Burn the Cow. Soak the Ashes. Tzav, Parah 5784

 This week we learn the laws of the Red Heifer when we read “Parshat Parah,” the third of the four special Torah portions that we read related to Purim and Pesach. 

The connection between this week’s extra reading and Pesach is as follows:  Next Shabbat, before the month of Nissan begins, we will read about the Mitzvah of establishing the Jewish months by the renewal of the moon, and that Nissan is considered the first month.  That Parsha continues with the laws of the Paschal lamb sacrifice that was offered on the day before Pesach and eaten at the Seder.

In order to be able to eat the meat of the Pesach offering, a person had to be in a state of ritual purity.  This meant that if a person had become ritually impure, they had to purify themselves before Pesach. 

This is also related to this week’s regular Parsha reading, Tzav, which deals with the process of offering sacrifices, which all requires “Tahara” – everyone involved must be in a state of ritual purity.

There are various forms of “Tumah” – ritual impurity – and various methods of purification.  For most, the purification process is to immerse in a Mikvah, a body of natural water, usually from rain, that flows directly into a pool in the ground.  For certain types of Tumah one needs to immerse in “living waters,” meaning water that comes directly from the ground, like a spring that does not dry up in summer. These purifications would have been standard in the times of the Temple and would not have been very complicated to achieve before Pesach.

Then there is the impurity from having had contact with a dead person, either touching a corpse, being under the same roof, going into a cemetery, etc.  In that case a person would need to undergo a special seven day purification process that is the subject of Parshat Parah.  The ashes of a red heifer that was prepared in a unique way would be mixed into a container with living waters, and the mixture would be sprinkled on the person on day three and day seven, after which they would immerse in a Mikvah.