By Shlomo Riskin

“This is the statute of the Torah which the Lord has commanded saying, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel and they shall take for you a red heifer…”’ (Num. 19:2).

The mystical ritual of the red heifer is a hok, a commandment we follow not because it is rational, logical or moral, but because it is Divinely ordained. The very notion of the priest purifying an individual who has been defiled by contact with a dead body, through the process of sprinkling him or her with the ashes of a red heifer mixed with spring waters, seems irrational.

The ritual is even paradoxical because those priests involved in preparing this mixture are in fact themselves defiled by the process. How can a substance with the capacity to purify the defiled simultaneously defile those who are pure? Why does the Torah place it in the book of Numbers (Bamidbar), right after the rebellion of Korah and immediately before the transgression of Moses at the rock? Moreover, the portion of Hukat is read near the yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menahem Mendel Schneerson, the greatest Jewish leader of the 20th century. The red heifer ritual provides a fascinating commentary on his life.

The kohen-priest is our teacher and guardian, our religious inspiration and guide; his special garb reflects his unique vocation (Ex. 28:4-42). The shoulder strap of his apron (ephod) and the breastplate (hoshen mishpat) worn next to his heart bear the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, demonstrating his love and responsibility for the nation. And inscribed on the head-plate placed on his forehead, are the words, “sacred unto the Lord,” expressing his commitment to teaching Torah and sacred living in accordance with God’s commandments. Clearly, love and commitment to nation combined with intellectual propagation of Torah are the twin building blocks of the kohen-teacher’s vocation. How are these ideals related to the mystery of the red heifer? For nearly 300 years, Eastern European Jews had two models of religious leadership: the Lithuanian rosh yeshiva and the chassidic rebbe. The former devoted most of his attention to the priestly head-plate (tzitz), the intellectual pursuit of Torah, while the latter dedicated most of his attention to the priestly breastplate and shoulder strap, the pastoral concerns of his flock.

The paradox of the red heifer ritual – the fact that it is the very mixture which purifies those who are defiled while defiling the people involved in the act of purifying – will serve to bring together the kohen’s love for his people with his commitment to teach them. After all, if my friend falls into a mud-pile, will I not naturally become sullied and muddied myself in the process of lifting him out? Built into the very enterprise of purifying the defiled is the fact that the purifier himself must be touched by some of the impurity.

This is why the kohen must always bless the nation “out of love”; and bring his love for his people to his vocation of teaching them Torah. When the kohen-leader truly loves every Jew, he assumes a new level of responsibility. A loving leader must be ready to leave the religious comfort of yeshiva and a Torah-true community to make his way to the furthest hinterlands to infuse them with the light of spirituality. This is what God tells Moses when he sends him away from his Torah study: “Get down from the supernal heights of Mount Sinai and go down to the errant Jews worshiping the Golden Calf; the only reason I bestowed greatness upon you, Moses, was for the sake of Israel; if your nation is sinning, what need have I of you?” (B.T. Berakhot, 32a)

From the beginning of his ministry, Moses is totally committed to his people. When he kills the Egyptian taskmaster to defend an Israelite slave he sacrifices his position as an Egyptian prince and risks his own life. However, the endless ingratitude and insurrections of the Israelites finally wears him down, so that eventually, he calls the Israelites “rebels,” striking the rock instead of speaking to it – an act of displaced anger against his stiffnecked nation. Herein lies the connection between the two parts of our biblical portion, the ritual of the red heifer and Moses’ sin and punishment. Once a leader loses even the smallest amount of his capacity to love his people, even if his feelings are justified, he can no longer lead them.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe was a profound scholar and leader of his people. The timeless and constant message of the Chabad movement is love: “Be among the disciples of Aaron, love humanity, and with that love, you will bring everyone close to Torah” (Ethics of the Fathers, 1:12).

The preservation of the eternal Torah requires a people determined enough to devote their lives to it. The Rebbe raised an army of emissaries (shluchim) whose love for and commitment to our nation is so great that they readily leave batei midrash (study halls), their families and communities for the farthest recesses of the globe to bring Jews back to our Torah. When I asked the Rebbe for a blessing before leaving New York City for the unchartered hills of Efrat, he said: “The Almighty will extend your ministry in Efrat until the coming of the Redeemer, but I must send emissaries all over the world who will be modern on the outside and Chabad on the inside.”

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor

of Ohr Torah Stone and chief rabbi

of Efrat, Israel.