Simple Faith – Parashat Chukat

Parashat Chukat – 5785

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites

Parashat Chukat opens with the mitzvah of the Red Heifer (Parah Adumah), which the Torah defines as a “chok” — a law without any clear reason or logical explanation.

What is the mitzvah of the Red Heifer? A person who came into contact with a corpse or was under the same roof as a deceased person is considered ritually impure for seven days. To become pure again, a priest would sprinkle a mixture of water and the ashes of the Red Heifer on the impure person on the third and seventh days. This ritual is performed using a hyssop branch. Following immersion in a mikvah (ritual bath), the person becomes pure on the evening of the eighth day.

King Solomon, the wisest of all men, said about this commandment:

“I thought I could become wise, but it is beyond me.”
(Ecclesiastes 7:23)

Our Sages taught that the Red Heifer is a form of spiritual rectification for the sin of the Golden Calf. In their words:
“Let the mother come and clean up the mess of her child.”
The cow, the mother of the calf, atones and “cleans” the impurity caused by the Golden Calf. But what does this metaphor really mean? What is the connection between the sin of the Golden Calf and the mitzvah of the Red Heifer?

The generation that wandered in the desert witnessed G-d’s providence firsthand — during the Exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the giving of the Torah, and many other miracles. Everything was clear and good — until the slightest doubt arose. When Moses delayed descending from Mount Sinai, the people grew confused. That confusion quickly snowballed into rebellion and the creation of the Golden Calf.

The Red Heifer is the antidote to that sin. It is a mitzvah without a reason — and within it lies the secret of faith. Faith has a power far greater than any question or doubt, or any “incompatibility” with reality. The stiff-necked nation of Israel has suffered through all the pains of this world, yet never lost its faith — ever since the sin of the Golden Calf, which was essentially a blemish in faith.

We don’t always understand. We don’t always know. But we always believe in G-d — that everything comes from Him, and that He runs the world. Faith means knowing that everything happening in our lives is orchestrated from above. Not only that — it’s all ultimately for our benefit. Even the mitzvah of the Red Heifer, which is associated with death and impurity, reminds us that even in the darkest times, faith gives us the strength to survive and prevail.

The Rebbe of Alexander, Rabbi Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchak Danziger, author of the foundational Hasidic work Yismach Yisrael, was one of Poland’s greatest rebbes.
Despite never having children of his own and enduring personal suffering, his presence radiated joy and spiritual delight. Shortly before his passing, he said:
“For forty years I worked to instill joy in the hearts of the Jewish people.”

In his commentary on the Red Heifer, the Rebbe of Alexander focuses on simple faith — a faith every Jew possesses. This kind of faith brings peace and calm, without questions or complexities — even when it lacks “reason” or logic.
He quotes Rabbi Yosef Yaavetz, one of the rabbis expelled from Spain, who wrote:
“In the times of persecution in the past, those who held fast to simple faith — without intellectual speculation — always remained steadfast in their belief…”

Faith is stronger than all logic. It is rooted in the heart of every Jew.
It allows a person to feel peace and boundless joy in any circumstance, at any time. Therefore, the Red Heifer — a mitzvah without an understandable rationale — expresses this powerful, unshakable faith. It is the spiritual correction for the sin of the Golden Calf, when the Israelites lost their faith.

Faith — even when things don’t make sense. Faith — even when life is hard. Even when we have questions, we will always remain steadfast in our beliefs.