English translation — חוקת א

A.

In the laws of the red heifer¹

the Rambam says: And nine red heifers were made from when they were commanded in this commandment until the destruction of the Second Temple. The first was made by Moshe Rabbeinu, the second was made by Ezra, and seven from Ezra until the destruction of the Temple, and the tenth will be made by King Moshiach²

May he speedily be revealed, amen, may it be His will.

The source of the Rambam is in the Mishnah³

where a dispute is brought how many red heifers were made until the destruction of the Second Temple — whether seven or nine

(and the Mishnah enumerates "who made them"),

and the Rambam rules

(according to the opinion of the Sages)

that there were nine and then adds "and the tenth will be made by King Moshiach etc."

One must however understand: the Sefer HaYad is not a book of the chronicles of Israel,

but a book of halacha

(as the Rambam says in the introduction to the book)

— what is the practical difference in a book of halacha⁴

the

the number of red heifers that were made over the generations?

and in particular

(in the language of the Talmud⁵)

"what happened happened".

Even more is the wonder regarding the conclusion of the words of the Rambam "and the tenth the king mashiach will speedily be revealed amen so may it be His will" — that this is not mentioned even in the midrashim of our sages may their memory be blessed who are presumably the source of the Rambam<sup>6</sup>

Regarding the very addition "and the tenth the king mashiach will do" one can explain

(at least with difficulty),

because the Rambam brings in his book also halachot for the messianic era,

he says that king mashiach will also make a red heifer<sup>7</sup>

; but it remains perplexing that the Rambam then adds "speedily be revealed amen so may it be His will" — inserting into a book of halacha<sup>8</sup>

a request and prayer for the coming of mashiach?

(And he indeed brings in his Order of Prayers<sup>10</sup>

the text of the Eighteen Benedictions,

which contains

("the request<sup>11</sup>

of all things that are like fathers to every desire of each individual and to all needs of the community",

including)

the prayers for the coming of the Messiah)

— but what place does it have that the Rambam should insert in the Book of the Hand<sup>8</sup>

his prayer for the coming of the Messiah?].

Even if you say that it has a place,

it would have had,

apparently,

more place when the Rambam puts it in the chapters where the "subject" is about the King Messiah — in the last two chapters of

(Laws of Kings<sup>12</sup>

the Book of the Hand,

which speak about Messiah and the days of the Messiah<sup>13</sup>

(until there are editions of the Rambam<sup>14</sup>

where the heading of these two chapters is "Laws of Kings and Wars and the King Messiah")

— there one does not find that the Rambam should insert a request and prayer for the coming of Moshiach; and specifically here in the laws of the red heifer,

where the "sugya"

is not about Moshiach but about the red heifer

(and the matter of Moshiach comes in only incidentally)

— does the Rambam add this prayer?

2.

One will understand this with an introduction of a change in the manner in which the Rambam brings the matter — relative to how it stands in the Mishnah:

In the Mishnah it is brought regarding the seven

(or nine)

red heifers in continuation to the law "If they did not find from seven, they make from six, etc."

At the beginning of chapter¹⁵

the Mishnah says that they separate the kohen who burns the heifer from his house seven days and "they sprinkle upon him all seven days from all the sin-offerings that were there"

("from all the red heifers that were made from the days of Moses, etc."¹⁶).

And in continuation to this¹⁷

the Mishnah says "If they did not find from seven, they make from six, etc.",

and then the Mishnah continues "And who made them? The first one made Moses, etc.";

In contrast, in the Rambam this matter comes in continuation to another law¹⁸

— "And three¹⁹

parts would divide all its ash,

one is given in the Chel and one on the Mount of Anointing and one is divided among all the watches,

this one that is divided among all the watches, the priests would sanctify from it, and this one that is given on the Mount of Anointing, the Israelites would sprinkle from it, and this one that is given in the Chel was prepared and stored, as it is said²⁰

And it shall be for the congregation

of the children of Israel for a safeguard, teaching that they would store from it,

and so they would store from the ash of each and every cow that they burn in the Chel" — and in continuation to this the Rambam says "And nine cows etc."

What this is a fundamental difference in the content of the matter:

According to the order in the Mishnah,

comes the matter

(about the cows that were made over the generations)

in continuation to the making of the cow because of the use of the ash of the cow

(that one sprinkles from the ash of the cow upon the priest who burns the cow²¹)

Not so in Rambam, it comes with the continuation to the law that one must hide "the ash of every cow" that it should be for safekeeping.

The law of "for safekeeping" is — in the plain sense of the verse — not only so that it should be ready for sprinkling²²,

but its main meaning is

(as its name)

— that the ash should be hidden for safekeeping.

The part of ash is not only an obligation as a part of the sprinkling of the red cow,

but it is a separate law that the ash of every cow must be

hidden for safekeeping

(even if one would not need it for sprinkling to purify from impurity of the dead).

In a different style

(and more deeply)

: The content of the obligation of "for safeguarding" is — that it should always be [from] its ash "prepared and hidden"²³,

And in the language of R. Saadiah Gaon²⁴

"and the heifer for safeguarding perpetually"

that the thing is safeguarded in a manner that it is always present].

It comes out,

that "for safeguarding" is not

(only)

a separate obligation upon each heifer that one must hide a part of its ash for safeguarding

(in the manner that one must take from this ash a portion for the kohanim and a portion for all Israel)

— rather this is

(also)

a general obligation

(in the heifer)

and perpetual²⁵,

that it must always be the ash of the heifer hidden "for safeguarding".

