Parshas Parah is the third in the series of the Arba Parshiyos read leading up to the holidays of Purim and Pesach. Each parsha is directly relevant to the time in which it is read. Parshas Shekalim is read before Adar since in the days of the Mikdash, the machatzis hashekel would be collected in Adar. Parshas Zachor is read before Purim since the destruction of Haman and his allies was another episode in the eventual total victory over Amaleik. Parshas Parah is read before Nissan since the Jewish people had to purify themselves in preparation for the korban Pesach. And Parshas HaChodesh, describing the designation of Nissan as the first month of the year and the commandment to bring the korban Pesach, is appropriately read immediately before or on Rosh Chodesh Nissan (See Megilla 29a.)
Beyond these specific reasons, many commentaries note an additional dimension inherent within the Rabbinic enactment to read these parshiyos leading up to Pesach: to increase our longing for the Final Redemption. As Chazal inform us, "b'Nissan nig'alu uv'Nissan asidin l'higa'eil" (Rosh Hashana 11a). On a simple level, all of these concepts - the collection of the half shekel for korbanos, the eradication of Amaleik and all the evil that this nation represents, the mitzvah of purification through the ashes of the red heifer, and the bringing of the korban Pesach - are not just mitzvos that were once done in the distant past but are part of our eternal Torah to be observed at a point in the near future, iy"H. On a deeper level, each concept adds a different dimension to our yearning for the long awaited ge'ula. The need for practical steps to increase the longing for redemption is commanded by Chabakuk (2:3): "if he tarries, await him [or: it]", a reference to the melech hamashiach or the prophecy concerning the final redemption (see commentaries ibid. and Rambam, commentary to Mishna, introduction to Cheilek). With this in mind, we offer the following ideas.
Many commentaries note that one of the reasons only half a shekel was given rather than a whole one is to teach the lesson that each individual Jew, no matter how great he might be on his own, is incomplete without the rest of the Jewish people. It is well known that Jewish unity was a prerequisite to receiving the Torah at Har Sinai. Yirmiyahu (31:30) prophesies that Hashem will forge a "new covenant" with the Jewish people at the time of the Redemption, meaning that the Jewish people will recommit to keeping Hashem's Torah after having violated it previously[1]. A necessary component for this acceptance will be Jewish unity as it was for the original acceptance of the Torah. This concept serves both to instill hope that eventually this seemingly elusive goal will eventually occur and to remind and reproach us to work toward that unity.
font-family: Parshas Zachor, besides indicating that the destruction of Amaleik will eventually occur, also underscores the fact that the recurring face of evil manifest so often in the period of the exile will not only be eradicated but that ultimately "Hashem's name will be one", meaning that all will recognize the reason why that evil had to exist[2]. The realization of this, in turn, helps us cope with the tragedies of the exile and long for redemption by teaching that even those selfsame tragedies are necessary parts of the process of redemption.
font-family: Parshas Parah's additional message - besides the immediate relevance to purification in anticipation of the hopefully imminent offering of the korban Pesach - is dramatically described by Yechezkel in this week's haftarah:
...It is not for your sake that I act, O House of Israel, but for My holy Name that you have desecrated among the nations where you came. I will sanctify My great Name that is desecrated among the nations, that you have desecrated among them; then the nations will know that I am Hashem ... when I become sanctified through you before their eyes. I will take you from [among] the nations and gather you from all the lands, and I will bring you to your own soil. Then I will sprinkle pure water upon you, that you may be cleansed; I will cleanse you from all your contamination... I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone ... and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My spirit within you, and I will make it so that you will follow My decrees and guard My ordinances and fulfill them... (36:22-27)[3]
The ashes of the red heifer purify one who came into contact with a corpse. An encounter with death or other tragedy is an encounter with hopelessness, with evil, with the sorrowful state of the human condition. The paralysis that it can cause in the survivors, the loss of hope that it can engender in those who meet its horror is almost indescribable. But Hashem promises us that this too is surmountable. Not only can the bereaved survivors overcome this tragedy, but they can once again rededicate themselves to a meaningful life of avodas Hashem. The encounter with death is m'tamei, causes temporary distancing from G-d, but the purifying ashes of the parah aduma, brought about themselves from the death of the red cow, brings about tahara again, the ability to move beyond, to reconnect to the Creator. Even the death itself is not final. The deceased soul lives on eternally, eventually even to be resurrected with its body in the Messianic era. Yes, death is horrible, but no, it is not final nor is it fundamentally evil. It is but another episode in reflecting on the fact that, in the period of exile, much about G-d's perfect ways is not clear[4].
