- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Chukat
20
mysterious ritual of the Para Aduma. Because the
ashes of the red heifer can simultaneously render
one person tahor & another person tamei, it is
considered the Chok – a law for which the reason
is not readily apparent – par excellence,
exceeding even Shlomo HaMelech’s understanding.
But it can also refer to laws which are
unchanging throughout history, such as Pesach’s
rules being "Chukat Olam," eternal decrees. There
is a third application as well: some laws are
eminently logical for some people, or at one
specific time & place, yet inexplicable for
others or at a different time & place. These laws
are called "Chok u’Mishpat," statute & law.
Sounding the Shofar, for example, is both
mystically imponderable, yet also logical when it
announces a king. Honoring parents is another
"Chok u’Mishpat;" it makes sense because they
care for us, yet when it was given in the desert,
our parents neither fed, taught nor protected us.
Descartes’ Error
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks | Tammuz 3 5777
The Power of Moses
Parashat Chukat
Rabbi David Magence | 5764
Rav Kook: The Definition of 'Good' Is: 'Life'
Ein Aya, Shabbat 2, 230
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Tamuz 2 5780
Parshat Chukat - "Water from the Rock"
Parashat Chukat
Rabbi Azriel Ariel | 5758-61
“G” Dash “D”?
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Adar 21 5780
Keriat Shema
Chapter Fifteen-Part One
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5775
Matza Ashira and Matza Sheruya
Chapter Eight-Part One
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5775
Pirkei Avot between Pesach and Shavuot
Rabbi Berel Wein | 5769
Daf Yomi Sanhedrin Daf 107
R' Eli Stefansky | 5 Nisan 5785
Parashat Hashavua: Who Called Out to Whom?
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Nisan 5785
Ask the Rabbi: Erev Pesach That Falls on Shabbat
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Nisan 5785
