מאמרים
Portion of Chukas - Holy (RED) Cow, Batman!
- פרטים
- קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
- פורסם בשלישי, 01 דצמבר 2020 00:35
- נכתב על ידי Super User
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Portion of Chukas - Holy (RED) Cow, Batman!
Why are some animals not kosher,
why are there rules of ritual purity, and why does the portion tell us of the passing of
Aron, of Miriam,
and of capturing the first parts of the Land of Israel?
THESE ARE THINGS WHICH TEACH US A JEWISH WAY OF LIFE!
I just came from a Bris today, and last night was at a Sheva Brachot
(after a wedding), after I was at a class in the yeshiva I've been with since the seventies.
Judaism's Laws create a HOLINESS -
as Maimonides declares in the first part of his compilation of all the Laws of the Torah -
Yad Hachazaka -
that our purpose is to understand and get CLOSE to the L-rd of Creation.
This week's portion is called "laws you just have to believe in "- That's what "chukas" means.
It talks about laws and HISTORYwe can't really understand,
but if we just FOLLOW these laws - we will get close to the Almighty.
Really -can we KNOW the "meaning" of any laws of the Torah - except on our level?
At some level - the WHOLE TORAH NEEDS TO BE "UNDERSTOOD" AS UNKNOWABLE.
It's like LOVE.
We love our sisters like Miriam, we love our brothers like Aron,
we love the Land of Israel - and all the gifts from the Almighty - every minute of our lives -
and we enter a SHABBOS of holiness every week - and it gets us ABOVE THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF THE WEEK - and gives strength for the following week.
That is the Jewish way of LIFE.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz