What do Red Heifers and Brazen Serpents Have in Common?

            The law of the para aduma, (red heifer) is referred to in the verse as a ḥok, a law whose ultimate meaning cannot be fathomed by human beings. Actually, the para aduma represents the archetypical ḥok, As our Sages taught us, even the wisest of men, King Solomon could not understand this ḥok.

            One of the apparently unusual aspects of the laws of the para aduma is the fact that while the ashes effect tahara (ritual purification) of one who has come into contact with a corpse, those who prepared the para aduma  become tamei (ritually impure).

            My father pointed out that science essentially confirms this principle. Immunization works by injecting a serum containing the actual disease, causing the body to build up antibodies, which convey immunity to the disease. That which causes the disease, under certain circumstances provides the cure.

            We find the same lesson taught later in the parasha.  When the People complained against God, He sent deadly serpents to punish them. Yet when the People asked Moses to save them, God instructed him to make a brazen serpent as the cure. In a sense, this latter incident focuses the principal. The brazen serpent can be seen as a “graven image”, the manufacture of which is forbidden by the Torah. Specifically something which could be idolatrous became God’s instrument for saving His people. As our Sages taught us, the brazen serpent did not have the power to grant life. Rather, it is a symbol: when the Israelites looked up to the serpent and dedicated their hearts to God, they were saved. The same piece of copper which can become an idol, when used properly, becomes God’s agent of salvation. It is a function not of the brazen serpent itself, but of how we use it.