent. In Moses said that the Israelites “will not believe me,” but God knew that the Israelites would believe. God thus told Moses that the Israelites were believers and descendants of believers, while Moses would ultimately disbelieve. The Gemara explained that reports that “the people believed” and Genesis reports that the Israelites’ ancestor Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
“believed in the Lord,” while reports that Moses “did not believe.” Thus, Moses was smitten when in God turned his hand white as snow. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 97a.)
A midrash employed a parable to explain why God held Aaron as well as Moses responsible when Moses struck the rock, as reports, “and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ‘Because you did not believe in Me.’” The midrash told how a creditor came to take away a debtor's granary and took both the debtor's granary and the debtor's neighbor’s granary. The debtor asked the creditor what his neighbor had done to warrant such treatment. Similarly, Moses asked God what Aaron had done to be blamed when Moses lost his temper. The midrash taught that it on this account that praises Aaron, saying, “And of Levi he said: ‘Your Thummim and your Urim
Urim and Thummim
In ancient Israelite religion and culture, Urim and Thummim is a phrase from the Hebrew Scriptures or Torah associated with the Hoshen , divination in general, and cleromancy in particular...
be with your holy one, whom you proved at Massah
Massah
Massah is one of the locations which the Torah identifies as having been travelled through by the Israelites, during the Exodus, although the list of visited stations in the Book of Numbers doesn't mention it...
, with whom you strove at the waters of Meribah.’” (Numbers Rabbah 19:9.)
A midrash interpreted the name “Mount Hor” (הֹר הָהָר, hor hahar) in to mean a mountain on top of a mountain, like a small apple on top of a larger apple. The midrash taught that the Cloud went before the Israelites to level mountains and raise valleys so that the Israelites would not become exhausted, except that God left Mount Sinai for the Divine Presence, Mount Hor for the burial of Aaron, and Mount Nebo for the burial of Moses. (Midrash Tanhuma
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of R. Tanḥuma, must not be regarded as having been written or edited by him...
Chukas 14.)
A midrash noted the use of the verb “take” (קַח, kach) in and interpreted it to mean that God instructed Moses to take Aaron with comforting words. The midrash thus taught that Moses comforted Aaron by explaining to him that he would pass his crown on to his son, a fate that Moses himself would not merit. (Midrash Tanhuma Chukas 17; Numbers Rabbah 19:19.)
The Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
taught that when Moses saw the merciful manner of Aaron’s death, Moses concluded that he would want to die the same way. The Sifre taught that God told Aaron to go in a cave, to climb onto a bier, to spread his hands, to spread his legs, to close his mouth, and to close his eyes, and then Aaron died. At that moment, Moses concluded that one would be happy to die that way. And that is why God later told Moses in that Moses would die “as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people,” for that was the manner of death that Moses had wanted. (Sifre to Deuteronomy 339:3.)
A midrash interpreted the words “all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead” in The midrash taught that when Moses and Eleazar descended from the mountain without Aaron, all the congregation assembled against Moses and Eleazar and demanded to know where Aaron was. When Moses and Eleazar answered that Aaron had died, the congregation objected that surely the Angel of Death could not strike the one who had withstood the Angel of Death and had restrained him, as reported in “And he stood between the dead and the living and the plague was stayed.” The congregation demanded that Moses and Eleazar bring Aaron back, or they would stone Moses and Eleazar. Moses prayed to God to deliver them from suspicion, and God immediately opened the cave and showed the congregation Aaron’s body, as reflected by the words of that “all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:20.)
Numbers chapter 21
The GemaraGemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
deduced that what the King of Arad heard in was that Aaron had died and that the clouds of glory had dispersed, as the previous verse, reports that “all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead.” The King thus concluded that he had received permission to fight the Israelites. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 3a.)
A midrash taught that of four who made vows, two vowed and profited, and two vowed and lost. The Israelites vowed and profited in and Hannah
Hannah (Bible)
Hannah is the wife of Elkanah mentioned in the Books of Samuel. According to the Hebrew Bible she was the mother of Samuel...
vowed and profited in 1 Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
Jephthah vowed and lost in Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
and Jacob vowed in and lost (some say in the loss of Rachel in and some say in the disgrace of Dinah in for Jacob’s vow in was superfluous, as Jacob had already received God's promise, and therefore Jacob lost because of it). (Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 70:3.)
