Parshat Chukat Learning Prayer from the Parah

When it comes to discussions about the Parah Adumah (red heifer), many look to its symbolism or try to find a message in the concept of a “chok,” typically defined as a “mitzvah without a reason.” Some focus on the unique quality of how the Parah Adumah mixture was metaher temeim and metameh tehorim (purified those who were impure, and made the pure (the one doing the sprinkling) impure).

In chassidic annals the general approach to this and other symbols is to find moral teachings and ethical lessons that adherents can adapt to their lifestyles. 

With regard to the metameh tehorim (etc) idea, the Baal Shem Tov was asked, “if every mitzvah can teach us something about how to serve G-d, please explain where parah adumah fits in.” In other words, if it turns a person who is already tahor (pure) to be tameh (impure), then it seems to be working backwards. How does it bring one closer to G-d?

The Baal Shem Tov equated this quality with the middot of Ga’avah (haughtiness) and Anavah (humility).  A person who is distant from observance of mitzvot and a commitment to serving G-d, it is good for him to have a little more haughtiness about his capabilities. Instead of saying, “Who am I that I could even conceive that my prayer has any clout, or that there’s any hope for me to turn around from my habits?” that person should have much more confidence. Education or background is unrelated to one’s ability to connect with the Almighty.

On the other hand, a person who feels very strong in one’s commitment and dedication to G-d could use more than a dose of humility in a personal reminder that “You still haven’t ‘arrived,’ and you always need a lot more work before you reach ‘that’ level.”

Many people who are committed to Tefillah and are regular participants in tefillah, whether with a minyan or on an individual basis, get it. The Tehillim groups get it. Those who even take the “Shir Hamaalot” added to the end of davening (in many shuls) seriously, also get it.

Those who ask a Rabbi or a Rebbe to pray for them, but who do not pray for themselves, do not get it. Those who rely on the “power of others,” and do not give credit to their own strengths, their own abilities, their own sincerity, do not get it.

One does not need to be an observant Jew to feel close to G-d, to feel dedicated to G-d, to have a relationship with G-d. Or even to “influence” G-d.

One of the greatest models of prayer in the Bible is Chana (Samuel I, Chapters 1-2). According to the Talmud, she was a prophetess, though the prophesy which is attributed to her are her prayers. But she was not a rabbi, and she did not serve anyone else, or pray on anyone’s behalf other than for herself. Other than being the mother of the prophet Shmuel, her fame is on account of her prayers, and that’s it.

Some people certainly feel G-d never hears them or responds to their prayers. And there are some people who absolutely feel that G-d is always listening and they “know” that their prayers have been heard, received, and “now it’s in G-d’s hands.”

The message of the Baal Shem Tov is so important because we need to find relevance to our lives in mitzvot that we cannot practice today. There is a tremendous void in a Jewish existence that does not include the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, a Temple that will not be rebuilt until the Messianic Era is upon us. When in practice, the Parah Adumah had a profound significance, and played a very important role in the lives of those wishing to visit the Temple.

The Baal Shem Tov teaches us that the quality of the Parah Adumah is a model for all. Those who seem to have every right to feel haughty and high and mighty about their connection to G-d need to be reminded that they have much to work on.

And those who feel that a connection can not be found with G-d because they are too far away from him or have too much getting in the way of such a relationship, need to take a long look in the mirror and realize that that relationship is not exclusive to anyone. It is there for the taking for those who are ready to grab it.