"This is the statute of the law which Hashem has commanded. Speak to the Children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without defect, in which is no blemish, and which was never yoked."
The Ohr Hachaim asks, how is this the statute of the Torah? This is a statute, but how is it connected to the entire Torah? The language of the Torah would seem to indicate that this is the most important statute of the Torah, or that this statute is central to the following of the Torah. How is this so? This is the rule of purity or impurity like the Torah says זֹאת חֻקַּת הַּפָּסַּח – this is the law of the Pesach.
One might think that the Torah is telling us that a person cannot learn Torah until he has become pure with the ash of the red heifer. If a person comes in contact with a dead body, he is impure. Just like he may not enter the courtyard of the Beis Hamikdash, he may also not learn Torah. This is untrue, as the Gemara says that Torah cannot become impure by an impure person’s learning. Even though some opinions are that a person cannot learn Torah if he is impure, because Torah requires an attitude of fear and trembling, that does not apply to the impurity caused by dead bodies.
The Gemara (Nazir 61b) says that a gentile cannot become impure through a dead body. When the Rambam quotes this halacha, he writes (Tum’as Mes, 1:13) ‘Similarly, a gentile does not contract the impurity connected with a corpse. Instead, if a gentile touches a corpse, carries it, or stands over it, it is as if he did not touch it. To what can the matter be compared? To an animal that touched a corpse or stood over a corpse.’
Klal Yisroel are elevated above all nations, ever since we accepted the Torah and they did not. Accepting the Torah elevated our bodies and spirits, and now we are Hashem’s special objects. When we accepted the Torah, the lower impure spiritual aspect of the creation wished to attach themselves to them, and be elevated by them. This is how a person becomes ritually impure by contact with a dead body. A body was the resting place of the holy soul of a Yid, and when he passes away, he can no longer deflect the impurity from attaching itself. This is similar to a person who has two buckets, one filled with honey and one filled with manure. The flies are attracted to both, but the honey bucket will have much more. So, too, the Jewish soul attracts more flies who wish to draw close to it than the non-Jewish soul. This is why only Jewish people can become ritually impure through a dead body. The laws of ritual impurity are the statutes of the Torah because through accepting the Torah, Klal Yisroel became elevated and uplifted, and now they are subject to the rules of ritual impurity. They are the laws caused by the Torah.
Klal Yisroel are holy even when they are corporeal and in this impure world, and anyone who wishes to be attached to holiness, would do well by cleaving to His nation.
The Korban Pesach and Purity
We find, in the pessukim of the Korban Pesach, that the Torah was quite strict that they had to be circumcised. As the possuk (Yechezkel 16:6) says וָּאֶעֱבֹר עָּלַּיִךְ וָּאֶרְ אֵךְ מִתְבּוֹסֶסֶת בְּדָּמָּיִךְ וָּאֹמַּר לָּךְ בְּדָּמַּיִ ךְ חֲיִי וָּאֹמַּר לָּךְ בְּדָּמַּיִךְ חֲיִי - When I passed by you, and saw you weltering in your blood, I said to you, 'in your blood, live'; yes, I said to you, 'in your blood, live'. Klal Yisroel needed two bloods to live through the redemption from Mitzrayim; the blood of their circumcision and the blood of the Korban Pesach. Another halacha of the Pesach of Mitzrayim was that they could not be eaten by someone who was attached to idol worship. The possuk (Shmos 12:21) says יֵנְקִז לׇכְל הֶשֹמ אָּרְק יַּו יִ שְרָּאֵל וַּיֹאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם מִשְכוּ וּקְחוּ לָּכֶם צֹאן לְמִשְפְחֹתֵיכֶם וְשַּחֲטוּ הַּפָּסַּח - Moshe called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Draw out and take for yourselves sheep according to your families, and slaughter the Pesach." They needed to draw themselves out and away from idol worship, and only then could they bring and eat from the Korban Pesach.
However, they were not restricted by the laws of purity. An impure member of Klal Yisroel was still permitted to eat from the Korban Pesach. One may think that this was because the public were impure, and in this case the Pesach is brought in a state of impurity. However, if Hashem did not want them to be impure, He could have commanded that they bring a Parah Adumah in Mitzrayim, and purify the nation prior to bringing the Korban Pesach.
Although other answers are possible, the Ohr Hachaim says that the true answer is that Klal Yisroel did not become impure from a dead body prior to their acceptance of the Torah. They were like converts who can bring a Korban on the day they convert, ignoring all prior impurities.
This is the meaning of the possuk זֹאת חֻקַּת הַּתּוֹרָּה – this is the statute of the Torah. Only after accepting the Torah were Klal Yisroel ready to become liable to the laws of impurity.
A Homiletic Explanation
The Ohr Hachaim then offers another, homiletic, explanation for these pessukim.
זֹאת חֻקַּת הַּתּוֹרָה – this is the statute of the Torah – if Klal Yisroel are careful to follow this part of the Torah, even though they don’t understand it and some of its laws seem to contradict others, it will be considered as though they fulfilled the entire Torah. When Hashem’s nation shows that they are willing to accept and keep his Torah even when they have no way of understanding why they do so, they have shown that they are true slaves of Hashem, and will accept anything He tells them. By keeping this Mitzvah, they become true people of the Torah, they accept the Torah as they are supposed to.
