Questions on Parshas Chukas to think about and discuss:

1. Pora Aduma, the red heifer, is a chok. What does a “chok” mean?
2. Was anyone able to understand Pora Aduma?
3. When else in the year do we read from Parshas Chukas?
4. What is the connection between the parsha and the haftora?
5. How are we to understand Moshe and Aaron’s sin of Mei Meriva?
6. Why was Moshe more scared to fight the giant Oig more than the giant Sichoin?
7. Moshe set up a copper statue of a snake. How long did this remain in existence? Why was it made from copper?
8. How does the lack of Pora Aduma relate to us nowadays?
9. What miracles in Parshas Chukas obligate us to say a brocho, blessing, over the saving of the Jews?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

1. There are three types of mitzvos: eidos, mishpotim and chukim. Eidos means “testimonies”. Eidos include the mitzvos of Tefillin, Sukka, Bris Mila which all come to testify that Hashem is the Creator of the world. Mishpotim means “judgments”. Included are the mitzvos of stealing, murder, overcharging and other matters which one can understand intellectually even without the Torah – e.g. the need for a law system in society. Chukim are statutes, decrees for which we do not fathom a reason. The mitzva itself can be a chok, as can the details of how we do the mitzva for example we have the mitzva of Korban Pesach which includes the prohibition to break any bone of the sacrifice. This prohibition is a chok. Another meaning of chok is “boundary” since where we are given a mitzva whose understanding is beyond us, we are required to set limits regarding how much we think into its meaning. (See Rabbeinu Bichai beginning of Parshas Chukas.)
2. The Midrash brings that King Shlomo thought he would be able to understand it but it was too distant even for him. However, Moshe was able to understand it.
3. The beginning of Parshas Chukas is also read on the third of the Four Parshious, known as Parshas Pora.
4. The both discuss the approaching of the kings surrounding Eretz Yisroel when the Jews seeked to enter the Holy Land.
5. There are so many opinions as to what the actual sin was that i am not going to discuss it. What i want to bring out from it is why and how can there be so many opinions as to what the sin was? The answer is that when dealing with such great people, a higher standard is demanded from them. They are judged like a thin hair, every small thing is magnified. Since the sin is so minute and can hardly be seen by placing a finger and saying this is it, this gives room for all the different opinions as to what it actually was!
6. Either because Oig himself had merits and Moshe was scared that this would assist him. (See Rashi, 21:34) Alternatively, Moshe was scared that the Jews had sinned by taking for themselves booty from the battle with Sichon and this would weaken the Jews and thereby assist Oig. (Midrash)
7. The Gemora (Pesochim 56a) brings that King Chizkiya instituted six things. For three of these actions the Sages criticized him while they agreed to the other three. One of the agreed actions was to destroy the copper snake statue set up by Moshe. The reason was that the Jews were coming to believe that the statue had the power to heal, instead of attributing this power to Hashem.
8. The ashes of the Pora Aduma, red heifer, purify us from the tuma, impurity, that comes from contact with dead bodies. Nowadays since we don’t have ashes from the Pora Aduma, nor the means to sacrifice it according to the din, we cannot achieve purity from this tuma.
9. The Gemora (Brochos 54a-b) tells the story of a miracle in Parshas Chukas. Two mountains moved together and killed the enemy hiding in caves waiting to ambush the Jews. The Aron went ahead of the Jewish people in the wilderness, flattening mountains and moving aside all obstacles. Thus this great miracle was only discovered afterwards. Two people afflicted with tzara’as who were therefore following the Jews outside the encampment saw blood from the enemy gushing into a river. When a person sees this place, Nachalai Arnon, he is obligated to say a brocho, blessing, over this miracle.

Questions on the deaths in the parsha:

1. We know that Moshe and Aaron died before entering Eretz Yisroel, Israel, due to the sin of Mei Meriva. What sin did Miriam do that she also died in the desert?
2. Why is there no mention in Parshas Chukas about the kevura, burial, after the death of Aaron, yet it is mentioned elsewhere (in Parshas Eikev, 10:6)?
3. The reason for Aaron’s death is not for his participation in the Cheit Hoegel, golden calf, like we might have thought. Rather it is due to his part in the Mei Meriva. What exactly was Aaron meant to do there and didn’t do to warrant his death?
4. Aaron, Moshe and Miriram died a special death known as “Neshika“, “kiss”. What do we know about this death?
5. Moshe and Aaron both died due to the sin of Mei Meriva. Why then did they not die at the same time? Why did Moshe not die before Aaron?
6. Aaron died on a mountain, known as Hor Hohor, “a mountain on top of another mountain”. What is the significance of this?
7. Why is there such emphasis on the death of Aaron immediately being together with the dressing of Elozor, into the clothes of the Kohen Godol, High Priest?
8. After the death of Miriam, the wellspring that came in her merit stopped. The people complained about the lack of water. Why after the death of Aaron, when the Ananei Kovoid, Clouds of Glory, went away, did the Jews not also complain?

Answers on the deaths in the parsha:

3. (It is interesting to note that we do not find so many different opinions as to what Aaron’s sin of Mei Meriva was, unlike the many opinions what exactly Moshe did.) Aaron was included in the command to speak to the rock (20:8), yet we do not find that he did so. Some say that it was because he should have protested Moshe’s hitting and not speaking to the rock.
4. Neshika means “kiss”. It is the easiest out of all 903 deaths (Gemora Brochos 8a) and is compared to removing a hair from milk. It is the “kiss of death” where the Neshama is drawn and sucked out of the body by Hashem Himself, to rise and come close to Him. This exit is painless. However, usually the death of a person is a most painful experience for the soul and the screams should really be so loud to be heard all over the world (Gemora end of Yuma 20b)! The Malbim (20:24) points out that this death comes directly from Hashem, as opposed to other deaths that come through the Malach Hamoves, Angel of death.
5. Perhaps i can suggest that the punishment was for them to die in the fortieth year (after all those who died due to the sin of the meraglim, spies, to show that they died for a different reason.) However, each of them were great tzaddikim and the Gemora () says that tzaddikim die on the same day as they were born. We know that Aaron was born on the first of Av (Masei, 33:38) and Moshe died and was born on the seventh of Adar (Gemora ). Therefore, it works out that since Av is before Adar, Aaron died before Moshe. Rashi (20:23) seems to say a different reason. That really Aaron was to die for the sin of Mei Meriva. However, since the Jews had associations with Edom, descendants of Esav, therefore for this a tzaddikim had to die, and it was Aaron. Therefore he died earlier than Moshe. The reason why Aaron was picked more than Moshe is because coming close to going causes the Shechina, Divine Glory, to leave the Jews, while the Ananei Kovod, Clouds of Glory, that brought the Shechina down was in the merit of Aaron (Gemora Taanis 9a). Therefore to ensure the departing of the Shechina, Aaron died then.

Questions on the dealing with the surrounding kings:

1. What is the connection between the episode of Mei Meriva and the sending of messengers to the King of Edom to let the Jews pass through his land into Eretz Yisroel, Israel?
2. Moshe asked for the Jews to be allowed through the land of Edom and he was refused. He then asked again. Why bother asking a second time after already being refused?

Answers on the dealing with the surrounding kings:

1. We see from here the greatness of Moshe. Even though he knew he would not be allowed entry into Eretz Yisroel and it would mean his death, he nevertheless continued with the push to get the Jews into Eretz Yisroel through the quickest way. (Tzror Hamor)
2. The first time he asked for the Jews to be allowed through the cities. He was refused this. The second time he asked to be allowed to travel on the outskirts of the city, that would involve less interference with the cities. (Ramban/Malbim)