PURITY AND OPACITY
In addition to the weekly Parsha, KiSisa, we read an additional Prasha, Prasha Parah. Par-shas Parah is the portion in the Torah which instructs us how to purify ourselves from the spiritual impurity that occurs when we come in contact with a human corpse. We read this additional Prasha in preparation for the upcoming holiday of Pesach which requires us to achieve a level of purity.
The question is that today in absence of the Basis haMikdosh (Temple) we do not need to purify ourselves so what is the relevance of this Prasha?
The Jewish calendar begins with the month of Nissan, in which we celebrate our Exodus from Egypt, and concludes with Adar in which we celebrate Purim the holiday that occurred during the Babylonian exile.
This annual cycle is a microcosm of Jewish history that began with our Exodus and continues still today where we find ourselves still in exile waiting for Hashem to take us home again. As Adar draws near to her end we look forward to beginning the cycle again. We therefore read Parshas Parah to purify ourselves as we prepare to exit our current state of exile and be swooped up on the wings of Hashem like an eagle swoops up her young ones on her wings. To be worthy of this lift we pay attention to our level of our purity.
The question remains; how do we prepare ourselves, how do we purify ourselves?
Following the Torah reading we read a portion of the Prophets that corresponds to the Torah reading. This week we read a paragraph from Yechezkel (Ezekiel 36). The prophet tells us “The House of Israel as they are sitting on their Land, they have sullied it with their perverted ways…. I will pour my wrath upon them and I will disperse them throughout the nations and and the lands of the earth… and they will denigrate My Holy Name. I will have mercy on My Name that they denigrated. Therefore, tell the House of Israel, ‘not in your merit will I take action but for My Name that you denigrated’… So I will gather from all the nations and bring you to your Land. I will sprinkle upon you the purifying waters and you will be purified, from all your impurities I will clean you. I will then replace your heart of stone with a heart of flesh… “
The prophet expresses the process of our purification in two steps. First HaShem will be the sprinkle the purifying water which will purify us and then He will transplant our stone heart with heart of flesh. What is the significance of these two steps?
Before we address this question we must ask what is purity and what is the effect when there is a lack of it.
Purity is clarity. The lack of purity is opaque with understanding and sensitivities blocked we experience confusion. When one lives in con-fusion with no understanding of what is happening he has no way to process his emotions in a healthy manner. Therefore the heart which is the home of our emotions becomes clogged and before long it atrophies. Perhaps this is why HaShem has two steps; He first purifies us to give us the clarity needed to appreciate what He gives us. With clarity to appreciate His infinite kindness together with His infinite wisdom we learn to trust Him. With no confusion clouding our hearts we are able to process our emotions of joy to be a Jew and of love of HaShem and of commitment to His Torah. But our heart has already turned to stone. He therefore replaces that heart of stone with a heart of flesh that we flourish with passion and excitement to connect to HaShem.
Once that happens HaShem’s Name will never be denigrated.
Our question was how do we achieve purity. The prophet Yechezkal teaches us that the purity will be a gift from HaShem. We must only be careful to accept it and find the clarity that brings.
On a practical level this means that we need to avoid those thoughts and actions which cloud our clarity and involve ourselves in those thoughts and actions which enhance our clarity. These would mean paying attention to the foods we eat and things we see. To involve ourselves in Torah study and feeling the sensitivities of another person are the ways by which sensitive ourselves to HaShem’s gift of clarity.
How fortunate we are that we receive this annual gift of purity directly from HaShem.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind