They shall take to you an unblemished red cow. (Bemidbar 19:2)
The Parah Adumah purifies those who are impure, and renders impure those who are pure. A state of purity carries a propensity to contract impurity. And a state of impurity is the opportunity to become pure.
There is a general principle in avodah ruchanis that the times most conducive to spiritual growth are also the times when it is easiest to fall. Similarly, at a time of decline, there is all the siyata d’Shmaya for strengthening oneself and ascending.
In Sefer HaYashar, attributed to Rabbeinu Tam, it says that every person has “days of love and days of hate.” There are periods of spiritual ascent, of excitement in Torah learning and mitzvah observance. These are the “days of love.” But it is very easy to fall during these days.
And there are days of descent, which cause a person to feel lazy and sad, and to be inactive. This is the time to grow, to reach higher, to turn the descent into ascent, to take advantage of the hidden power of these days.
This may be compared to a person who is wearing a white garment, but as time went on, it picked up a stain here and a stain there. The garment can still be worn, because the stains are not so noticeable.
Then the person decided he wants his garment to be completely clean. He wants to improve it. So he began cleaning the dirty spots. He collected mud and various stains from all over the garment, and took a big clump of mud from under the collar, and while he was busy finishing up the cleaning job, the piece of mud fell in just the wrong place and spoiled the whole garment. He tried to purify, but instead brought impurity.
During the course of the year, the “stains” – the little shortcomings – are not so noticeable. But at a time of purity, when we want to clean the stains and improve ourselves, every stain becomes an issue. Those little spots of dirt are not ignorable anymore. They become a reality we must deal with.
This is why it is so easy for a person to fall when he is involved with ascent, with removing his shortcomings. A person must be very careful at such a time. Although he has good intentions, there exists the danger of rendering impure that which is pure.
The Three Weeks are approaching. They are a time of strict judgment.
What does this mean?
The rest of the year, and especially on holidays, Hashem runs His world with an expression of chesed and rachamim. It is a time of Divine mercy and we don’t focus on the Churban.
But during time of mourning over the Churban, the Divine trait of judgment dominates how Hashem runs His world. Exile and destruction are in full force. At this time of spiritual decline, our shortcomings stand out. They are right there, front and center, in full force.
This is the time to fix those shortcomings. As we said above, the descent itself can propel our ascent.
