Blushing

Chukat-Balak

What do the following have in common – Chava, Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, Eisav, David HaMelech and the red heifer? They all have something to do with the colors red and white.

Have you ever wondered why it has to be a red heifer? (Actually, some opinions say that it is not red at all, but brown.) What is wrong with a plain white Hereford? Or a black spotted Longhorn?

Shlomo HaMelech tried (unsuccessfully) to understand the ins and outs of the red heifer, how its sprinkled ashes purify the impure and at the same time make the sprinkler himself impure. In this shiur I will not attempt to fully decipher the conundrum of the red heifer, but rather focus on one small aspect of it, the colors red and white.

It is not incidental that all the references in the above listing have some connection to the colors red and white. We will examine each in turn and in the end tie everything beautifully together.

Let's begin with Chava. Adam Harishon was the pinnacle of Creation. The Midrash Tanchuma (Pekudei, siman 3) says that Adam was such a magnificent creature that when the angels first saw him, they mistook him for G-d and bowed down to him. If that is so, then it is a safe bet that when HaKadosh Baruch Hu created Chava from Adam's "rib," that she too was beautiful beyond compare.

What physical features of Chava made her beautiful? Chava had a specific complexion in her skin, as it says "Dodi Tzach ve'Adom (Shir HaShirim 5:10), a combination of white and red, perhaps white cheeks with a reddish blush? This is not a lesson in cosmetology, it is referring to a spiritual concept, as the Alsheich says on that pasuk, that the color white is symbolic of Middat HaRachamim, the attribute of mercy, while the color red is symbolic of Middat HaDin, the attribute of justice.

This was Chava before the sin. Chazal say that as a result of her sin, Chava introduced blood into the equation. After the sin, red became the dominant color and therefore upset the delicate balance of mercy and justice resulting in only justice.

The Matriarchs were the atonement for Chava's sin.

First is Sarah Imeinu. When Avram took his wife Sarai with him down to Egypt because of the famine in Eretz Canaan, the pasuk says "I now know you are beautiful woman" (Bereishit 12:11). The Mefarshim there do not amplify what exactly it was about Sarai (not yet Sarah) that made her beautiful.

Similarly with Rivka. When Eliezer goes to find a wife for his master's son Yitzchak, he sees Rivka at the well. The pasuk says "And the maiden was beautiful" (Bereishit 24:16). Again, the Mefarshim there do not describe exactly what made Rivka beautiful.

Finally, the Torah describes the physical appearance of Rachel and Leah – "Leah's eyes were soft and Rachel was beautiful" (Bereishit 29:17). The Mefarshim here are definitive what "beautiful" means. The Rashbam says "White and red" and the Sforno says "In her complexion which was white and red."

There we have it. All of the Matriarchs had a special complexion in their skin, a balanced combination of red and white (although Leah is described as having "soft eyes," meaning her eyelashes had fallen out from constant weeping, her skin complexion was probably similar to her twin sister Rachel).

Now we move on to our next protagonist. Rivka gives birth to twins. The first to emerge is afforded extensive physical description in the pesukim. Eisav's complexion was red (Bereishit 25:25), not a combination of red and white, just red. He is therefore also known as Edom, from the root of the Hebrew word red. The Mefarshim say that Eisav's red complexion indicated that he was going to be a murderer.

When Shmuel HaNavi saw David for the first time the pasuk says "And behold he was red skinned with beautiful eyes" (I Samuel 16:12), that David HaMelech was red and Shmuel feared that this physical character trait may resemble that of Eisav's. However, the second part of the pasuk says "beautiful eyes," referring to the clear/white part of the eye. David HaMelech too had this delicate balance.

We now reach the final item on the list, the red heifer.

The purpose of the ashes of the red heifer is to purify someone who has come into contact with a dead body. The origin of death in the world was the result of Adam and Chava's sin. They upset the balance of "complexion" and made everything red. To fix that, you need a cow that is completely red. If that is not enough, you need to add even more red to the concoction. In preparing the ashes, you must add a bundle of Eizov (an herb). Why Eizov? This same bundle of herbs was used in Egypt to paint the doorposts red with the blood of the Korban Pesach.

From this it would appear that everything related to the red heifer is red. However, there is one last component – a stick of cedar wood. This is the "white" component of the red heifer, symbolizing the attribute of mercy.

Just like our Patriarchs, Matriarchs and King David came to atone for the sin of Adam HaRishon, so too does the red heifer come to restore the balance lost because of that sin.

Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: In which place in the Midbar did Miriam die?

Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: How many people were in Korach's "party?" 250 (Bamidbar 16:2).