The Message of the Parah Adumah2 min read

The Ba’al Shem Tov and his students stressed that the eternality of the Torah mandates the relevance of each and every detail – even the most obscure and inapplicable among them. While many of the mitzvos are bound to specific times or dependent on various factors, each mitzvah contains a lesson with universal application, a message which applies to all Jews, at all times. In this vein, although the mitzvah of Parah Adumah

 seems to be irrelevant to our current state of impurity in the throes of exile, the founder of Chassidus reveals the message that this chok holds for you and I, today.

The Orchos HaTzaddikim points out that traits, both negative and positive, are referred to as middos, which literally means “measurements.” He explains that the reason for this is that there is no such thing as a trait which is purely negative or purely positive. Rather, it is a question of how much, how often, an in what setting one is utilizing his traits. The same trait which is negative if employed in improper measure may be exceedingly positive when utilized correctly. The nature of a trait depends on the middah, the measurement, in which it comes to expression.

The Ba’al Shem Tov explains that ga’avah, pride, is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Chazal teach that ga’avah is one of the worst of all traits – of an arrogant person, Hashem says “I am not able to dwell with him.” When a Jew is arrogant, he pushes Hashem out of his life. Taking credit for his accomplishments, this person is serving himself, a form of avodah zarah. However, pride has a positive employment as well. The verse states “Vayigbah libo b’darchei Hashem”, there is an aspect in which one’s heart should be filled with pride and confidence in serving Hashem.

One of the interesting halachos regarding Parah Adumah is that while it purified those who were impure, it rendered impure those who were pure. The Ba’al Shem Tov says that the Parah Adumah hints to the middah of ga’avah, a trait which shares this strange effect. Just like the Parah Adumah, arrogance “purifies the impure” – employed in a holy manner by granting the beginner to avodas Hashem a healthy sense of accomplishment and pride over his initial successes. However, also like the Parah Adumah, arrogance “renders impure those who are pure”; when those who have tasted true success in avodas Hashem become arrogant in their avodah, this constitutes an improper usage of this middah and produces negative effects.

Seen in this way, Parah Adumah carries an extremely relevant message: A person must always evaluate his relationship with the trait of pride. Is he using it in the correct middah-measurement in a manner which allows it to purify the impure, or is he misusing it, pushing Hashem out of his life in a manner which renders impure those who are pure? May Hashem grant us the wisdom to serve Him with middos tovos!