Parashat Chukat 5784
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites
The first part of Parashat ‘Chukat’ deals with a unique ritual for purification from the impurity of death. A person who has touched a dead body, or even just been under the same roof as a dead person, is strictly forbidden from entering the Temple or touching the sacrifices. To enter the sacred area, one must undergo the ritual of sprinkling ‘mei chatat’ – water that purifies from the impurity of death.
Like all commandments and rituals in the realm of worship, this ritual may seem foreign to someone from a Western culture. However, like all these commandments and rituals, this one also has deep symbolic foundations that express ideas, worldviews, and values. For us, as long as we do not have a red heifer, these laws cannot be implemented; but the values and principles within them still speak to us.
So, what is it about the ‘mei chatat’ and how do they relate to death? It begins with taking a red heifer that has two interesting attributes: it is perfect, without any blemish; and it has never been used for work nor has anything been placed upon it. The heifer is slaughtered and burned outside of Jerusalem, and the remaining ashes are mixed with ‘living water’. These waters are ‘mei chatat’ from which one sprinkles on those who have become impure through contact with the dead, thereby purifying them and allowing them to approach the Temple or the sacrifices.
Clearly, this is a