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© 1992, 2000, Yi•rᵊmᵊyâhꞋu Bën-Dâ•widꞋ, Pâ•qidꞋ 16
The Nᵊtzâr•imꞋ
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Through the ages the sages have universally regarded the symbolism of the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä as an unsolvable enigma. No reasonable symbolic structure explaining this enigma is found in either rabbinic nor Christian literature. Indeed, admitting their inability to grasp the meaning and wishing to forestall anyone else explaining it, the rabbis declared the topic "off-limits unsolvable"!
"Even [ShᵊlomꞋoh ha-MëlꞋëkh], the wisest of men, was baffled by it (Mi•dᵊrâshꞋ Rab•âhꞋ – Qō•hëlꞋët 7.23 no. 4)… It is even stated that the reason was not revealed to [Mosh•ëhꞋ] himself (Mi•dᵊrâshꞋ Rab•âhꞋ – Qō•hëlꞋët 8.1 no. 5;" Ency. Jud. 14.13).
Many rabbis are compelled to deny any possibility of understanding the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä since they regard it "as a classic example of a [khoq] (i.e., a statute for which no rational explanation can be adduced, but which must be observed because it is divinely commanded)" (Ency. Jud., 14.12, emphasis added). While the latter is absolutely true, that a khoq must be observed, Tor•âhꞋ also tells us that "it isn't too wondrous for you nor too distant from you" (Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 30.11-14). There is no justification for refusing a logical and rational explanation underlying the khoq.
"According to the rabbis there were nine [generations of ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä] (Pâr•âhꞋ 3.5), and the tenth and last will be prepared by the [Mâ•shiꞋakh] (Yâd, ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä 3.4)"; Ency. Jud., 14.12).
The keys to relating to the meaning of this rite of purification have long been known. It is well established that the ashes of the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä were mixed with cedar, crimson and hyssop to produce a reddish water used for the purification of persons and objects which had been defiled through contact or association with death.
The sages also noted that this reddish water closely resembled that used in the purification of the recovered mᵊtzor•âꞋ; not a leper as commonly misconstrued, cf. The Nᵊtzâr•imꞋ Reconstruction of Hebrew Ma•ti•tᵊyâhꞋu (NHM, in English) note 15.31.1). In the former the cedar, crimson and hyssop were mixed with water while in the latter the cedar, crimson and hyssop were mixed with the blood of a dove. In each case the vehicle of purification was a reddish solution resembling, and/or containing, blood.
Moreover, both the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä and the birds used in the purification of the mᵊtzor•âꞋ (wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 14.7) were atypical in the requirement they be slaughtered outside of the camp. Aside from these, only the scapegoat (wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 16.10) and the axed calf in the case of an unsolved murder (Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 21.4) were required to be slaughtered outside the camp. What all of these share in common is defilement of an individual due to circumstances beyond his or her control. At one time or another, defilement beyond one's control is a certainty in everyone's life. Yet, even when defilement is beyond one's control, nevertheless such defilement remains a barrier which prevents that individual's communion with é‑‑ä, a barrier which only ki•purꞋ can remove.
The blood-like solution made from the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä is called îÅé ðÄãÌÈä. This phrase was intended as a key to understanding the meaning. While the phrase explicitly links itself to the ðÄãÌÈä, there are other associations as well. It is a well established principle in Judaism that the proximity of subjects in Tor•âhꞋ often suggest a relationship between them. This is the case with the recovered mᵊtzor•âꞋ and the ðÄãÌÈä (wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 14-15). There is good reason for this proximity.
While we have noted the connection between the mᵊtzor•âꞋ and the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä, the connection of these with the ðÄãÌÈä is more subtle. This connection is to be seen in the type of defilement common to all three – defilement associated with death. This purpose is given for the case of the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä. In the case of the mᵊtzor•âꞋ, a mᵊtzor•âꞋ is accounted as dead, "as it is written, '[And A•ha•ronꞋ looked upon MiꞋrᵊyâm and, behold, she was leprous. And A•ha•ronꞋ said unto Mosh•ëhꞋ…] let her not be as one dead.' " (Ma•sëkꞋët Nᵊdâr•imꞋ 64b; based on bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 12:10-12).
Yet, how is the ðÄãÌÈä associated with death, thus tying the three together? Menses is the only phenomenon in nature that washes away death (the dead egg). It was recognized that the onset of the woman's menstrual cycle somehow signaled the death of a potential human life. Today we would characterize this as the expelling of a human egg. But the essence holds nevertheless. It was not her flow of menstrual blood which defiled the woman. On the contrary, just as the îÅé ðÄãÌÈä of the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä cleansed the person or object who had become defiled by contact with death so, too, the îÅé ðÄãÌÈä of the woman cleansed her of her contact with the death of that potential human life. In all three cases, contact with the dead required seven days of purification by similar rituals and similar îÅé ðÄãÌÈä!
However, this isn't the case of the ko•heinꞋ who, undefiled by death, was merely temporarily defiled only by the purifying îÅé ðÄãÌÈä. Consequently, unlike the mᵊtzor•âꞋ or individual contaminated by death, the seven-day waiting period wasn't required of the ko•heinꞋ. Thus, the contamination of the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä has nothing to do with any "association with human death" (Ency. Jud. 14.11).
This suggests that the purification ritual of the ôÈøÈä àÂãËîÈÌä for objects and persons who had become defiled by contact with death, and the purification ritual for the recovered mᵊtzor•âꞋ who was as dead, were patterned after the natural purification of the woman. These purification rituals can then be readily understood as a symbolic washing away of the tokens of death in the îÅé ðÄãÌÈä.
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