Parsha Talk Hukkat 2025 5785

Parashat Chukat [Numbers 19:1-22:1] is perhaps best known for the story about Moses & The Rock, for which Moses and Aaron were denied entrance into the Land of Israel. Aaron will die later in the parashah, and Moses’s death is recorded in the last chapter of the Torah [Deuteronomy 34], read on Simchat Torah morning. The other well-known chapter is Numbers 19, which is the maftir reading for Shabbat Parah, the third of the four special shabbatot leading up to the holiday of Pesach. This chapter describes the ritual of the red heifer, whose ashes are used to prepare the potion used for purification from corpse contamination. Water also features in the parashah, as it did in our conversation as well. We remain mindful of the hostages, dead and alive, who continue to remain in Gaza; may they be speedily returned to their families. We keep in mind the soldiers defending Israel as members of the Israel Defense Forces, may they be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.