A midrash taught that according to some authorities, Israel fought Sihon in the month of Elul
Elul
Elul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...
, celebrated the Festival in Tishri, and after the Festival fought Og. The midrash inferred this from the similarity of the expression in “And you shall turn in the morning, and go to your tents,” which speaks of an act that was to follow the celebration of a Festival, and the expression in “and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people.” The midrash inferred that God assembled the Amorites to deliver them into the Israelites’ hands, as says, “and the Lord said to Moses: ‘Fear him not; for I have delivered him into your hand.” The midrash taught that Moses was afraid, as he thought that perhaps the Israelites had committed a trespass in the war against Sihon, or had soiled themselves by the commission of some transgression. God reassured Moses that he need not fear, for the Israelites had shown themselves perfectly righteous. The midrash taught that there was not a mighty man in the world more difficult to overcome than Og, as says, “only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The midrash told that Og had been the only survivor of the strong men whom Amraphel
Amraphel
In the Tanakh or Old Testament, Amraphel was a king of Shinar in Genesis xiv.1 and 9, who invaded the west along with Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and others, and defeated Sodom and the other Cities of the Plain in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim.Beginning with E...
and his colleagues had slain, as may be inferred from which reports that Amraphel “smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim,” and one may read to indicate that Og lived near Ashteroth. The midrash taught that Og was the refuse among the Rephaim, like a hard olive that escapes being mashed in the olive press. The midrash inferred this from which reports that “there came one who had escaped, and told Abram
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
the Hebrew,” and the midrash indentified the man who had escaped as Og, as describes him as a remnant, saying, “only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The midrash taught that Og intended that Abram should go out and be killed. God rewarded Og for delivering the message by allowing him to live all the years from Abraham to Moses, but God collected Og’s debt to God for his evil intention toward Abraham by causing Og to fall by the hand of Abraham’s descendants. On coming to make war with Og, Moses was afraid, thinking that he was only 120 years old, while Og was more than 500 years old, and if Og had not possessed some merit, he would not have lived all those years. So God told Moses (in the words of ), “fear him not; for I have delivered him into your land,” implying that Moses should slay Og with his own hand. The midrash noted that in God told Moses to “do to him as you did to Sihon,” and reports that the Israelites “utterly destroyed them,” but reports, “All the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.” The midrash concluded that the Israelites utterly destroyed the people so as not to derive any benefit from them. (Numbers Rabbah 19:32.)
The Mishnah taught that the brass serpent of effected its miraculous cure because when the Israelites directed their thoughts upward and turned their hearts to God they were healed, but otherwise they perished. (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8; Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 29a.)
The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael
Mekhilta
This article refers to the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael. There is a separate article on the Mekhilta de-Rabbi ShimonMekhilta or Mekilta is a halakic midrash to the Book of Exodus...
counted 10 songs in the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
: (1) the one that the Israelites recited at the first Passover in Egypt, as says, “You shall have a song as in the night when a feast is hallowed”; (2) the Song of the sea
Song of the sea
The Song of the Sea is a poem that appears in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Bible, at . It is followed in verses 20 and 21 by a much shorter song sung by Miriam and the other women...
in (3) the one that the Israelites sang at the well in the wilderness, as reports, “Then sang Israel this song: ‘Spring up, O well’”; (4) the one that Moses spoke in his last days, as reports, “Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song”; (5) the one that Joshua recited, as Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
reports, “Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorite
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
s”; (6) the one that Deborah
Deborah
Deborah was a prophetess of Yahweh the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, counselor, warrior, and the wife of Lapidoth according to the Book of Judges chapters 4 and 5....
and Barak
Barak
Barak , Al-Burāq the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, was a military general in the Book of Judges in the Bible. He was the commander of the army of Deborah, the prophetess and heroine of the Hebrew Bible...
sang, as reports, “Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam
Abinoam
Abinoam , from Kedesh-naphtali, was the father of Barak who defeated Jabin's army, led by Sisera .*Meaning: father of beauty, father of kindness, father of pleasantness...
