005 —ויקחו אליך

Veyikchu Eilecha Parah Adumah Temimah Asher Ein Bah Mum Asher Lo Alah Aleha Ol.

The Midrash explains that "this cow" refers to the exile of Egypt, as it says, "Eglah Yefefiyah Mitzrayim" (a beautiful calf is Egypt); "Adumah" (red) refers to the Babylonian kingdom, called "the head of gold"; "Temimah" (perfect) refers to the kingdom of Media, and so on. The phrase "Veyikchu Eilecha" (they shall take to you) specifically means that one must remove himself from the actions of Egypt and attach himself to the level of Moshe, which is daas (knowledge). To understand this, we must ask: why did the Sages institute reading Parshas Parah before Pesach, so that all Israel would be purified to offer the Pesach sacrifice in purity, but not before the other festivals, which also have offerings? To understand this, consider the verse, "And you shall say, it is a Pesach offering to the L‑rd, Who passed over…" Why does there need to be a "passing over"—isn't everything revealed before Him? The idea is as it says, "Kol Dodi Hineh Zeh Ba, Medaleg Al HeHarim, Mekapetz Al HaGeva'ot, Anah Dodi VeAmar Li Kumi Lach Rayasi Yafasi VeLechi Lach" (Song of Songs 2:8-10: "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills. My beloved spoke and said to me: 'Arise, my love, my fair one, and go forth'"). The three festivals are three attributes: Pesach is love, as we say in Shir HaShirim, "Yishakeini Mineshikot Pihu" ("Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth"). This means that Knesses Yisrael asks the Holy One to kiss her, i.e., to have a union of spirit with spirit, like a father who loves his son and kisses him out of deep affection, with breath coming from the heart to the mouth. Similarly, every spark within each Jew must have a union of spirit with spirit—that is, one's thought, speech, and action should be united with the thought, speech, and action of the Holy One. Thought and speech are Torah and prayer, and action is tzedakah (as explained in the discourse on "Ki BaYom HaZeh Yechaper"). As it says, "Oseh Shamayim VaAretz" (He makes heaven and earth), meaning He draws down influence, which is His action; so too, through tzedakah, one draws down and acts. Thus, Knesses Yisrael always asks, "Yishakeini" (kiss me), but the body separates and conceals this love due to worries about livelihood and other matters. Yet it is known that Israel will only be redeemed through faith that the Creator made something from nothing. For example, if a person could make something from nothing, that thing would certainly be nullified before him. So too, before the Holy One, all is considered as nothing. For example, when a person speaks, the speech comes from the soul; when he sleeps, he does not speak at all, and speech is not the soul itself but an intermediary garment, and that speech is nullified relative to the soul itself. Similarly, "Bidvar Hashem Shamayim Na'asu" ("By the word of G‑d the heavens were made"); when He said, "Yehi Or" ("Let there be light"), there was light, and the light is a garment, as it says, "Oteh Or KaSalmah" ("He wraps Himself in light as a garment"). Through this speech, He enlivens upper and lower worlds, Gan Eden and beyond, and all worlds are nullified before Him, as it says, "Ani Hashem Lo Shaniti" ("I, G‑d, have not changed"), and as the Zohar says, "Kula Kamei Kelo Chashiv" ("All before Him is considered as nothing"), even relative to His speech, which is His intermediary garment. For this reason, the Creator is called throughout the Oral Torah "Kudsha Brich Hu" (the Holy One, blessed be He), meaning He is holy and separate, i.e., Sovev Kol Almin (encompassing all worlds), and within the worlds, He is only enclothed as speech. Through this faith, one takes himself out of Egypt with self-abandonment, giving up his money and other things, without reason or calculation, come what may^[1].

As it says, "Bechol Nafshecha" ("with all your soul") twice daily, morning and evening, but this must be real, meaning with mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice). The advice is to bind one's soul in Oneness, i.e., in thought, speech, and action as above, and this is teshuvah, as the Gemara says, "Teshuvah in that very place," as it says, "Uvikashtem Misham Es Hashem Elokecha" ("And from there you will seek the L‑rd your G‑d"), meaning "from there" specifically, even if one is very far. One must find a way to leave from there and connect above, not going step by step, but as the Holy One "leaps over the mountains"—the mountains are the Avos (patriarchs), and "skipping over the hills" are Chochmah and Binah (wisdom and understanding). Thus, He leaps above intellect, not in a cause-and-effect manner, for His greatness is beyond investigation and His understanding is without number. How can such a drawing down reach us in this lowly world? The meaning of "Kol" (voice) is drawing down, but He leaps over the mountains, i.e., above intellect, as mentioned, to show us that we too should act this way—without calculation, reason, or intellect. See Tanya, chapter 49. As it says, "Anah Dodi VeAmar Li Kumi Lach… Li Dafka" ("My beloved spoke and said to me: 'Arise… for me'"), meaning the world was created for my sake, as every person must say (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5). Therefore, "Kumi Lach" ("arise") means this is your stature. For this reason, Pesach is called so because He "passed over" (Pesach), i.e., He leaped, and for this reason, we read Parshas Parah before Pesach, because the cow is a lower level, as it says, "U'Fnei HaShor MeHasemol LeArba'atan" ("the face of the ox is on the left of the four"), and the cow is lower than the ox. For this reason, a cow is needed to purify from the impurity of death, as our Sages say, "There is no death without sin." Death means a fall and a barrier separating one from his Father in Heaven. How can there be such a fall? When one acts like an animal, i.e., eating and drinking without intellect, like an animal, and by accustoming oneself to this, one can come to actual sin. Even if it is entirely permitted, this only applies to someone who has already left Egypt and bodily desires. But for someone still in Egypt, i.e., attached to desires and wanting to return in teshuvah, stricter boundaries are needed. For this reason, the prohibition of chametz on Pesach is so severe—even a tiny amount is forbidden, even if there is no taste of chametz—because that was the time of the Exodus, and extra care is needed. Therefore, we read Parshas Parah before Pesach to purify, as above, and through this, one attains the attribute of love. This is the meaning of the verse, "Veyikchu Eilecha Parah… Vesaraf Es HaParah LeEinav" ("They shall take to you a cow… and burn the cow before his eyes"), meaning only ashes remain from the four elements that were in it. "V'Lakach Eitz Erez VeEizov" ("He shall take cedar wood and hyssop")—these are two opposite attributes, as it says, "From the cedar in Lebanon, which is very tall, to the hyssop that grows on the wall, which is very low." He shall dip them in water, i.e., the source of living waters, as it says, "VeOsi Azvu Mekor Mayim Chayim" ("They have forsaken Me, the source of living waters"). This is the meaning of "Veyikchu Eilecha"—to Moshe, for "Min HaMayim Meshisihu" ("I drew him from the water"), meaning everything should be with daas (knowledge). This is the meaning of "Vezarakti Aleichem Mayim Tehorim U'Tehartem" ("I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be purified").

Summary

This maamar teaches that the process of the Parah Adumah symbolizes transcending one's limitations and purifying oneself in preparation for Pesach. Through self-sacrifice and faith beyond reason, a Jew can connect to G‑d and achieve true spiritual renewal and redemption.