אֲשֶר צִוָּּה ה' לֵאמֹר - that Hashem has commanded saying. What is the purpose of these words? Hashem is commanding them right there, why do they have to be told that they are being commanded? Hashem spoke to Moshe, telling him what to tell Klal Yisroel.
Additionally, why is Hashem referred to in the third character? Hashem is speaking; He should have spoken about Himself in the first character.
Another question posed by the Ohr Hachaim is why the Torah says the word לֵאמֹר in this possuk and in the previous one? What is the purpose of these two?
The last question posed by the Ohr Hachaim is why Moshe was told that this is the statute of the Torah and afterward was told to tell this to Klal Yisroel. Why isn’t the זֹאת חֻקַּת הַּתּוֹרָּה – this is the statute of the Torah part of what was told to Klal Yisroel?
The Ohr Hachaim explains that all mitzvos in the Torah are either intuitive or authoritative Mitzvos. The intuitive ones are those that are self-understood, such as honoring parents, the prohibitions against murder, theft and chicanery, and others. The authoritative Mitzvos are those that we accept due to Hashem’s commandment, showing our subjugation to His will. We don’t work on Shabbos, because this is Hashem’s day of rest. But our rest is an expression of His authority. We celebrate on Holidays, because Hashem showed us special favor on those days. We understand some type of reasoning behind them, but follow these mitzvos because we follow Hashem. We know that these mitzvos have many other reasons behind them, some based on the esoteric parts of the Torah and some based on the revealed parts. All of these were told to Moshe Rabbeinu at Har Sinai and are part of the hidden Torah that was passed down through the chain of transmission.
This mitzvah is the only one that Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to pass to Klal Yisroel with no rhyme or reason, wholly based on accepting Hashem’s will.
וַּיְדַּבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶה וְאֶל אַּהֲרֹן לֵאמֹר – and Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon telling them to tell the following to Klal Yisroel.
זֹאת חֻקַּת הַּתּוֹרָה – this is the statute of the Torah - the statute of the Torah is that Moshe should tell them that he was commanded to teach them the Halacha in this way. He should tell them that this is the unexplained statute of the Torah that Moshe was told not to explain at all. Even though there is an explanation, and Moshe was told that explanation, it was given as an unexplained law, that they accept the Torah as slaves of Hashem.
The statute of the Torah is that Moshe should tell them that this mitzvah must stay unexplained. The main mitzvah was the red heifer, but if Klal Yisroel were to ask that doing a mitzvah without understanding its meaning and secrets is akin to a soulless body, the Torah continues that Moshe should tell Klal Yisroel וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ פָּרָּה אֲדֻמָּה תְּמִימָּה - they should take to you a complete red heifer. They are to bring this heifer to Moshe, who did know and comprehend the secret of the parah adumah and its inner meaning. Moshe’s mitzvah was complete, with all of the hidden secrets and explanations clearly elucidated.
This is why the statement begins with a ויו. They should take the red heifer, and they should also be taking their minds and understanding and bring them both to Moshe Rabbeinu.
However, this is sufficient for the first parah adumah that was brought. Throughout history, we are aware of another eight, until Moshiach will bring the tenth. In those generations, we will not have a Moshe Rabbeinu who understands the secret of the parah adumah. How will they bring the korban then, without understanding its depth and secrets?
The Ohr Hachaim offers two answers for this. Either, each generation has a tzadik who understands the secrets of parah adumah. The true meaning was passed down in hiding, from one person to the next, and when they brought a parah adumah, the correct person was there. Another answer is based on the Medrash that all of the red heifers throughout history were considered Moshe’s mitzvah. Why is this mitzvah different that it is known as Moshe’s? Because we need someone involved in the mitzvah who understands the mitzvah to its fullest, and Moshe was the only through history.
(I would add to this explanation, that the Mishna in Parah tells us that until the end of the first Beis Hamikdash, Moshe Rabbeinu’s parah adumah was used. The second one to be brought was by Ezra when they rebuilt the Beis Hamikdash.
It is well known that there is a fundamental difference between the Torah during the times of the first Beis Hamikdash and during the second. During the first Beis Hamikdash, Klal Yisroel had prophecy among them. The highest secrets of the Torah were revealed to the Nevi’im of the generations. During those years, when no prophet had heard the secret of parah adumah, Klal Yisroel could not bring the parah adumah in its optimal state. They needed Moshe Rabbeinu’s knowledge and understanding.
During the second Beis Hamikdash, we lost the gift of prophecy. But we then began the period of the Oral Torah. Great scholars deduced and understood from the halachos that we were taught, new halachos and deeper understanding. The Torah was essentially transformed from a lesson from Heaven to Earth into a lesson from earth to heaven. The Chachamim decided the Torah based on their understanding and traditions, they did not receive any new revelations from Heaven. In these years, there was no necessity for a Heavenly revelation to explain parah adumah, it was given to the understanding of the great giants of Torah of the generation. If they were limited in their understanding, so be it. That was how the Torah was supposed to be studied in those days.
This is why only Moshe’s parah adumah required Moshe’s level of understanding, and no other such cows were brought until prophecy was over.)
