Parah – 2015
· I recently heard someone say “80% of the satisfaction in life comes from meaningful relationships”.
· And relationships are not easy – they are difficult.
· A wise person I know once said, “Relationships are difficult at best, and treacherous at worst”.
· The Parah Adumah is considered the ultimate Chok – Torah law that defies rational explanation.
· Shlomo Hamelch said that he couldn’t fathom its meaning.
· I will try to identify 6 important lessons we can learn about relationships from the Parah Adumah.
· Simply the rules are:
o A person who touches a dead body is considered to be Tumas Mais.
o If a person who is tomay mase goes into the Bais Hamikdosh, he is Chayiv Korase.
o He starts counting on the day that he touched the Mase.
o On the 3rd and 7th day he gets sprinkled by a Kohain from the waters of a Parah Adumah.
o On the 7th day, before sundown he’s a Tvul Yom,
o After sundown, he is Tahar again.
o A parah Adumah has to be totally red, young female cow – a heifer
o Even 2 non-red hairs makes it possul – any spots that are not red
o The Parah Adumah can’t have done any work at all.
o It is slaughtered by a Kohain that wears the same white clothing that the Kohane Godol wore on Yom Kippur
o Mishnah Para 4:1 If it was performed by one who was not the Kohane Godol it is invalid, but R. Yehuda rules that it is valid.
o It is not a Korban, blood not sprinkled on Mizbeach
o He does this outside the Bais Hamikdosh, on Har Hazaisim
o That part of the Bais Hamikdosh the wall is a bit lower so he can see into the Azarah
o He sprinkles the blood with his hands towards the Bais Hamikdosh
o It is burned, along with cedar wood, hyssop, and red thread.
o All of it burned – its hide and all.
o Take water that is mayim chayim, that can’t have been in any vessel.
o the ashes are put into that water
o Messechet Succos tells us that children were raised in special stone dwellings and they fetched the water and carried it on the top of oxen all as a preventive measure that the water would not become Tomay.
o There were 9 parah adumahs in the time the temple stood.
o One lasted from the time of Moshe all the way until the time of Ezra, diluting it over and over again
o The person who sprinkles the para adumah water, he himself becomes tomay for the day.
o Even a person who carries the water becomes tomay for the day.
· Similarities to Golden Calf
o Both burned in fire
o Both crushed to dust
o Dust mixed with water
o Parah Adumah is a tikun for the Golden Calf – just as the Golden calf made a pure nation impure – Parah Adumah makes a impure people pure
· Six Things we learn about relationships
1. People develop Tumah Mase if they touch a dead body.
§ A person can have invisible injury. Not all injuries that people have are visible. Some people’s problems are invisible way, impossible to detect. People may appear to be totally normal, but there may be hidden defects, not visible to the eye.
2. If in this condition they enter the Bais Hamikdosh, they are Chayiv Korase
§ People with problems tend to get more complicated problems. Problems tend to get compounded, making the original problems even worse and more complicated.
3. This can only be solved by being sprinkled with the water of the Parah Adumah
§ Soluiton to problems often is out of the box. Sometimes have to look for unexpected solutions, that are not rational, may not be intuited or logical
4. The people involved in preparing and sprinkling the Parah Adumah water become Tomey themselves, though not as severe.
§ Helping a person can cause yourself to be hurt. Good to be generous and helpful, and give of yourself. But be careful, because we often catch another person’s problems, their problems can become ours, even while we’re helping them solve their problems. Goes with the territory.
5. If someone does the least bit of work with the Parah Adumah – possul - it can no longer be be used as a Parah Adumah. The example in the Germroah is of putting a coat on its back and have it walk daled amos. He can say Hareh Shelchah Lefanecha. It’s like stealing a truckload of cherios, keeping it over Pesach, and returning it.Mazek she ano Nikkur ano Mazek - loss of hundreds of housands of dollars
§ A person can hurt another person without any visible injury. Not all injuries are visible – but they can still be very real. May not even see or know how they are hurting another person – but still can be damaging – thought may not be in a way that they are liable.
6. There were 9 parah adumahs since Moshe – and the first one lasted all the way from Moshe to Ezra! One could dilute it over and over again, and it still works.
§ When you have something good and important, it doesn’t matter how many times it is diluted – it still remains good and as effective as at the start. Applies to love, learning, friendship, - if its good, the goodness remains as powerful and as intense as at the very beginning..
· So we see that even though it’s difficult to understand what this is all about, we can learn important lessons about human relationships through the subject of the Para Adumah.