The mitzvot of the Torah, parsha by parsha

Numbers

The mitzvot of Chukat

After Sefer HaChinuch · by a Levite of Barcelona

Mitzvot in the parsha: 3 Positive: 3 Negative: 0

The first mitzvah of the parsha

397. The commandment of the red heifer

Numbers 19:2

The root of the mitzvah

The author of the Chinuch writes that his hands grew weak before explaining this mitzvah, for the sages said that King Shlomo, who understood all the reasons of the Torah, did not grasp this one. The great wonder is that its ashes purify the impure and make impure those who are busy with its burning. Still, he notes that there are healing plants with opposite powers, cooling the hot and warming the cold, and if we knew the nature of the soul and its ailments, perhaps we would understand that the heifer too has such a power.

  1. 397

    The commandment of the red heifer

    Positive Numbers 19:2

  2. 398

    The commandment of the impurity of a dead body

    Positive Numbers 19:14

  3. 399

    The Commandment of the niddah waters which render the pure, impure and only purify someone impure from the impurity of a dead body

    Positive Numbers 19:19