Denis
Geller wrote:
>Please comment on the commandment which King Solomon
didn't understand, the
>one regarding the ashes of the red
heifer.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch gives a complete straightforward explanation
of
this in his commentary on Numbers 19. Before making 3 supportive comments
I
will briefly explain Rav Hirsch's 50 page commentary:
Rav Hirsch claims
that the Parah Adumah teaches us that:
"All of us have a right to be bullish
(=Parah) in our life aspirations. Our
consequent passsions (=complete
redness) can be prevented from leading to
sin (Chatath=sin offering) if we
direct our life force (=blood) towards
spiritual acts(=7 sprinkles towards
temple). When a person partially loses
his drive to produce in life because
of his exposure to death(=Toomath
Mayth) we cure him (=Taharah) by reminding
him (=sprinkling) that he is
both spiritual(=water) and animal(=Parah
ashes)"
Rav Hirsch continues to show how the Parah Adumah deals with our quest
for
freedom. I recommend reading the 50 pages in detail. Let me now make
3
further supportive points:
1) Rav Hirsch did not INVENT his symbolic methods. Rather they are based
on
his 100 page essay "Towards a Groundline of Jewish Symbolism" in which
he
asks, "Can we interpret mitzvoth symbolically?", "Should we?", "If yes
how
are we to do it?" So they are objective.
2) If Parah Adumah has a reason why is it called a Chok which
is
erroneously translated as "without reason"? Actually, "Chok" simply
means
"deep reason". Let me give an analogy: "Don't play in the snow without
a
coat" has a transparent reason (since I will probably get sick
immediately)
while "Don't eat salt because you might get high blood pressure"
has a
"deep reason" (ie. its consequences are not immediate but DO come).
3) Finally to quote Rav Yonah on Pirkey avoth ("we do not understand
the
suffering of the righteous") "We of course know the reason people
suffer
(because of their sins) but it is not as easily acceptable as
most
reasons." I would say the same thing here for King
Solomon.
Russell Jay Hendel, Ph.d; ASA;RHendel @ Mcs Drexel Edu