”; (7) the one that David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
spoke, as reports, “David spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
”; (8) the one that Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
recited, as reports, “a song at the Dedication of the House of David
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
”; (9) the one that Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of the The Kingdom of Judah, and successor of his father Asa. His children included Jehoram, who succeeded him as king...
recited, as 2 Chronicles
Books of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
reports: “when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing to the Lord, and praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures for ever’”; and (10) the song that will be sung in the time to come, as says, “Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth,” and says, “Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of the saints.” (Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael Shirata 1:5.)
A midrash interpreted the Israelites’ encounter with Sihon in and Noting the report of that “Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying: ‘Let me pass through your land,’” the midrash taught that the Israelites sent messengers to Sihon just as they had to Edom to inform the Edomites that the Israelites would not cause Edom any damage. Noting the report of that the Israelites offered Sihon, “You shall sell me food for money . . . and give me water for money,” the midrash noted that water is generally given away for free, but the Israelites offered to pay for it. The midrash noted that in the Israelites offered, “We will go by the king's highway,” but in the Israelites admitted that they would go “until [they] shall pass over the Jordan,” thus admitting that they were going to conquer Canaan. The midrash compared the matter to a watchman who received wages to watch a vineyard, and to whom a visitor came and asked the watchman to go away so that the visitor could cut off the grapes from the vineyard. The watchman replied that the sole reason that the watchman stood guard was because of the visitor. The midrash explained that the same was true of Sihon, as all the kings of Canaan paid Sihon money from their taxes, since Sihon appointed them as kings. The midrash interpreted which says, “Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan,” to teach that Sihon and Og were the equal of all the other kings of Canaan. So the Israelites asked Sihon to let them pass through Sihon’s land to conquer the kings of Canaan, and Sihon replied that the sole reason that he was there was to protect the kings of Canaan from the Israelites. Interpreting the words of “and Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together,” the midrash taught that God brought this about designedly so as to deliver Sihon into the Israelites’ hands without trouble. The midrash interpreted the words of “Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon,” to say that if Heshbon had been full of mosquitoes, no person could have conquered it, and if Sihon had been living in a plain, no person could have prevailed over him. The midrash taught that Sihon thus would have been invincible, as he was powerful and dwelt in a fortified city. Interpreting the words, “Who dwelt at Heshbon,” the midrash taught that had Sihon and his armies remained in different towns, the Israelites would have worn themselves out conquering them all. But God assembled them in one place to deliver them into the Israelites’ hands without trouble. In the same vein, in God said, “Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon . . . before you,” and says, “Sihon gathered all his people together,” and reports, “And Israel took all these cities.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:29.)
Even though in and God forbade the Israelites from occupying the territory of Ammon and Moab, Rav Papa
Rav Papa
For the Amora sages of the Land of Israel,of the 3d Amoraic generetion, see Hanina b. Papi or Hanina ben Pappa.For another Babylonian Amora sage of the 5th Amoraic generetion, see Rav Papi....
taught that the land of Ammon and Moab that Sihon conquered (as reported in ) became purified for acquisition by the Israelites through Sihon’s occupation of it (as discussed in ). (Babylonian Talmud Gittin 38a.)
According to Maimonides
MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
cited a verse in the parshah for 1 positive commandment
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
:
- To prepare a red heifer so that its ashes are ready
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
, Positive Commandment 113. Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:125. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4.)
According to Sefer ha-Chinuch
According to Sefer ha-ChinuchSefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, there are 3 positive commandments in the parshah:
- The precept of the red heifer
- The precept of the ritual uncleanness of the dead
- The precept of the lustral water, that it defiles a ritually clean person and purifies only one defined by the dead
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 4:159–71. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1988. ISBN 0-87306-457-7.)