But there is also the encounter with seeming national "death": tragedies, both physical such as the horrors of the countless persecutions of the exile, and spiritual, such as the tragic abandoning of the Jewish people's mission by so many of its sons and daughters. But Hashem promises us through his prophet that these will also be purified and corrected. The exile, with all of its calamities, will end. And lest we give up hope that "ein Yisrael niga'lin ela bitshuva" (see Sanhedrin 97b), Yechezkel prophesies that G-d will take us out from the nations for His sake even if we are undeserving. As the Midrash comments (Sh'mos Rabba 25:12), "HKB"H says to Yisrael, '...I have set a time for redemption which will come whether they repent or not'". But what about the lowly spiritual state that Klal Yisrael is in: rampant assimilation, pre-occupation with material wealth, pursuit of self-gratification, and abandonment of Torah and mitzvos? This too Hashem promises will be corrected. "And I will arrange that you shall follow my mitzvos." The purifying waters of the parah aduma inform us that no event, neither one experienced by an individual nor the community should leave one in despair. As long as the Eternal Master of the World is in charge, all can and will be righted in the end. Of course, this should not lead to passivity thinking, "All would be good in the end, so why bother to change?" Rather, it should inspire us with renewed hope to partner with the Creator in bringing about the perfect world. In a world rampant with terrorism, warring nations, financial insecurity, and spiritual instability, let us recall this central teaching.
The Midrash (Pesikta Rabbasi 36, Yalkut Shimoni, Yeshaya 492) comments:
R. Yitzchak said: "The year the melech hamashiach will appear, the leaders of nations will be warring with each other. The king of Persia will wage war with the king of Arabia. The latter will consult with Edom, and the king of Persia will [attempt to] destroy the world! And all the nations will be clamoring and frightened, falling on their faces and will be beset as if by labor pangs. Israel too will be clamoring and frightened and will say, "Where shall we go, where shall we go?" And [Hashem] will say to them: "My children, do not fear! Everything I have done, I have done only for you. Why are you afraid? The time of your redemption has arrived!"...
The eerie connection to current events is frightening. But the conclusion of the Midrash that all of these world changing events are part of the process of redemption provides hope and confidence to redouble our efforts at prayer, Talmud Torah, gemilus chessed and other mitzvos, which all help mitigate the chevlei mashiach (see Sanhedrin 97a).
Thus the message of the parah aduma together with all of the other central messages of the other three of the Arba Parshiyos serve to reignite our sense of awaiting the final redemption. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim 736) comments that the merit of that longing helps bring that glorious event closer.
The final parsha, Parshas HaChodesh, rounds out the quartet. On the one hand, it recalls the past glory of the Exodus in Egypt and our obligation to recall it and even view ourselves as experiencing it presently. In addition, its reading awakens us to long for the Final redemption. The Midrash (Mechilta Beshalach 8) comments that the final redemption will, in a grander scale, follow the pattern of the Exodus from Egypt. "As in the days of your Exodus from Egypt, I will show them wonders" (Micha 7:25). Rav Moshe Feinstein zt"l after Nissan would pass would sigh and say, "Another Nissan has passed and Klal Yisrael has still not been redeemed!" May we emulate his longing for redemption and help bring it closer through our actions!
[1]The concept of renewing the b'ris occurred in Arvot Moav (Nitzavim 29), in the days of Ezra (Ezra 10), and in the days of Mordechai and Esther (see Shabbos 88a based on Esther 9:27).
[2]See Song of the Sea: Song of Unity, Song of the Future.
[3]Translation from Artscroll Stone Tanach, Mesorah Publications.
[4]See Rav Hirsh's insightful commentary to Parshas Chukas on the symbolism of the tum'a of death and the tahara from it and Rav Soloveitchik's teaching in Out of the Whirlwind: Essays on Mourning, Suffering and the Human Condition. Also see the inspiring words of Mori v'Rabi, Rav Willig shli"ta in Darkness Before the Light.