By Rabbi Moshe Pogrow
Let us consider the laws of parah adumah and tumas meis, and the ideas they express. The Torah classifies the mitzvah of parah adumah as a chatas. It is a chok, and a fundamental institution of tumah and tumas meis. Since the Torah refers to parah adumah as chatas, it is clearly directing us to the sphere of morality, and that is where we should seek the meaning of the laws of tumah and taharah in general, and of parah adumah in particular.
The Torah has already established ideas regarding the laws of tumah and taharah. Moral freedom—so we assert—is the first condition for the sanctification of life which the Torah obligates us to strive for. This truth is threatened by the sight of the human corpse, for in it the superficial observer perceives nature’s ultimate power. If man succumbs to death; if the corpse lying before us, overwhelmed by the forces of nature, represents all that man is, then man is no different from any other living thing.
If all this were so, then physical “must”s leave no room for moral “thou shalt.” Moral freedom is an illusion, G-d’s law is inconceivable, and any demand to dedicate one’s existence to purity rests on baseless suppositions.
But the laws of taharah negate this. These laws confront the illusion of physical servitude with a guarantee of moral freedom. Throughout our lives, whenever we are threatened with reminders of bondage to physical forces, the Law reminds us of taharah and its freedom. Here, tumah and taharah laws proclaim the the truth before the eyes of klal Yisrael: man can clear himself of sin, and can remain free of it. Such is the meaning of this chatas, this symbolic clearing of sin performed outside the Sanctuary. The sin offerings brought inside symbolize a vow to remain faithful from now on. This chatas, on the other hand, publicly proclaims that it is possible to be free of sin, that man is capable of controlling himself in the face of temptation, that man has willpower.
In proclaiming man’s freedom, parah adumah recognizes that he is subject to physical force. It does not teach man to close his eyes and ignore nature's reality. Rather, it shows man as a contrasting whole. He is mortal, yet eternal; he is fettered, yet free; he is endowed with physical power along with moral power. By placing him, with his dual nature, before G-d, this chatas elevates transient man to the eternal sphere of G-d.
The parah adumah tells us: Do not be misled by the sight of corpses and death. Become free. Become immortal, not despite but along with all those aspects of your existence that are physically limited. Be the master of your moral body. In the midst of tumah, preserve your taharah.
Based on the commentary of Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch zt”l on Chumash, with permission from the publisher.
