Chukath-Balak: Power

In physics, power has a mathematical definition. It is the amount of work (which is force X distance) divided by time.  In comic books, power is the manifestation (the -er) that delivers the POW. In my mind, the sanctity of the Torah requires that it works on both of those levels. These two parshioth , Chukath and Balak are written as simple narratives but they raise deep questions in the world of rigorous definition. Do humans have powers that are independent of Gd's?  Can Gd's power be manipulated by human entreaties? When should humans act and when should they defer to a greater force?

Chukath opens with a description of the Red Heifer (parah adumah) ritual which prepares ashes of purification.  Those ashes are spread on spring water to create the mixture that is sprinkled to purify a person or object from the tumah (impurity) that arises from contact with the dead.  

The parsha opens with 

זֹ֚את חֻקַּ֣ת הַתּוֹרָ֔ה

This is the chok (edict) of the Torah

Chok, the root of the title word of this week's parsha, means an edict, and executive order. It is arbitrary and can not be questioned. Chok also means an allotment, a fixed amount designated by the government to a specified set of people.  It was the chok that Pharaoh distributed to the priests of Egypt that allowed them to keep their land and independence while everyone else became a serf. 

The absolutist tone taken by the first statement in the parsha: THIS is the chok brings attention to a  double meaning. The instructions on the preparation of red heifer ashes that follows: is an inviolable rule. Failure to understand it does not exempt the nation from the rule. It is a chok. 

The ritual itself is necessitated by the great, natural chok (rule): Every person must die. At conception, every person is given an allotment (a chok) of  days and years of life. In a moment of frustration with humanity, Gd had declared that the human lifespan would be 120 years ( Moses lived exactly that long). After death, the corpse is the epitome of tumah (impurity). 

The chok is binding on the subject. It also restricts the power that issued the edict. It limits the ways in which the story can play out. Miriam and Aaron both die in parshath Chukath.  Their apportioned time was done.  

Chukath deals with the relationship between the Ruler and the dependents.  Gd has the power to make things happen.  Can human action  influence how that power is used?  The first thing we hear is that there is an unquestionable rule: [Every person must die and] There is a defined, unintelligible purification process. 

[Actually, there is a way to understand the purification process rationally. In context, the seven day ritual comes as a remedy for the problem of dying because of entering the sanctuary. 

כֹּ֣ל הַקָּרֵ֧ב ׀ הַקָּרֵ֛ב אֶל־מִשְׁכַּ֥ן יְ

יָמ֑וּת הַאִ֥ם תַּ֖מְנוּ לִגְוֺֽעַ׃ {ס}         

Everyone who so much as ventures near GD’s Tabernacle must die. Alas, we are doomed to perish!”

On the "spiritual" plane, entering the sanctum in a state of tumah (impurity) is a fatal error. Scientifically, the sanctuary was a crowded place, where infections could be transmitted. Some infections may have been fatal. The seven day purification process, complicated and prolonged by the burden of arranging the sprinkling of the ash-water was a quarantine. The contaminated person, the person exposed to the (microbes that caused) death was isolated and could not transmit the infection.  Maybe.]

Chukath contains the story of Moses striking  the rock to obtain water for the thirsty people. Moses was instructed by Gd to talk to the rock and, instead, he struck the rock with the (magic) staff. This becomes the reason that Moses and Aaron do not enter the promised land: 

 יַ֚עַן לֹא־הֶאֱמַנְתֶּ֣ם בִּ֔י לְהַ֨קְדִּישֵׁ֔נִי לְעֵינֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לָכֵ֗ן לֹ֤א תָבִ֙יאוּ֙ אֶת־הַקָּהָ֣ל הַזֶּ֔ה אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תִּי לָהֶֽם׃ 

But GD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them.”

Gd demanded personal credit for the water. Striking the rock reflected a lack of faith that translated into a failure to sanctify, a failure to ascribe proper credit. This was a huge error!

 

This episode contrasts with a subsequent story.  The nation complains about the food and the lack of water. Gd sends fiery (poisonous?) serpents into the camp that bite the complainers. The people repent and ask Moses to intercede.  Gd tells Moses to make make a copper serpent on a staff (Caduceus?

) , the sight of which heals the bitten. Gd glorifies Moses through this intervention; that is hard to harmonize with striking the rock.  (Hezekiah ultimately destroys the copper serpent on the staff because it misdirects people toward a belief in magic). 

Chukath ends with the conquest of some of the territory surrounding the Promised Land: the victories over Sichon and Og.  The idea of chok is implicit. The Promise to Abraham becomes a chok, an apportionment [that needs no rational understanding]. As in any chok, the boundaries  are predefined.. When Moses approached the Edomites for a rite of way to that land, the Edomites refused, and Israel went around.  They did not challenge the Edomites.  But when the Amorites were approached,  Sichon  and Og  immediately offered armed resistance and were conquered by the Israelites. These were territories outside the bounds of the chok.  Oh well!

Balak is a story of perception. Balak, an Emorite king is justifiably frightened that those same invading Israelites will overwhelm his realm. He wants to use the ultimate weapon: Divine intervention. Balak believes that prophets, those with whom Gd deigns to communicate, can direct the Divine forces.  Balaam, the prophet he hires, repeatedly corrects that misconception. Balaam blesses the Israelites instead of cursing them.  The prophet can only transmit Divine will; the prophet cannot direct it. 

Balaam's travel is impeded by an angel that is invisible to Balaam, but his donkey sees. After numerous beatings, the donkey speaks to Balaam and points out the threatening angel. Balaam is blind to the danger.  Balaam has closed his eyes to Divine will. 

I feel like Balaam on the donkey. I cannot see the (often threatening) reality of the world.  The donkey only speaks at the last minute. I cannot wait that long. I must settle for the awareness that I do not understand.