Shabbat Parah

Possibly the fact that his legislation does not only lack a rationale which we can understand, but appears totally illogical to boot, seeing that the ritually pure person confers ritual impurity, whereas the ritually impure becomes purified through contact with the ashes of the red heifer, is the reason why the Torah phrases the legislation differently from others. The more illogical the law, the more likely is it that the subject will question the law-giver…

Moshe Alshich (16^th Century)

This is the “Chukat” (the statute of) the law…Since the nations of the world ridicule Israel, saying “What is the meaning of this commandment (of the Red Heifer)? Therefore the Torah uses the term “Chukah” (statute) in connection with it, (meaning): “It is a decree from before Me, and you have no permission to question it.”…

Ramban (13^th Century)

This turn of phrase occurs in only one other place in Scripture: In Numbers 31:21, as in introduction to the discussion of the purification and immersion of utensils captures from the Midianites. These legal institutions and the institution of the red cow described in the verses that follow have in common the function of restoring purity…If we had no means of restoring the ritual purity of our vessels or utensils, or of restoring the purity of our persons…then it would be impossible for us to observe the Law as such…

Samson Raphael Hirsch (19^th Century)

An important lesson of value to every penitent for every sin committed appears to be the one that in trying to rectify one’s error, one must not content oneself to bend the “bent iron” back with the same amount of force it took to bend it out of shape in the first place, but one must strive to bend it beyond that so that in the future the likelihood of committing the same sin again will be reduced. (we encounter many who return to the commandments in our daily lives who appear to relate to certain commandments with what appears to be exaggerated stringency)

Sforno (15^th Century)

The word “unblemished” is understood by the Midrash as a reference to the unblemished state of the Jewish nation prior to the sin of the golden calf. Due to their participation in that sin in varying degrees they had all become spiritually blemished. The function of the red cow and the procedure of sprinkling the Israelites with its ash and holy water would remove these blemishes. The words: “which has not borne a yoke,” are understood by the Midrash as an allusion to the yoke of the Torah which the Israelites had shaken off by their participation in the sin of the golden calf…

Rabbeinu Bachya (13^th Century)

For many of us, the idea of such purification seems anachronistic, and has little or nothing to do with our lives. Yet as we read this portion…carefully, we can discover that the way our ancestors looked at the world may really not be so different from the way we moderns confront reality. Like the ancients, we too categorize the universe. We many use the same terms we find in today’s parasha….but for each of us, there are situations, persons or relationships we regard as polluting, contaminating or dangerous…

Sue Levi Elwell (Contemporary)