By Moshe Burt
The placement in Torah of our Parsha Chukat and the Parah Adumah raises questions as to why the Parah Adumah and it’s Halachot are mentioned here in our Parsha; only after Korach’s rebellion and after the continued murmuring of the Am against Moshe Rabbeinu, and after the plague which killed thousands only ending with Aaron’s carrying an incense pan amongst the people (upon Moshe’s instruction), and after the story of the rods.
Previously, on Korach’s rebellion, there is a thought from R’ Simcha Bunim of P’shischa; “Now took Korach…”; that Korach was blessed with many positive attributes: fine lineage, wealth (albeit ill-gotten and questionable), wisdom, and thus he might have been worthy of being a leader of B’nai Yisrael. “‘Now took Korach — he took himself.’ He did not wait until he was offered the leadership, but he sought to take it by force. That is why he is not worthy of it.”[1] It seems that Korach used the above attributes for Ra, attempting to deceive the people and to seize power and influence from Moshe Rabbeinu and Aaron HaKohen. Perhaps the history of contemporary political leadership parallels the worst of Korach, but without any valid rationale? read more