ד. הֶרֶב (כתיב הֶרֶבה) כַּבְּסֵנִי
מֵעֲוֹנִי
וּמֵחַטָּאתִי טַהֲרֵנִי:
9. Purify me
with a hyssop, and I will become pure; wash me, and I will become whiter than
snow.
ט. תְּחַטְּאֵנִי בְאֵזוֹב
וְאֶטְהָר
תְּכַבְּסֵנִי וּמִשֶּׁלֶג
אַלְבִּין:
12. Create for
me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
יב. לֵב טָהוֹר בְּרָא לִי
אֱלֹקִים וְרוּחַ נָכוֹן חַדֵּשׁ בְּקִרְבִּי:
Shabbos Parah is
the third of what is called the four parshiyos (אַרְבַּע
פָּרָשִיוֹת). A parsha is a reading. Parah means cow and refers to the
purification ritual of the red heifer (פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה).
Long ago when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, one could only bring the
Passover sacrifice in a state of ritual purity. Insuring that the animal was
properly slaughtered with as little pain as possible, it could only be done in
the Temple under the supervision of the priests. To show that it had religious
sanction the life blood of the lamb or kid goat was poured on the base of the
altar.
All of this
could only be done in the state of ritual purity (טָהֳרָה).
Those who were defiled (טָמֵא) were required to
undergo purification. With some exceptions, tumah is generally regarded as a pejorative
meaning that the person has been in contact with something disgusting. For
example touching a dead mouse or masturbation would render a person unclean,
even though they may not be physically dirty at all. To restore spiritual
purity immersion in a ritual bath was required. A more serious form of
defilement was leprosy (מְצוֹרָע).
This came from things like a dirty mouth or doing bad things. It showed up as a
particular type of sore. A person struck with this had to be ostracized then
undergo a distasteful purification ritual.
The worst type
of tuma was from touching a dead body or even being in a room with it. If
somebody, G-d forbid, killed another they would contract this type of
defilement. But it also would apply to soldier in battle or a mortician. The
defilement basically lasted seven days. To restore purity they needed to be
sprinkled with a hyssop branch dipped in a mixture of water and ashes of the
red heifer on the third and seventh day.
A person could
choose to remain unclean and undergo the appropriate ritual at their
convenience. The Passover sacrifice, which was basically the Passover Seder,
required a person to be clean. For this reason it was wise to make arrangements
for purification a few weeks before Pesach, hence the designation Shabbos
Parah.
Because of our
many sins, today the Temple is not standing. Even so on Shabbos Parah we still read
the section of the Torah about the red heifer. The haftorah for Shabbos
includes the lines, “I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you will be purified;
from all your defilement and from all your abominations will I purify you. I
will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will
take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of
flesh,” (Ezekiel 36:25-26). This reading from the prophets and was chosen
because of the reference to sprinkling pure water, which is like the purification
that comes from the parah adumah. However it also includes the ideas of
purification from sin, a pure heart, and a new spirit.
In many
congregations Psalm 51 is also said. It also has references to ritual
purification. “Wash me thoroughly of my iniquity, and from my sin purify me. .
. . Purify me with a hyssop, and I will become pure; wash me, and I will become
whiter than snow”, Psalm 51:4-9). This is a continuation of the idea of
physical cleanliness being an allegory or a sign of inner purity. Similar to
the haftorah it asks for a pure heart and the proper spirit. The general theme
of the psalm though is the plea of King David that he be forgiven for his sins
with Bathsheba. It ends with a prayer that G-d’s goodwill should be manifest in
Zion meaning the Temple, and that G-d will desire זִבְחֵי
צֶדֶק, literally righteous peace offerings.
A peace offering
is in essence religious banquet. That it is righteous would mean from a
practical standpoint that it is beautiful and from a spiritual standpoint that
it is being done by good people for the right reasons. The lesson of parshas
Parah is that now is the time to start cleaning our homes, clothes, and bodies.
In addition we should be examining our attitudes especially the things that concern
us and the things we love. This is so we can conduct the Pesach Seder not only
with our homes cleansed of chametz but our hearts as well.
לע"נ
ה אמה מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז בנוסן תשנ"ח
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר
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