Parasha Chukat
The paradoxical red heifer, the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, and Moses' sin at the rock.
Overview
Parasha Chukat contains the Torah's most mysterious law — the red heifer — and some of its most poignant moments: the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, and Moses' sin that will cost him entry into the Promised Land.
The Story
The law of the red heifer: a completely red cow without blemish is slaughtered, burned, and its ashes mixed with water to purify those who have become impure through contact with a corpse. Paradoxically, those who prepare the purification waters become impure themselves. The rabbis call this the quintessential chok — a divine decree whose reason transcends human understanding.
Miriam dies. The water supply fails; the people complain bitterly. God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water will flow. Instead, Moses strikes the rock twice in anger, saying "Shall we bring water from this rock?" God tells Moses and Aaron: because you did not sanctify Me before the people, you will not bring them into the Land. Aaron dies on Mount Hor; his son Eleazar becomes High Priest. The people complain again; fiery serpents bite them. God tells Moses to make a bronze serpent on a pole — whoever looks at it lives.
Significance for Noahides
The red heifer teaches that not all divine laws are rationally explicable — some must be accepted on faith. Moses' sin — a moment of anger and self-assertion — illustrates that even the greatest human beings are accountable to God. The bronze serpent teaches that healing comes not from the object itself but from turning one's eyes toward heaven in trust.