Transformational people (Chukat)
Parshat Chukat informs us that immediately after the death of Miriam there was no water for the Jewish people (see Bemidbar 20:1-2). As our Sages explain (see Ta’anit 9a, Rashi on Bemidbar 20:2), this is because the well which accompanied Bnei Yisrael throughout the wilderness was provided in the merit of Miriam.
But why did the well disappear upon Miriam’s death? Surely Miriam’s merit outlives her physical existence, so why did the well need to disappear when Miriam died?
According to the Kli Yakar (commentary to Bemidbar 20:2), the disappearance of the well was not because Miriam’s merit did not outlive her, but instead, because the people did not cry or eulogize Miriam when she died. And so the well disappeared in order to teach the people how they did not value Miriam as much as they should have done.
However, there is a further rabbinic statement which deserves our attention where we are taught (Moed Katan 28a, Rashi on Bemidbar 20:1) that the juxtaposition of the death of Miriam with the laws of the para aduma come to teach us that that just as sacrifices bring atonement, so too does the death of the righteous. Clearly, this implies that there is a specific connection between Miriam and the para aduma. The question is: how are they related?
Let us begin with the tradition (see Rashi on Shemot 15:25) that the mitzvah of Para Aduma was given at Mara (literally ‘bitter’). And what is the connection with Miriam? Because our Sages (Seder Olam Rabba 3) explain: ‘Why is she called Miriam? Because it is related to the word ‘bitter’’. What this tells us is that Miriam’s name has a connection to the name of the place where the mitzva of para aduma was given.
And what happened at Mara? Shemot 15:22-25 describes how, when Bnei Yisrael arrived at Mara, they encountered bitter waters and complained. God then instructed Moshe to throw a bitter tree into those waters which then turned sweet.
This is a nice story, but the more we think about this event, it powerfully encapsulates the work of Miriam who was always able to turn something difficult into something positive.
Miriam prophesied about her brother being the redeemer of Israel during the hardest moments of our history, and she held onto hope and carried a tambourine with her even when she did not know when the redemption would come.
Miriam is the one who transformed bitterness into hope and darkness into light. And even the well which God provided in Miriam’s merit functioned this way as it raised up its waters from deep below - meaning from darkness - to light.
Similarly, the Gemara (Shabbat 35a) notes that while a well might naturally be categorized as a vessel which is susceptible to impurity, Miriam’s well was not categorized this way and, instead, was the definition of purity.
What this means is that Miriam represents the paradox of finding life in death, hope in bitterness, song in distress, water in a desert, and purity within possible impurity.
Having understood the nature of Miriam we can now discuss the Para Aduma – because what does its ashes do? They render the impure pure, and the pure impure.
Bringing all these ideas together, while we may think that Parshat Chukat talks about the ‘chok’ (statute) of the para aduma, I believe that it actually talks about the remarkable people – like Miriam - who have the gift of transforming situations and who are, in some way, a chok of nature.
To think of just one example, I would like to mention holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eger whose bestselling book ‘The Choice’ informs us that: “Even in Hell, Hope Can Flower".
This of course sounds strange, because according to the laws of nature, there should be no hope in hell.
But when God gave us the Torah, God also gave us Chukim which I understand to mean the power to find life in death, hope in bitterness, song in distress, water in a desert, purity within possible impurity, and hope in hell.
When Bnei Yisrael don’t understand this, and when they don’t appreciate Miriam who represents this power, she dies. But the people don’t eulogize her enough, and as the Chatam Sofer explains, this is because word hesped (eulogy) is related to the word hefsed (loss) – meaning that the people don’t appreciate their loss. And so the well is taken away as well - and it is only at this point that they understand that Miriam represents the ability to find hope in hell, and to provide water in the desert.
And this, I believe, is why the law of the Para Aduma is mentioned alongside the death of Miriam, because this law captures the essence of Miriam – who was able to transform situations of threat, hopelessness, darkness and death, into goodness, hope, light and life.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rav Johnny Solomon
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