Confronting Desire

The law of the red heifer is the most mysterious law of the Torah. Somehow, the red heifer would purify one who contracted the most severe form of ritual impurity, that of coming in contact with a human corpse.

Life is synonymous with holiness, for G‑d is the source of life. The most severe form of ritual impurity represents the opposite of holiness and life.

Indeed, Chassidus explains that the red heifer teaches us the Jewish approach to purifying the negativity within each of us. It is the key to dealing with our inner passions, which overwhelm us with the force of their energy.

What were the requirements for the red heifer? The Torah tells us that the heifer must be red, it must be unblemished, and it must never have been burdened by a yoke. Red is the color of passion. The heifer represents the animalistic emotions within the human heart. A yoke represents the taming of the animal.

At times we look inside ourselves, and we experience the emotional intensity of our animalistic urges and cravings. We look at our inner red heifer and we fear that its raw, animalistic energy is too powerful for us to control; we see nothing but impurity.

The Torah’s insight into the red heifer is as profound as it is revolutionary. The cow is burned in the presence of the impure person. Then, the ashes of the burnt offering are placed in a vessel filled with spring water and it is sprinkled onto anyone and anything that came in contact with the dead. 

Purity is not achieved by suppressing or waging war against desire. We look at the heifer and understand that it’s not negative, nor is it spiritually neutral. The Torah wants us to understand that the heifer can be the most powerful agent of purity in our lives. The power of desire, its incredible force and energy, is not evil.

The external expression of the desire might be negative and must be burned. However, the ashes of the heifer, its inner essence, are the source of purity. When the ashes are mixed into the “living waters,” when the power of desire is directed toward a positive goal, the heifer itself will be an unbridled force that will provide spiritual and emotional purity.

Shabbat Shalom!

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