This Shabbat we read an additional Torah portion in the synagogue known as "Parshat Para" (the "red heifer"). In the days of the Holy Temple, if a person became spiritually unclean through contact with a dead body, the ashes of the red heifer rendered him clean. As a person had to be in a state of ritual cleanliness to bring the Passover offering, these laws were read publicly in the weeks leading up to the holiday.
Although we presently cannot bring offerings in the literal sense, the spiritual lessons they contain are timeless.
Our Sages likened mitzvot to the human body. Just as the body is composed of 248 limbs and 365 sinews, the Torah is composed of 248 positive and 365 negative commandments.
But the Torah is also likened to the soul. Just as the soul animates the physical body and transforms it into a living being, the Torah also enlivens the practical mitzvot and illuminates them with its light. When a Jew studies Torah and understands the more profound significance of the commandments, his mitzvot are performed with joy, happiness, and heartfelt enthusiasm.
This principle sheds light on the Talmudic statement, "He who studies the laws of the burnt-offering is considered as if he has brought one." During the exile, when we cannot bring sacrifices in a literal sense, our study of the law stands in its stead. The mitzvah of bringing the sacrifice, however, just like the human body, is limited by the boundaries of time and space; the actual mitzva can only be fulfilled in the proper time and at the proper location (indeed, it is forbidden to offer sacrifices outside the Temple).
But our holy Torah, like the soul, is spiritual. It is not limited by the restraints of time and place. Our study of the Torah's laws of offerings is therefore relevant and appropriate in any age and in any location and offers us an advantage during this time of exile over the bringing of the actual sacrifice. May we merit very soon to fulfill it physically as well, since the ultimate purpose in creation is G-d's desire to manifest his dwelling place in this physical world.
