Kevin Youkilis is gone and the Red Sox won’t be the same again (without our man from the Shtetl). Around here it seems to be the big news of the week and in fact even President Obama made a joke about how lucky Chicago was to get a Red Sox player. Honestly as someone who grew up in England and only knew about soccer and cricket it took me a while and a few dedicated individuals until I begun to understand Baseball and the passion and fever that Boston has for the Red Sox, but now that I do, I will miss Kevin too.
Now have you heard about the the Red Heifer? Is that a Red Sox promotion or something? Well actually, besides being the color red, it has no connection to the Boston Red Sox or at least according to Wikipedia. In fact, the Red Cow known in Hebrew as the Parah Adumah was used as a sacrifice and as a means of ritually purifying those who had come in contact with a deceased person. You are probably having a hard time wrapping your head around this Mitzvah and probably don't begin to understand how this works and what it is all about. However, don't worry, even King Solomon himself who was able to understand everything in the Torah, said that the the topic of the Red Heifer remained beyond his reach and grasp.
In fact the Red Heifer is referred to as the ultimate “Chok”, “Torah Statute”, and it represents the ultimate Mitzvah that defies all logic. Nevertheless, despite it being inexplicable, there is something inherently powerful that can be learned from the Red Heifer and its all about how we define our relationship with G-d. Do we define our relationship with G-d by what we understand and want the relationship to be or is it defined by what the relationship is meant to be about on G-d's terms?
Take for example a spousal relationship, if one spouse chooses to only do for the other what they understand, like and desire, the relationship will be very limited and stymied and it will probably be hard for such a relationship to truly flourish beyond their basic expectations and needs of life. However, when one spouse is willing to go beyond themselves and their desires, and is willing to do for the other simply because it’s the other’s deep desire to see something done and they are doing the act out of their committment as a spouse, then that relationship is one that will move beyond simple nurturing and desires and it has the potential to become a relationship that is deep, meaningful and speaks to the essence of who they are.
The same is true in our relationship with G-d, Judaism asks us to define our relationship with G-d not exclusively by ourselves and our desires and comforts, but rather, we should define our relationship with the knowledge that G-d wants a relationship with us and in the context of that relationship he asks us to do different actions and refrain from certain others. As in all relationships, not everything is going to be fully understood, and sometimes (without negating the importance of knowledge), more important than the knowledge and understanding of an idea is the willingness to do an action based exclusively on the commitment itself. It is such acts and such a commitment that defines the relationship as being deep, enduring, and beyond just the superficial aspects of life.
To sum it up, the Red Heifer serves as a reminder that while some aspects of Judaism are beyond our understanding, nevertheless in fact it is those very things that bring a depth and staying power to our relationship with G-d and to each other like few other things.
If you would like to read more about the Mitzvah of the Red Heifer click here.
Wishing the Red Sox a great season and wishing you all a Good Shabbos
Rabbi Yisroel Freeman