Chukas: the stick

Chukas: the stick

 

The  stick appears in various roles in this weeks parsha.

 

 Cedar wood is burned with the remains of the red hefer to contribute to the ashes that are placed in the living water for purification the corpse contaminated.

 

 Moshe misuses the staff ( which he removes from its place before Gd, as he is commanded) to strike the rock form which water gushes to quench the thirst of the people, a fatal error.

 

Moshe places the copper snake ( seraph) on a stick ( nes) to cure the people who have been bitten by the venomous snake(s)  sent to punish the people for their rebellion.

 

The stick is the instrument of discipline.  It is burned to ashes in the purification  that is mourning and regret; it brings death to those that use it, even the most careful; it supports the cure that comes from repentance.

last year

 

2007