Generally
The haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for the parshah is Both the parshah and the haftarah involve diplomatic missions about land issues. In the parshah, Moses sent messengers and tried to negotiate passage over the lands of the Edomites and the Amorites of Sihon. In the haftarah, Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonites prior to hostilities over their land. In the course of Jephthah's message to the Ammonites, he recounted the embassies described in the parshah. ( ) And Jephthah's also recounted the Israelites' victory over the Amorites described in the parshah. Both the parshah and the haftarah involve vows. In the parshah, the Israelites vowed that if God delivered the Canaanites of Arad into their hands, then the Israelites would utterly destroy their cities. In the haftarah, Jephthah vowed that if God would deliver the Ammonites into his hand, then Jephthah would offer as a burnt-offering whatever first came forth out of his house to meet him when he returned. The haftarah concludes just before the verses that report that Jephthah's daughter was first to greet him, proving his vow to have been improvident.
For parshah Chukat–Balak
When parshah Chukat is combined with parshah Balak (as it is in 2009), the haftarah is the haftarah for Balak, MicahBook of Micah
The Book of Micah is one of fifteen prophetic books in the Hebrew bible/Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th century prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah...
For Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
When parshah Chukat coincides with Shabbat Rosh ChodeshRosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh or Rosh ḥodesh is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the appearance of the new moon. The new moon is marked by the day and hour that the new crescent is observed...
(as it does in 2011 and 2014), the haftarah is Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
In the liturgy
The people’s murmuring and perhaps the rock that yielded water at Meribah of are reflected in which is in turn the first of the six Psalms recited at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer serviceJewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
. (Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom may refer to any siddur in a family of siddurim, Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries on these siddurim, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism....
for Shabbat and Festivals, 15. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8.)
Ancient
- Ritual To Be Followed by the Kalu-Priest when Covering the Temple Kettle-Drum. Reprinted in James B. PritchardJames B. PritchardJames Bennett Pritchard was an American archeologist whose work explicated the interrelationships of the religions of ancient Israel, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon...
, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old TestamentAncient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old TestamentAncient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament edited by James B. Pritchard is an anthology of important historical, legal, mythological, liturgical, and secular texts from the ancient Near East. William W...
, 334-38. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 0-691-03503-2.
Biblical
49–52 (cedar wood, hyssop, and red stuff).- 2 KingsBooks of KingsThe Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
(bronze serpent). (purge with hyssop); 20, 35 (water from rock; they remembered that God was their Rock); (Meribah); (songs to God); (Meribah); (Sihon); (Sihon).
Early nonrabbinic
- JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, Antiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
4:4:5–7, 5:1–3. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
, 107–08. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8. - HebrewsEpistle to the HebrewsThe Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his...
9:13–14 (red cow); 9:19 (scarlet wool and hyssop). Late 1st Century. - JohnGospel of JohnThe Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
3:14–15 (serpent); 19:29 (hyssop). - Quran 2:67–73 (command to slaughter a heifer).
Classical rabbinic
- MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
: Shekalim 4:2; Rosh Hashanah 3:8; Megillah 3:4; Avot 5:6; Zevachim 14:1; Keritot 1:1; Oholot 1:1–18:10; Parah 1:1–12:11. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
, 256, 304, 321, 686, 729, 836, 950–81, 1012–35. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4. - ToseftaToseftaThe Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
: Demai 1:14; Sukkah 3:11–12; Megillah 3:3; Chagigah 3:20; Sotah 4:2; 6:7; 11:1; Oholot 1:1–18:18; Parah 1:1–12:19; Makhshirin 3:15. Land of Israel, circa 300 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:81, 576, 644, 678, 844, 857, 877; 2:1655–1707, 1745–77, 1886. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2. - Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Demai 31a; Kilayim 82a; Sheviit 47a; Terumot 58b; Yoma 1b, 2b, 23a–b, 47a. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 4–6b, 8, 21. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006–2011.
- Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Berakhot 19b, 23a, 28a, 54a, 58a, 63b; Shabbat 16b, 28a, 48b, 51b–52a, 55b, 58b, 60b, 64a, 83b, 84b, 95b, 97a, 101b, 108a, 109a, 137a; Eruvin 54a, 58a, 64b, 67b; Pesachim 14b, 17b, 26b, 34b, 54a, 56a, 65b, 67a, 68a, 70a, 78a, 79a, 92a; Yoma 2a, 4a, 6a, 8a–9a, 14a, 41b–43b, 52b, 68a, 75b, 86b; Sukkah 6a, 21a, 25b, 37a–b; Beitzah 32a; Rosh Hashanah 3a, 29a, 31a; Taanit 9a, 13a; Megillah 6b, 20a, 29a; Moed Katan 5a–b, 7b, 14a, 15b, 28a–b; Chagigah 3b, 4b, 11a, 22a–23a; Yevamot 61a, 71b, 72b–73a, 74a, 75a, 116b; Ketubot 106a; Nedarim 37a, 55a; Nazir 6b, 19a, 44b–45a, 49b, 53b–54a, 61b, 64a; Sotah 12b, 16b, 38b, 46a; Gittin 38a, 53a, 57b, 76a, 86b; Kiddushin 25a, 30b–31a, 36b, 58a–b, 62a; Bava Kamma 2b, 25b, 82b, 98a, 101b, 105a; Bava Metzia 10b, 56b, 58a, 78b, 93a, 114b; Bava Batra 17a; Sanhedrin 4a, 5b, 43b, 47b, 77b, 101b, 110a; Makkot 8a, 11a, 13a, 14b, 21b; Shevuot 6b, 7b, 11b, 16b, 19a; Avodah Zarah 5b, 23a–b, 29b, 32b, 37b, 44a, 46b; Horayot 9b; Zevachim 14b, 17b, 22b, 25b, 32b, 33b, 40a, 43b, 68b, 78b, 80a, 93a–b, 105b, 112a, 113a, 118a; Menachot 6b, 7b, 19a, 27a–b, 51b, 76b; Chullin 2b, 9b, 11a, 13b, 23b–24a, 25a, 29b, 32a, 60b, 62b, 71a–72a, 81b–82a, 88b, 92a, 121a, 124b; Bekhorot 45a, 55a; Arakhin 3a; Temurah 12b; Keritot 2a, 25a; Niddah 5b, 9a, 44a, 49a, 55a, 61a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
- Avot of Rabbi NatanAvot of Rabbi NatanAvot de-Rabbi Nathan , usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era . Although Avot de-Rabbi Nathan is the first and longest of the "minor tractates", it probably does not belong in that collection chronologically,...
, 12:1; 29:7; 34:6; 36:4. Circa 700–900 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan. Translated by Judah Goldin, 64, 120, 139, 150. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1955. ISBN 0-300-00497-4. The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan: An Analytical Translation and Explanation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 89, 179, 205, 217. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986. ISBN 1-55540-073-6. - RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Numbers 19–22. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 4:225–68. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-89906-029-3. - Judah HaleviYehuda HaleviJudah Halevi was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in Palestine in 1141...
. KuzariKuzariThe Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
. 3:53. ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 181. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
- Numbers RabbahNumbers RabbahNumbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
19:1–33. 12th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Numbers. Translated by Judah J. Slotki. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2. - Ecclesiastes RabbahEcclesiastes RabbahEcclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah is an haggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the Biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without comment. In the list of the old sedarim for the Bible four sedarim are assigned to...
7:23 - ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
3:179a–184b. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.
Modern
- Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
. LeviathanLeviathan (book)Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...
, 3:33; 4:45. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. MacphersonC. B. MacphersonCrawford Brough Macpherson O.C. M.Sc. D. Sc. was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.-Life:...
, 417, 675–76. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
- Samson Raphael HirschSamson Raphael HirschSamson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...
. Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances. Translated by Isidore Grunfeld, 514, 574, 582. London: Soncino Press, 1962. Reprinted 2002 ISBN 0-900689-40-4. Originally published as Horeb, Versuche über Jissroel’s Pflichten in der Zerstreuung. Germany, 1837. - Emily DickinsonEmily DickinsonEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
. Poem 168 (If the foolish, call them "flowers" —). Circa 1860. Poem 597 (It always felt to me — a wrong). Circa 1862. In The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, 79–80, 293–94. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. ISBN 0-316-18414-4. - Jacob MilgromJacob MilgromJacob Milgrom was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi, best known for his comprehensive Torah commentaries and work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.-Biography:...
. “Magic, Monotheism, and the Sin of Moses.” In The Quest for the Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of George E. Mendenhall. Edited by H. B. Huffmon, F.A. Spina, A.R.W. Green, 251–265. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1983. ISBN 0931464153. - Jacob Milgrom. The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, 157–84, 438–67. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990. ISBN 0-8276-0329-0.
