The story of the red heifer, which famously could not be explained,
has led me to try to solve the puzzle. I read a Chabad article, but it
doesn't really try to explain it. What do you think of this hypotheses.
At this point my best guess is that the difficulty in finding and proofing
the red heifer makes it have a psychological effect upon those doing
it and Israel in general. The message is: purity requires intense and
lasting effort.
Especially as to the fur and checking every hair, similar to checking
yourself, your house, your Nation: one thing wrong, and it is not
good. The wrong must be fixed. Example: one person in Israel who is
dealt with injustly, is a grave matter making the entire Nation impure,
guilty. We also saw this when there was just one thieve in the war.
It also says here: "Go and purify the people." (Joshua 7:14). 3 000 men
went to Ai, 1 was a thieve, 36 died and they where defeated. 1:3 000 =
0.034% was impure, 99.967% was pure, but it was not enough to be regarded
as good. Israel should not come to think that if most of the Nation is
doing well, that this is good enough. The red heifer process reminds them
of it, and all can see it. We also see today that it seems to be quite
the thing to find a correct red heifer ? There is a national focus on the
one/few cow(s). By the effort on display, the people will realize: purity
requires perfection, anything wrong however small we cannot allow it.
Imagine a world, complete world, where if one person continues to cry
from an injustice, we all cry. Compare it to a world where if one person
cries from an injustice, everyone else just keeps up the party and ignores
it - as if: "It is only one person, it is not significant". Imagine a
world gone astray, and just one person - let's call him Abraham - goes
the other way. Should it have been ignored ? Is a tea with poison in it
fine to drink, because the poison is only a few drops on a whole pot ?
What are we, humanity, in the Universe anyway. The universe seems to be
extremely unbelievably unfathomably large, what are we in it ? Yet the
Creator of it all comes here, and he finds Abraham to be good, and says:
I will make you great. He found the one good in the vastness, a vastness
so great that even the entire Earth seems to be like a speck of dust for
us; even less. The Creator cares for the tiniest places. We can assume
He knows what he is doing, and we should follow this example He gives.
Yoke. The red heifer must not have had a yoke upon it, because as the cow
wears the yoke, the owner has subdued the animal for his own purpose, as a
tool, and he has thoughts about the cow: go left, go faster, go slower,
why did you slip your hoof there. When he sees the red heifer being
treated like a holy object, he may smile inside of himself, thinking:
"I know this animal isn't all so great as they think it is, the whole
thing is just odd, I'm laughing about this in secret." This means that
this man does not himself benefit from the red heifer purification.
Sprinkling toward the tent: This to make the connection with the Torah
laws and the Creator. Otherwise people could think the ritual stands on
its own, as if it has power by itself, and could be used by idolators for
example. This says: the red heifer purifies this law and its observance,
the Torah, what is written on the stone tablets (etc).
The priest becomes impure himself, apparently. One reason could be,
similar as to why Moshe Rabbeinu should not have stricken the rock
himself. People might think the priest has the special power, but if the
priest becomes impure, he is humbled before God, and also from within,
and thus he also can benefit from the ritual.
The ash/water sprinkling on impure people requires repetition apparently,
it is not very simple and brief. This again gives the sense that
becoming pure and good is not simple, it requires work. In a biological
contamination sense, the time going by and perhaps even the ash itself,
might have an effect, but I'm not a biological scientist so I can't
comment on that. I have heard though, that ash does purify, and can be
used as soap.
The whole thing then both purifies psychologically, and physically.
The whole thing then both purifies psychologically, and physically. What
do you think ?
In a more broad sense, I think there may be other laws as well, whose
purpose seems to be psychological. Example: bow to the Temple, where
the stone tablets are, do not bow to idols. However, what is physically
accomplished by bending your body ? It seems to have a psychological
purpose, even though nothing gets produced, no goods transfer hands,
no words are read or knowledge shared. You could say that it is a
political expression of loyalty, which inspires others to also be loyal
to the Torah.
That is however also a psychological effect, and a way in the same way
as the red heifer may have a psychological effect. "Such a process to
achieve holiness, wow", the people will end up thinking. Are we anywhere
pure yet ? Is there one of us who needs help, who has been neglected ? Go
over everyone we know once more, like over the hairs on the heifer, to see
if all is well. Are all criminals caught, or did one slip through, etc.
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[Continuing on Usenet]
Notes, because I can already feel the accusations from here, so let me
reply to this (figment of my own imagination).
1.
A fool can only see his own foolishness, no matter what you tell him.
As he strings along disconnected thoughts and his own shallow perceptions,
believing it to be true and wise,
yet it is his own willfull heart pushing around his beliefs like a flood
tearing through an unfinished building site,
so he will hear the thoughts of someone who who is dedicated and cares to be
precise,
thinking that to be nothing more than the random noise in his own mind.
When the fool chances upon a great visible and undeniable success in
the world,
whatever he may call 'success' by his own desires,
be it riches, be it long life, be it strength, be it an invention, be it
the coveted popularity among fools,
he falls on his face, he found new gods to worship,
people he believes to be true and good in every way,
and he tries to be like them,
denigrating who dares to say otherwise,
talking down the wise as if they are fools,
no matter what they say.
