Our Parsha opens with the laws of the Red Heifer - teaching us how the Kohanim use its ashes to purify those who come into contact with death.
Death is, for obvious reasons, an uncomfortable subject. The Torah provides a sophisticated set of laws to guide us through this challenging life experience, with a particular focus on how to transition the affected from a state of impurity back to purity.
A recent article published in the Jerusalem Post caught my attention with a similar subject. It was all about modern-day ‘rotting’ and the laws thereof. I found the proximity to Parshat Chukat intriguing.
The article explains that “with nearly 305 million views, it seems that ‘rotting in bed’ is what Gen Z'ers define as a self-care method. Although it sounds extreme, more and more young people are adopting the trend of lying in bed for long periods of time during the day, beyond the usual sleeping at night or an afternoon nap.”
One keenly astute follower shared their passion for the practice, "I feel like my goal in this life is to rot in different places. My bed, a hotel, the beach, a hammock, etc. I came to this world to lie down and rot." Simply inspiring. The world awaits such a noble contribution.
One of the more specific laws in Parshat Chukat relates to death that also occurs in a room - a tent. The body begins to rot in an enclosed area.
"זֹ֚את הַתּוֹרָ֔ה אָדָ֖ם כִּֽי־יָמ֣וּת בְּאֹ֑הֶל כָּל־הַבָּ֤א אֶל־הָאֹ֙הֶל֙ וְכָל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּאֹ֔הֶל יִטְמָ֖א שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִֽים׃"
“This is the law (Torah): When a person dies in a tent, whoever enters the tent and whoever is in the tent shall be impure for seven days.”
Reish Lakish (Masechet Brachot 63b) picks up on the unique language here, “This is the Torah…” and expounds a crucial life lesson, “From where do we know that the words of Torah are truly fulfilled by a person that kills himself over them? As it is said, “This is the Torah - a man who dies in the tent.”
Our holy Torah has a very different take on rotting. We aspire to ‘rot’ in the ‘Tent of Torah’ - the Beit Midrash - subsumed by the passionate and vibrant experience of Talmud Torah.
The Sefat Emet explains that it is precisely when we are willing to ‘kill’ ourselves for the Torah, that we merit to fully live for the Torah. Just as in all human endeavour, it is when we push ourselves beyond our perceived limits, that we experience unimaginable growth and progress. Thou shalt not rot.
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