Thursday, September 08, 2016

A Thought on Parshas Shoftim

"...el nachal eisan..." "...to a harsh valley..." "...to a rushing stream..." (21:4) The Torah introduces the ritual of Egla Arufa - the red heifer - which is brought in the aftermath of discovering a human corpse but having no suspect or culprit. After a number of steps, the heifer is killed in the harsh valley (or rushing stream). You may have noticed that I have offered two English translations for the expression nachal eisan. In the Holy Tongue of Hebrew, a nachal can be either a valley, or a stream. The adjective eisan usually means something strong, so if it is modifying the noun "valley", it becomes 'harsh valley', since the term strong valley would not make much sense. If it is modifying the noun stream, then a 'strong' stream would be a 'rushing stream'. There is actually a disagreement among the Rishonim as to what this Biblical nachal eisan was. Rashi and virtually all of the other Rishonim view it as a harsh valley where nothing flourishes. That is where the heifer is axed and placed. However, the Rambam stands alone among almost everyone else and translates the term "a mighty or rushing stream." It is quite intriguing that they argue about a historical fact, albeit one which has been obscured over the many centuries. Other than philological grounds, what might be the basis for this significant debate? The first image is one of a dry, barren plot of land, whereas the second image is one of a wet, wild river. ibn Shu'aib helps us here. He suggests that both approaches actually agree to a degree, namely, that this is a valley, or arroyo, which at times has a stream coursing through it. We do know that once the egla arufa is killed in that place, the area may no longer be used for anything. It cannot be farmed or settled. It becomes an off-limits memorial to the tragedy which happened nearby. Now, we understand from our Sages that the Torah orders the entire surrounding community to prepare for the egla arufa ceremony, in the hope that everyone who might know facts will come forth and help find the killer (and thus avoid having to do the ritual). Part of the motivation to help find that killer is to protect that valley from becoming off limits. Now, if it is a harsh, barren area, per Rashi, it cannot be used for anything anyway, so what kind of motivation is there to save it? The answer is that sometimes that valley is flooded by a rushing river (which we know can happen in dry desert gullies), at which point the valley becomes a temporary water source to help irrigate local farms. So, nobody wants to risk loosing a potential reservoir, so they will all come forth to hunt for the killer and spare the valley. The failure to do so means that the ritual will go ahead, the area will be taboo, and the message will be driven home that the potential of leading a good life was forever taken from the victim, just as the potential to ever use this area has now been ruined. This is the deeper meaning of doing the ritual in a dry valley close to a river. ibn Shu'aib then suggests that the Rambam views the deeper meaning here not from the standpoint of the valley, but from the standpoint of the actual river that sometimes flows through it. The egla arufa is axed not in the ground of the valley, but in the water flowing nearby. This way, there will be no trace left of the atoning ritual, as the waters sweep the remains away. ibn Shu'aib suggests that a reason for this is to show that those people who sought symbolic atonement for the death of that unknown stranger, who had passed through their midst, needed to feel that whatever error of negligence might have led to his murder would now be corrected forevermore. No more would they overlook the lonesome stranger and no more would they become implicated in tragic wrongdoings. An earlier example of this, writes ibn Shu'aib, is when Moshe (Shmos 32:20) pulverized the egel ha'zahav and then scattered its remains over the waters - al panei ha'mayim. When that episode is reviewed in Devarim (9:20), instead of using the word "mayim", Moshe says nachal, just as does our verse. This supports the view of the Rambam that the nachal eisan is the rushing stream. Water is a medium for removing filth and refuse. So, according to the "valley" approach, the death of the stranger will be remembered forever as we avoid using the land. According to the "stream" approach, our erroneous ways will be forgotten, as the waters wash away all trace of past iniquity Good Shabbos. D Fox

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