Shabbath Parah

The Torah reading of Parah (Numbers 19) is added to the weekly reading. Parah details the laws of the "Red Heifer" and the process by which a person rendered ritually impure by contact with a dead body was purified.
When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, every Jew had to be in a state of ritual purity in time for the bringing of the Passover offering in the Temple. Today, though we're unable to fulfill the Temple-related rituals in practice, we fulfill them spiritually by studying their laws in the Torah. Thus, we study and read the section of Parah in preparation for the upcoming festival of Passover.

Red Heifer painted toy

Shabbath Parah

Shabbath of the red heifer
Takes place on the Shabbat before Shabbat HaChodesh, in preparation for Pesach. Numbers 19:1-22 describes the parah adumah ("red heifer") in the Jewish temple as part of the manner in which the kohanim and the Jewish people purified themselves so that they would be ready ("pure") to sacrifice the korban Pesach.

Painting a red heifer from Gauguin 

 

Paul Gauguin- The Red Cow

The Children version

Shabbath Para with children

My daughters painted red two toy cows so for Shabbath Para we had our Para Aduma

This Shabbath is Shabbat Para, the 2^nd of 4 special Shabbatot before Passover. 

We read about the Para Aduma, the rare red heifer, whose ashes were used in the bizarre and mysterious purification rite of the ancient Temple. 

The message for us is that it’s time to begin planning to purify our homes and ourselves for Passover. 

But when we take a close look at the text of that purification rite of the ancient Temple, we immediately ask, “It makes no sense; how could this be?”

For this rite, the ashes of the Red Heifer were sprinkled on those that had become impure, usually because of contact with the dead, and they became pure, while those who prepared the ashes became impure. 

Even King Solomon questioned the understanding of this rite when he said (Mishley 7:23): “I said I would be wise, but it is far from me.” 

Perhaps it is because, in the presence of death, there are no answers, only questions.

Shabbath Shalom!