Chukas: How the Deaths of Tzadikim Atone

I was going to call this article, "How Miriam and Aharon Died for Our Sins," but I opted for the more generic NON-Jesusy title.

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Artwork: MetaAI’s attempt at depicting the graves of Aaron and Miriam. How many inaccuracies and problems can you count?

Chukas: How the Deaths of Tzadikim Atone

Chazal (Moed Katan 28a) give two nearly identical explanations as to why the narratives about the deaths of Miriam and Aharon are placed where they are in this week’s parashah:

R’ Ami said: “Why was Miriam’s death juxtaposed to the parashah of parah adumah (the red heifer)? To teach you that just as the parah adumah atones, so does the death of tzadikim (righteous people) atone.” R’ Elazar said: “Why was Aharon’s death juxtaposed to the bigdei kehunah (priestly vestments)? Just as the bigdei kehunah atone, so does the death of tzadikim atone.”

This aggadic midrash poses several problems, the biggest of which is that it contradicts the principle of Divine justice. Rambam (Introduction to Perek Chelek) formulates this principle as follows:

The eleventh yesode (foundational principle) is that He (exalted is He) pays goodly recompense to one who fulfills the mitzvos of the Torah and punishes one who transgresses its exhortations, and that the ultimate recompense is the World to Come and the most severe punishment is kareis (spiritual excision). We have already explained this matter sufficiently. The verse that points to this is [Moshe’s] statement, “If you will forgive their sin … but if not, erase me from Your book” (Shemos 32:32) and He (exalted is He) responded: “He who has sinned against Me, I will erase from My book” (ibid. 32:33). This is a proof that [both] the one who serves [God] and the one who sins are known before Him to pay goodly recompense to the former and to punish the latter.

The pshat (straightforward meaning) of Hashem’s response to Moshe is, “I will only punish those who sin against Me, and since you did not sin against Me, I will not punish you” (see Ibn Ezra’s first commentary, Bechor Shor, Ramban, and others). Rambam infers that the opposite is also true: “I will only reward those who serve Me.” Thus, the idea that a person can receive kaparah (atonement) just because a tzadik dies poses a great difficulty.

But the truth is that we don’t need the Rambam to authorize this difficulty: the notion that the deaths of tzadikim provide kaparah is inherently unjust and irrational! What kind of God would erase the sins of sinners just because a righteous person died? By what notion of sin can sin be magically removed without any change in the sinner? Plus, the idea that a tzadik can die and atone for the sins of other people sounds suspiciously like a different religion. The main question is: What do Chazal mean when they say that the death of tzadikim provides kaparah?

The Torah Temimah (Bamidbar 20:1, note 2) suggests an answer:

The whole concept that the death of tzadikim atones has not been clarified, nor has the reason for it. The intention of the matter can be explained based on what is written in Pirkei d’Rebbi Eliezer 17 regarding the death of Shaul, regarding whom it is written: “And they buried the bones of Shaul … and God was entreated for the land afterwards” (II Shmuel 21:14). These are the words [of Pirkei d’Rebbi Eliezer]: “Since Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu saw that they acted kindly towards him – that they fasted, wept, and eulogized him, as explained there – immediately He was filled with mercy, as it is said: ‘and God was entreated for the land afterwards.’” It is clear from this that it is not the death itself that atones, but the mourning and honor shown at the deaths of tzadikim, for this honor is an honor to Hashem.

In other words, the death of a tzadik does not automatically bring kaparah; rather, it affords a unique opportunity for kaparah – that is, if people utilize the collective state of mourning and honoring the dead to engage in teshuvah, then the teshuvah will bring kaparah. The deaths of Miriam and Aharon prompted Israel to reflect on the values exemplified by these tzadikim, and to do teshuvah, thereby drawing closer to Hashem and bringing honor to His name.

This raises another question: Why did Chazal derive this concept from the deaths of both Miriam and Aharon? Wouldn’t one derivation be sufficient? And what does this have to do with parah adumah and bigdei kehunah?

Rav Avraham Yitzchak ha’Kohen Kook (Midbar Shur 36) offers an answer. Like the Torah Temimah, he first states, “Certainly the essence of the kaparah is through the awakening [of the people] to embrace their good ways (i.e., the righteous ways of the tzadikim).” He then suggests that “there are two types of kaparah,” explaining:

There are matters in which every Jew can follow in the footsteps of the tzadikim and great talmidei chachamim (Torah scholars), such as good middos (character traits) and acts of chesed (kindness) and the like, and there are other matters that [these tzadikim and chachamim] enact due to the greatness of their souls, such as greatness in Torah and things like that, which are not possible for everyone to emulate. The advice for this is to accept upon oneself the yoke of striving to establish the testimony of the religion and Torah.

By that last sentence, Rav Kook means that those who can’t reach the level of greatness in Torah and mitzvos attained by these tzadikim and chachamim can still strive to support Judaism and Torah learning to the best of their ability. Rav Kook continues:

The difference between parah adumah and bigdei kehunah is understood. [In the case of the] purification via the parah adumah, as long as the sprinklings [of its water] fall on [the person who is impure], it purifies [them]. For this reason, it is called chatas (lit. “purification”). However, someone upon whom the sprinklings do not fall is not purified by sprinkling the water on another. But [in the case of] bigdei kehunah, the kohen is the one who dons them, and the entire congregation receives kaparah.

Thus, regarding good middos [and acts of chesed and the like], which are something that is equal for everyone, the death of the tzadikim is likened to the kaparah of the parah adumah. But regarding the Torah, which can only be done through the effort of others for those who cannot do it themselves, the matter is likened to the kaparah of the bigdei kehunah through others, in order to strengthen the Torah of Hashem.

In other words, there are two types of impact that the deaths of tzadikim can have on the populace. One type is the inspiration for people to improve themselves in ways that all people are capable of: middos, chesed, etc. This is symbolically alluded to by the parah adumah, the ashes of which purify all Jews equally. Another type is the inspiration of people in those areas where the level of the tzadik or chacham is so exceptional that it is out of reach; in such cases, people can still aspire to contribute in whatever way they can to support the Torah and mitzvos these individuals stood for. This is symbolically alluded to by the bigdei kehunah, which brought kaparah for all Jews but was not worn by all Jews—only by the elite members of the nation, as represented by the kohanim.

The analyses of this Gemara by the Torah Temimah and Rav Kook illustrate not only how important it is not to take aggadic midrashim at face value, but also to allow our learning of such midrashim to be guided by the yesodei ha’Torah (fundamental principles of Torah). Contrary to popular belief, the Rambam’s thirteen yesodos were not intended to be legislations of dogma; rather, they were meant to serve as guardrails to keep us from making fundamental errors and as guiding beacons which point the way to a truer understanding of Torah.

Were it not for the Rambam identifying Divine justice as one of the yesodei ha’Torah, it would be easy for those who learn this Gemara to see the problems with taking it at face value, but then throw up their hands and say, “Well, Chazal said it, and they must have meant what they said!” Not only would this lead to a misunderstanding of the Gemara, but it would also rob them of a tremendous opportunity to obtain genuine kaparah.

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What do you think of the Torah Temimah’s explanation of how the death of tzadikim brings kaparah? Have you heard other explanations?

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