„The red heifer atones, and it purifies from the impurity of death. Th…”
„The red heifer atones, and it purifies from the impurity of death. This is rooted in the removal of death from its very foundation, in the elevation of the world from the depths of its sin, from the sin of the earth and from the diminishment of the moon, from the fall of the world's ideal at the foundation of its existence, from the lowering of the world's ideal into reality, which enabled human sin and all the many troubles that come from it. Everything, everything must be repaired.”From Shemonah Kevatzim, V, 51
The atonement of the red heifer is not a technical matter; it is a great innovation that Judaism brings to the world. The innovation is that everything has a remedy; we have the ability to overcome even the greatest impurity, the impurity of death.
Judaism believes in repair; it believes in the power of repentance for the individual and for the collective. Our world can be made more repaired, if we decide that it will be so.
Both the sin of the earth and the diminishment of the moon will ultimately be repaired. Our world descends from its greatness when it is corrupted, but it does not fix its place there permanently. The aspiration to advance and to be purified is the secret of redemption, the secret of repair. And as he concludes this passage, from this aspiration, from this desire, "a new world will be built."
We have the power to repair the flaws in our world, if only we will believe...
Shabbat Shalom to all!
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.