Torah Commentary - Chukat

The Torah Portion, Chukat, grimly develops a number of themes, some of which are familiar to us from previous Portions: laws for rituals; complaints by the children of Israel which are met with punishment from God; conquest (with Divine assistance) of those who obstruct the Israelites' journey to Canaan; death in combat and the death of Israelite leaders.

Chukat begins with a detailed description of the ritual for preparing the ashes of a red heifer. These ashes are to be mixed with water and the resulting "water of impurity" is used to purify those who have come in contact with a dead person. This section foreshadows the deaths which occur throughout the Portion including the death of Miriam, deaths in combat, the death of Aaron, and deaths by snake bite of Israelites who "...spoke against God and against Moses: 'Why did you bring us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? Because there's no bread, and there's no water, and our soul is disgusted with the cursed bread.'" (Numbers 21:5)*

In contrast to the explicit directions for preparing the red heifer's ashes, deaths, even of Miriam and Aaron, are related with scant embellishment.
"And the children of Israel, all the congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there."
(Numbers 20:1)*
"And Moses took off Aaron's clothes and put them on Eleazar, his son. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. And all the congregation saw that Aaron had expired, and all the house of Israel mourned Aaron thirty days." (Numbers 20:28-29)*

In Chukat, we are told of several contentious encounters with inhabitants of the lands through which the Israelites travel. We learn that God denies Moses entry into the Promised Land because Moses fails to follow God's commandment to speak to the rock (to provide water) and strikes the rock instead. We are even treated to two poetic passages - Numbers 21: 17-18 and Numbers 21: 27-30. Yet, we are told little about the deaths of Miriam and Aaron. We have repeatedly heard the Israelites' words of complaint, but there is hardly an indication of their response to losing two important members of the community. We are left to wonder - What did the Israelites say? How did they react? Were there rituals to mark the passing of such significant figures? Were monuments made? Memorials? The Torah is silent in these respects. Intentionally silent, I believe.

We know from their recurrent complaints, that the Israelites' memories of Egypt are strong and compelling. They are certainly familiar with the elaborate, labor-intensive funerary rituals designed to grant Egyptian rulers immortality. By not dwelling on funeral arrangements, by making no mention of preparations for an after-life, and by associating impurity with contact with the dead, the Torah recognizes that even the most exalted among us are mortal. The Torah wisely directs us away from practices which glorify death rather than life.

We are led to understand that our behavior in life, our efforts to fulfill God's commandments, these are the "monuments" which mark our days on earth. Chukat, like previous Portions, recounts our ancestors' evolving faith in One God and teaches us ways by which we can experience God's presence and live God's commandments. Chukat reminds us that Torah is a matter of life - that we, in partnership with God, must attend to the here and now.
To 120!