{"id":47708,"date":"2019-01-17T17:24:48","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T15:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=47708"},"modified":"2022-08-11T16:47:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T13:47:13","slug":"hukkat-inexplicable-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hukkat-inexplicable-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Hukkat: Inexplicable Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Illustration for Chapter 19:<\/p>\n

The first commandment in <\/span>Parashat Hukkat<\/span><\/i> concerns the Red Heifer, perhaps the most perplexing one in the Torah: \u201cInstruct the Israelite people to bring a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid. You shall give it to the priest. It shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.\u2026 and the priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop and crimson stuff and throw them into the fire consuming the cow (Num. 19:1\u20132, 5\u20136, 9). <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the meaning of this mysterious ritual? For whom is it intended?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sages concluded that this ritual is one of the statutes (<\/span>hukkim<\/span><\/i>) for which there is no known rationale, but rather is simply a law in accord with God\u2019s words to the assembly of Israel<\/span>: <\/span><\/i>\u201cYou shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine\u201d (Lev. 20:26). In order to be \u201choly to Me,\u201d one must obey all of God\u2019s statutes of sanctity regardless of whether or not they are understood, and the mysterious ritual of the Red Heifer is one of those commandments to be taken solely on faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

Avner Moriah\u2019s painting for this <\/span>parasha<\/span><\/i> figures a red cow in a frontal view that shows the animal in detail. The image allows us to see its front, its back, all four legs, and its tail; its eyes, which seem to be almost human, are staring at us. \u00a0Elazar, the priest who will oversee the ritual, is pictured on the left, also figured in red (in a darker shade than the coloring of the cow), which is thought to be the color of sin, as we read in Isaiah 1:18: \u201cBe your sins like crimson, they can turn snow-white. Be they red as dyed wool they shall become as fleece.\u201d Elazar is holding a knife and it is clear that the animal is about to be slaughtered. Green and blue hills serve to separate the figures of the priest and the Red Heifer from the round-topped tents behind them, indicating that the action is taking place outside of the camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

The juxtaposition of the priest and the cow taken in conjunction with the ritual described in the relevant text seems to be reminiscent of the story of the Golden Calf: \u201c[Moses] took the calf that they had made and burned it; he ground it to powder and strewed it upon the water and so made the Israelites drink it\u201d (Exod. 32:20). Although the statute of the Red Heifer apparently has no rational explanation,<\/span> we can perhaps sense here a deliberate reminder of the sin of the Golden Calf and relate that memory to a commandment enjoined to reinforce the sanctity of the people of Israel vis-\u00e0-vis the desecration of the Golden Calf.<\/span><\/p>\n

Artwork by: Avner Moriah, by courtesy of the artist<\/p>\n

Text by: Dr. Shulamit Laderman, who holds a\u00a0<\/span>PhD in Art History and has published extensively on Jewish and Christian influences on biblical interpretive illustration.<\/p>\n

For the entire weekly portion series, please visit: <\/span>https:\/\/avnermoriahprints.com\/collections\/parasha<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":47709,"id":47709,"title":"Num19-Hukkat","filename":"Num19-Hukkat.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num19-Hukkat.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hukkat-inexplicable-laws\/num19-hukkat\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"num19-hukkat","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":47708,"date":"2019-01-17 15:24:33","modified":"2019-01-17 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