This may be why Israel has been called,
to live in a world of fools,
even being the fools themselves,
but following their God, HKB'H,
who showed them great power so that they might not waver,
their hard neck set to the ways of peace,
"We shall hear and we shall do!", they've said,
to the One who protects and loves them for it,
to be a Lamp to the Nations, a Lamp of wisdom among fools,
even though they did not comprehend it themselves,
so that even us fools may become wise and live,
despite our many flaws,
thanks to that which HKB'H has done for Moshe Rabbeinu and His people Israel.
Fools however have darkened this great Lamp,
the one thing that could save us from our own stupidity,
they led Israel away from the way,
or did the people of Israel demand that for themselves,
they put up a new Lamp of gold, reflecting the Sun,
overshadowing the 7 lights in the Temple with their own,
used prestige to deny the wishes of their God,
sold the immutable law for money,
for favors from the rich,
denying the poor their rights,
leaving the land in the hands of the greedy,
but as they quarreled among themselves,
having lost the one way,
going in every direction without the one truth to unify them,
HKB'H cut them down and showed the Nations:
these are fools, do not follow them,
nothing they do is a success,
everything they build gets torn down,
their words make no sense,
they have broken their bond with me.
Neveretheless, as the beatings came down upon the people,
the bloody sword drawn for murder many times,
their God was crying for His people,
as he brought the murderers upon them,
asking His people: don't you see, why don't you come back to me,
these are the consequences of your actions,
when will you comprehend, return to Me and my way,
so that I can love and protect you, forever, and make a success out of
anything you do, and thereby this world of fools may have life.
More and more they strayed,
More and more they where murdered,
More and more they strayed,
and more and more they where murdered.
As they got up again, some did a little better than before,
as time went past, more of them lost their way again.
More and more they strayed,
More and more they where murdered,
in an endless cycle of foolishness,
finding some hope for a short while, a generation or two perhaps,
then to be cut down again, never finding their way back.
Was their way so hard to find,
was the task too much ?
Their law is in their hands,
they can understand it, it is not too difficult for them.
It is not over the sea, and it is not in heaven, it is readily available
to them.
Their God stands ready every moment with outstretched arms to welcome
them back, every day every moment, waiting for His people.
When will you return Israel, when will you stop the lie, when will you
return to truly care for each other and the one truth, the one way.
When will you light the Lamp to the Nations, so that a world of fools
may learn to be wise.
When Israel, when, why do you take so long, why are you so dishonest, so
shallow, so distracted, so full of your own mind, why do you take your
own hearts desires so seriously, why are you behaving like a fool
despite that which is in your hands: the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu. Even a
fool realizes eventually when he has failed, but you keep going the way
you are for thousands of years, you listen to the same fools for
thousands of years, you suffer so much, but you never returned up until
now.
You are asking your God, to give you one great final beating like no
other beating you have suffered,
perhaps then you will return, Israel,
not laughing or partying anymore,
but weeping for your God,
perhaps finally realizing: "I have been a fool but thought myself wise,
I went against my God and his Peace, and I suffered the consequences of
my foolishness."
Perhaps then you will return, finally humbled by your God and your
foolishness exposed,
Why did you let it go on so long Israel, why do you always think you
know better, why do you fall on your face when fools with prestige and
money pretend to be wise, and point you away from the way.
Return Israel, return today, return forever, return with nothing but the
will to be good to each other, because if you return, the whole world will
become your paradise, the fools will fall on their faces for you when
they see you succeed, they want to be like you, they love and support
you, they thank you and they say among themselves: how lucky we are for
Israel, to show us the light of their Lamp, or otherwise we would have
been lost in the darkness, perhaps forever.
*
[Well, I guess I finally managed to not talk ... oh wait no, this was
about the prosbul again. Never mind, all good then ;-) I guess I wrote a
bit in a certain style perhaps, I hope that's ok. Good style makes good
following, I guess, but if I butchered it, I'm sorry about that. I just
tried to write down the truth, that's all, and tried to address the
non-think of the fools, with their preformed judgements based on nothing.
Serious thinking takes time and effort. I personally can usually never
figure anything out, until a lot of time and perhaps effort in trying to
puzzle things together. I am sorry for being a fool like that, and too
outrageous to keep my opinions silent ;-). However, I write it down for
you and this world, because it doesn't look like there is much of
anything good happening or going to happen, or anything serious and
solid to do about it - and so I tried to do my best to propose you
something, and I propose to you to return to your way, the Torah, and
stop with your little detractions around it, or this fakery with your
so-called Oral Law which you put over everything, when it's merely a
bunch of opinions generated by people - not even Prophets - reading the
Torah, just like you can, just like anyone can. You look to an idol to
follow ? Stop looking. Look for yourself to care and be dedicated, and
then you have someone who is on your own side, which is you, no longer
being a fool, no longer deluding yourself or leading yourself into
nothingness. You can also look for your God, see, he made it easy for
you, so easy, basically he broke the rules for you, to make it easy on
you. Then listen and be happy you have this chance.]
-- Economic & political ideology, worked out into Constitutional models,with a multi-facetted implementation plan. http://market.socialism.nl
Red Heifer, possible reasons for this law¹