QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RED HEIFER IN THE TORAH:
1. What do you think made the writers of this Biblical text come up with the idea of a purification ritual for people who come in contact with a dead person?
2. How does this compare with rituals we have today for dealing with death?
3. Do all religious rules have to have a logical reason?
4. What are the principles and tools to allow sharing of the holy city and holy sites in Jerusalem? Between faith traditions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) and within them (various Christian denominations, orthodox vs. non-orthodox Jewish)?
Bamidbar Rabbah 19:3
“This is the statute of the Torah [etc.]” (Numbers 19:3): Rabbi Isaac began [with a quote from Ecclesiastes 7:23, attributed by the rabbis of the Talmudic era to King Solomon],”All this [the words of God] I tested with wisdom [to determine the rational basis for each statement]. I said, `I will understand it.’ But this is too challenging for me.” [The writer of Bamidbar Rabbah takes this quote as being a reference to the law of the red heifer.]
במדבר רבה י"ט:ג
זֹאת חֻקַּת הַתּוֹרָה ..., וגו'. רַבִּי יִצְחָק פָּתַח: "כָּל זֹה נִסִּיתִי בַחָכְמָה אָמַרְתִּי אֶחְכָּמָה וְהִיא רְחוֹקָה מִמֶּנִּי." (קהלת ז:כ"ג)
(ח) שָׁאַל עוֹבֵד כּוֹכָבִים אֶחָד אֶת רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, אִלֵּין עוֹבָדַיָּא דְּאַתּוּן עָבְדִין נִרְאִין כְּמִין כְּשָׁפִים, אַתֶּם מְבִיאִים פָּרָה וְשׂוֹרְפִין אוֹתָהּ וְכוֹתְּשִׁין אוֹתָהּ וְנוֹטְלִין אֶת אַפְרָהּ וְאֶחָד מִכֶּם מִטַּמֵּא לְמֵת, מַזִּין עָלָיו שְׁתַּיִם וְשָׁלשׁ טִפִּין וְאַתֶּם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ טָהַרְתָּ. אָמַר לוֹ לֹא נִכְנְסָה בְּךָ רוּחַ תְּזָזִית מִיָּמֶיךָ, אָמַר לוֹ לָאו. רָאִיתָ אָדָם שֶׁנִּכְנְסָה בּוֹ רוּחַ תְּזָזִית, אָמַר לוֹ הֵן, אָמַר לוֹ וּמָה אַתֶּם עוֹשִׂין לוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ מְבִיאִין עִקָּרִין וּמְעַשְׁנִין תַּחְתָּיו וּמַרְבִּיצִים עָלֶיהָ מַיִם, וְהִיא בּוֹרַחַת. אָמַר לוֹ יִשְׁמְעוּ אָזְנֶיךָ מַה שֶּׁאַתָּה מוֹצִיא מִפִּיךָ, כָּךְ הָרוּחַ הַזּוֹ, רוּחַ טֻמְאָה, דִּכְתִיב (זכריה יג, ב): וְגַם אֶת הַנְּבִיאִים וְאֶת רוּחַ הַטֻּמְאָה אַעֲבִיר מִן הָאָרֶץ, מַזִּין עָלָיו מֵי נִדָּה וְהוּא בּוֹרֵח. לְאַחַר שֶׁיָּצָא אָמְרוּ לוֹ תַּלְמִידָיו, רַבֵּנוּ, לָזֶה דָּחִית בְּקָנֶה, לָנוּ מָה אַתָּה אוֹמֵר, אָמַר לָהֶם חַיֵּיכֶם, לֹא הַמֵּת מְטַמֵּא וְלֹא הַמַּיִם מְטַהֲרִין, אֶלָּא אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא חֻקָּה חָקַקְתִּי גְּזֵרָה גָּזַרְתִּי אִי אַתָּה רַשַׁאי לַעֲבֹר עַל גְּזֵרָתִי, דִּכְתִיב: זֹאת חֻקַּת הַתּוֹרָה. וּמִפְּנֵי מָה כָּל הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת זְכָרִים וְזוֹ נְקֵבָה, אָמַר רַבִּי אַיְּבוּ מָשָׁל לְבֶן שִׁפְחָה שֶׁטִּנֵּף פָּלָטִין שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ, אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ תָּבוֹא אִמּוֹ וּתְקַנֵּחַ אֶת הַצּוֹאָה, כָּךְ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא תָּבוֹא פָּרָה וּתְכַפֵּר עַל מַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל.
(8) A gentile asked Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, "These rituals you do, they seem like witchcraft! You bring a heifer, burn it, crush it up, and take its ashes. [If] one of you is impure by the dead [the highest type impurity], 2 or 3 drops are sprinkled on him, and you declare him pure?!" He said to him, "Has a restless spirit ever entered you?" He said to him, "No!" "Have you ever seen a man where a restless spirit entered him?" He said to him, "Yes!" [Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai] said to him, "And what did you do for him?" He sad to him, "We brought roots and made them smoke beneath him, and pour water and it flees." He said to him, "Your ears should hear what leaves from your mouth! The same thing is true for this spirit, the spirit of impurity, as it is written, (Zachariah 13:2) "Even the prophets and the spirit of impurity will I remove from the land." They sprinkle upon him purifying waters, and it [the spirit of impurity] flees." After he left, our rabbi's students said, "You pushed him off with a reed. What will you say to us?" He said to them, "By your lives, a dead person doesn't make things impure, and the water doesn't make things pure. Rather, God said, 'I have engraved a rule, I have decreed a decree (chukah chakakti, gezeira gazarti), and you have no permission to transgress what I decreed, as it says "This is a chok (rule) of the Torah."
Jerusalem Post, 14 February 2007, “Yesha rabbis: Chief Rabbinate’s policy on Temple Mount to blame for violence,” by Matthew Wagner
… The vast majority of haredi rabbis and many modern Orthodox rabbis oppose entering any part of the Temple Mount. Since September 1967, just a few months after the area came under Israeli control, the Chief Rabbinate's official stand has been to prohibit entry to the Temple Mount. Rabbis are concerned that those who enter will inadvertently walk in places that are off limits. There is a severe biblical prohibition against entering areas where the Temple once stood while under the influence of certain ritual impurities. For instance, all Jews have been "infected" by the ritual impurity of death since all people have come into contact, either directly or indirectly, with a corpse. Since the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jewish people lack the means to purify themselves from these impurities. According to biblical law, one needs the ashes of a red heifer to purify oneself from the ritual impurity of death. This red heifer must be without blemishes. … However, several leading modern Orthodox rabbis encourage going up on the Temple Mount. In answer to the Chief Rabbinate's prohibition, they say that the prohibited areas are clearly delineated and known and there is no danger of walking on the site of the Temple.