- Mary DouglasMary DouglasDame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA was a British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture and symbolism....
. In the Wilderness: The Doctrine of Defilement in the Book of Numbers, xix, xxvi, 87, 100, 110, 112, 120–21, 123, 126, 130, 140–41, 147, 150, 159, 164, 166–67, 170, 188, 190–92, 199, 207–08, 211, 213, 215–16, 221, 226. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. Reprinted 2004. ISBN 0-19-924541-X. - Baruch A. Levine. Numbers 1–20, 4:455–95. New York: Anchor BibleAnchor Bible SeriesThe Anchor Bible project, consisting of a Commentary Series, Bible Dictionary, and Reference Library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture begun in 1956, when individual volumes in the commentary series began production...
, 1993. ISBN 0-385-15651-0. - Avram Israel Reisner. “Curiouser and Curiouser: The Kashrut of Genetically Engineered Foodstuffs.” New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1997. YD 87:10.1997. Reprinted in Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, 101, 105–06. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. ISBN 0-916219-19-4. (red heifer).
- William H.C. Propp. “Why Moses Could Not Enter The Promised Land.” Bible ReviewBible ReviewBible Review was a publication that sought to connect the academic study of the Bible to a broad general audience. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, Bible Review presented critical and historical interpretations of biblical texts, and “reader-friendly Biblical scholarship” from 1985 to...
. 14 (3) (June 1998). - Baruch A. Levine. Numbers 21–36, 4A:77–133. New York: Anchor BibleAnchor Bible SeriesThe Anchor Bible project, consisting of a Commentary Series, Bible Dictionary, and Reference Library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture begun in 1956, when individual volumes in the commentary series began production...
, 2000. ISBN 0-385-41256-8. - Suzanne A. Brody. “Listen You Rebels.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 98. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
- Hershel ShanksHershel ShanksHershel Shanks is the founder of the Biblical Archaeology Society and the editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review and has written and edited numerous works on Biblical archaeology including the Dead Sea Scrolls....
. “The Mystery of the Nechushtan: Why Did King Hezekiah of Judah Destroy the Bronze Serpent that Moses Had Fashioned To Protect the Israelites.” Biblical Archaeology ReviewBiblical Archaeology ReviewBiblical Archaeology Review is a publication that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible and the Near and Middle East . Covering both the Old and New Testaments, BAR presents the latest discoveries and...
, 33 (2) (Mar./Apr. 2007): 58–63. - Sara ParetskySara ParetskySara Paretsky is a modern American author of detective fiction.-Life and career:Paretsky was born in Ames, Iowa and raised in Kansas, graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in political science. She did community service work on the south side of Chicago in 1966 and returned in...
. Bleeding Kansas. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2008. ISBN 978-0-399-15405-8. (red heifer plot element). - Ari Z. Zivotofsky. “What’s the Truth about . . . the Parah Adumah?” Jewish ActionJewish ActionJewish Action is an American Orthodox Jewish magazine published by the Orthodox Union.The magazine generally presents a Modern Orthodox viewpoint, and covers "topics of interest to an international Orthodox Jewish audience.....
, (Fall 2010): 77–78.
Texts
Commentaries
- Academy for Jewish Religion, California
- Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
- Aish.com
- American Jewish University
- Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles
- Bar-Ilan University
- Chabad.org
- eparsha.com
- G-dcast
- The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
- Jewish Agency for Israel
- Jewish Theological Seminary
- MyJewishLearning.com
- Ohr Sameach
- Orthodox Union
- OzTorah, Torah from Australia
- Oz Ve Shalom — Netivot Shalom
- Pardes from Jerusalem
- RabbiShimon.com
- Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
- Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Sephardic Institute
- Shiur.com
- 613.org Jewish Torah Audio
- Tanach Study Center
- Torah from Dixie
- Torah.org
- TorahVort.com
- Union for Reform Judaism
- United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
- United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
- What’s Bothering Rashi?
- Yeshiva University
- Yeshivat Chovevei Torah