Parah: Golden Calves and Cups
There is a common theme here.

By Rabbi S. Weiss

The Torah reading this Shabbat revolves around two central themes: one is the tragic death in our parsha of Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon; the other is Parah, the special reading from Chukat detailing the offering of the Parah Adumah, which mystically brought purity to the impure. Is there a connection between these two items?

Furthermore, while I understand why three of the four special parshiyot are read - Shkalim and HaChodesh introduce Adar and Nisan, respectively, while Zachor prepares us for Haman and Purim - what relevance does Parah have?

I suggest that that there is a common theme at work here. Parah, of course, is meant as a tikun for the sin of the Golden Calf. We stood united at Mt. Sinai in sublime perfection and purity; we could have established G-d's kingdom on Earth forever had we maintained that high level. But just as we were being crowned as princes of HaShem, we slipped from grace and fell prey to our baser instincts, demeaning ourselves before the Egel HaZahav.

In similar fashion, when we had built ourselves back up, having been forgiven for the Golden Calf and joined in unparalleled unity to build the Mishkan, we faltered once more. At the apex of celebrating the Mishkan's opening, when again we had soared to unprecedented heights, we came crashing down in the wake of Nadav and Avihu's well-intentioned, but unauthorized, offering.

In Jewish life, this is a recurring theme, a dream (or nightmare?) we experience over and over again. We build two Batei Mikdash, only to see them destroyed. We create a "Golden" Age (though it wasn't so "golden," to be honest) in Spain, only to see it end in a cruel Inquisition. We re-establish Israel and win a Six-Day War, yet fail to eradicate our enemies and therefore endure endless terrorism.

It seems every time we are about to cross the finish line, we trip up and have to start over again. We let our emotions get the better of us; we plunge from Ahavat Yisrael to Sinat Chinam. We forget that our rightful place is in Israel, we swallow too much of our pride and give too much kavod (and the keys to Har HaBayit!) to our - and G-d's - enemies.

The dual thrust of Shemini, which means "eighth" (above the order of nature), and Parah, which represents the miraculous element in the universe, is that we are not like every other nation. We cannot allow ourselves to act like every other nation, as we have a different role than every other nation. To win the race, we must keep our eyes focused on the goal and never stop, never falter, until we scale the mountain and hold the golden cup in our hand.

Rabbi S. Weiss, is Director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Raanana and of the Ohel Ari Jewish Heritage Center.