7 Tammuz 5781
by Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher
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Rashi
in Parshat Chukat quotes a Midrash that explains that the Red Heifer is
a tikun for the Sin of the Golden Calf. "To what can this be likened?
To a maid that worked in the palace of the king. One day her child came
and soiled the palace with his filth. The king said: 'Let the mother
come and clean up her child's filth.'" This is the concept of atonement
for the golden calf, for the Holy One said: "Let the red heifer come and
atone for the golden calf."
The
Midrash examines the concept of the Red Heifer and the Golden Calf, and
finds many striking parallels and connections. For example:
1. Why
must the heifer be red? Scripture likens sin to red because, when a
person sins, he forfeits his blood: "Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow; though they be like red crimson, they
shall be white as wool" (Isaiah 1:18). Says the Holy One: Since Israel's
sins are red, let the heifer also be red — and when it is burned, its
ashes are white... thus the prophet assures his people in the Creator's
name that God promises, "they shall be white as snow."
2. In
order for the heifer to be fit, it must never have carried a yoke. This
is an allusion to Israel, who threw off the yoke of Heaven in
insubordination when they worshiped the golden calf.
3. Why
must the heifer be given to Elazar, an assistant, and not the High
Priest himself? Because Aaron oversaw the creation of the golden calf;
and therefore, it would not seem proper for him to officiate with the
heifer. There is a principle: "The same one who was prosecutor, cannot
become defense attorney."
4. The
heifer is burned, an allusion to the calf that was burned: "And he took
the calf which they had made, and burned it in the fire..." Ex 32:20.
5. Three
species are used: hyssop, cedar, and scarlet wool, which are
reminiscent of the 3,000 who fell at the Sin of the Calf. And why these
three? The cedar is the highest, and the hyssop is the lowest...and
whoever is haughty (equal to the sin of idolatry) must become like a
worm (from which the red dye is obtained) in his own eyes, as King David
prayed: "I am a worm and not a man" (Psalm 22:7). If he will lower and
humble himself, his sins will be atoned.
6. Just
as the Sin of the Golden Calf exerts its influence forever, as it
states: "…on that day I will remember you and I will remember your sin…"
(Ex 32:34), so too the Holy One commanded that the ashes of the red
heifer be kept as a remembrance for all generations: "And they shall be
for the congregation of the children of Israel a remembrance." And just
as the golden calf rendered all those who participated in it impure —
for idolatry causes impurity, as it is written: "You shall cast it away
as a thing impure..." (Isaiah 30:22) — so the heifer renders all those
who come into contact with it impure. And as Israel became pure when
Moses burned the golden calf — fire being the symbol of purging sin — so
Israel becomes pure through the burning of the red heifer.
Since
we have received an explanation that the purification by the heifer's
ashes is related to the Golden Calf episode, and from Rashi’s “they” who
said, "Let the mother come and clean her child's filth" — then why is
the ordinance of the red heifer still called a "chok"? Surely the
element of mystery has abated; it is simply a matter of rectifying the
Sin of the Golden Calf! Why did King Solomon state regarding the Red
Heifer: "I said I will get wisdom, but it is beyond me" (Ecclesiastes).
Yes,
even if it is granted that the secret mechanism which powers the
cleansing of these ashes is the power of teshuva, this itself is above
the realm of comprehension! For even the greatest wisdom and
understanding cannot fathom or explain the power of teshuva and how it
works...only the Holy One Himself, in his Infinite Mercy, decreed that
it should be so. Teshuva is the most mysterious Godly secret of all!
***