3.

Based on this, one can say,

that the intention of the Rambam is also with his bringing about the "nine cows" that were made from the time of Moses until the destruction of the Second Temple:

Only that as the Rambam brings that there is the obligation of storing the ash of the cow "for safekeeping",

which is a perpetual obligation

(as above)

— the Rambam wants to bring a support to his words,

that this obligation was fulfilled throughout all the generations; and therefore he brings down what is stated in the Mishnah about the nine cows,

from which one sees,

that they always had the ash of the cow²⁶

(and according to the precise wording

The Rambam — "Nine red heifers were made from when they were commanded in this commandment until the destruction of the Second Temple" — there was always the ash of the heifer "for safekeeping".

regarding the "Tabernacle that Moses our teacher made" and the details of the chain of descent therein

(Tabernacle that they set up in Gilgal,

Tabernacle of Shiloh,

Nov Givon)

until the Temple was built in Jerusalem — for ostensibly there too is the question "what happened happened"?

it has already been explained²⁸,

since the Rambam²⁹

holds that the command regarding building the Temple is derived from the verse³⁰

"And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary"

(which was commanded in the desert,

before the Jews entered the Land of Israel),

it follows,

that this is an eternal commandment for all times.

And therefore the Rambam elaborates at length about the Mishkan that was erected throughout the generations

(until "the Temple was built in Jerusalem")

— to prove that "And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary" is an eternal commandment and they have

fulfilled the command throughout all the generations

(also before they came to Jerusalem)].

And since the Rambam included in his book also halachta l’mishicha,

as above — he must also bring

(not only as it was "until the house was destroyed in the second",

but also)

how one will fulfill the commandment of "the building that is to be built in the future"³¹

— "and the tenth [part] will King Moshiach make"³².

With this one could also explain why the Rambam adds "speedily he will be revealed": because there is a perpetual obligation that there should be ash of the [red] heifer "for safekeeping",

it follows,

that the commandment of the red heifer "demands" that there should be as quickly as possible the revelation of Moshiach,

so that one can make ash of the red heifer³³.

For at every single moment when there is no ash of the [red] heifer in any place where Jews are located and they observe it,

there is lacking in the

(completeness)

fulfillment

The commandment that there must always be the ashes of the red heifer "for safekeeping"³⁴.

D.

But this is still not a sufficient explanation — because the plain language of the Rambam is indeed — that this is a request and prayer for the revelation of Mashiach,

and as the Rambam explicitly says "amen may it be His will"³⁵.

The question remains: how does a prayer for the coming of

(and revelation)

Mashiach fit into the Book of the Hand?

One must say,

that with this the Rambam hints to a matter of halacha.

And as is known that the way of the Rambam is to hint halachot through the precision of his language and the precision of the order of the halachot

(and especially when the halacha is a novelty of the Rambam that is not stated explicitly in the Talmud etc.).

And likewise in our case: That which the Rambam is

(a)

adding a prayer concerning the coming of

(and revelation)

the Messiah,

and

(b)

places it not in its place

(seemingly)

in "Laws of the Messiah" but specifically in the laws of the red heifer

(where the matter of the Messiah comes incidentally)

— comes to teach a matter of halacha.

5.

And one must say the explanation in this:

Regarding the obligation to believe in the coming of Moshiach, the Rambam rules in Hilchos Melachim³⁶

"And anyone who does not believe in him, or who

who does not await his coming ..

he denies ..

the Torah and Moshe Rabbeinu".

d.

e.

It is not enough to believe in the coming of Moshiach,

rather one is obligated to hope and wait for the coming of Moshiach.

And thus it is understood,

that just as the matter of faith in the coming of Moshiach is a constant duty,

so too the obligation of "awaiting his coming" is a constant obligation,

a Jew must always hope and wait for Moshiach,

and moreover,

as we say in prayer — "for Your salvation we hope all day".

The concept of "awaiting his coming" which in the simple language of the halacha is a feeling

(not a mere knowledge)

comes from that a Jew feels that he cannot have any completeness without the coming of Moshiach,

and consequently he stands in a constant hope for the coming of Moshiach,

feeling that without this he is a "deficient one".

And from this one understands,

that when someone — who is awaiting the coming of Moshiach — mentions a matter related to Moshiach,

even if it should be incidentally — he cannot "pass it by",

rather this immediately arouses in him feelings of anticipation for Moshiach,

it becomes his need³⁷,

he must pray about it,

say a prayer for the filling of his lack³⁸

— that he should merit speedily,

immediately,

at once the coming of Moshiach.

And this is the intention of the Rambam with

(a)

inserting the prayer "Speedily may He be revealed, amen may it be His will" in general,

and

(b)

inserting "speedily",

which is earlier,

and

(c)

specifically not in its place,

in the laws of the red heifer — with this the Rambam emphasizes a halacha,

how much must be the "one who awaits his coming",

that even when the matter of Moshiach comes up incidentally,

in another matter³⁹,

it must immediately arouse in a Jew a prayer "Speedily may He be revealed, amen may it be His will"!

("Speedily may He reveal, amen may it be His will")

specifically in the laws of the red heifer and not every time he mentions in the Yad about Mashiach?

— Because,

as above,

the Rambam is a book of law,

i.e.

that is

to make known the laws of the Torah.

And likewise in our matter: that which the Rambam adds the prayer is

(not a detail in the conduct of the Rambam — for then the question would have a place that the Rambam should have conducted himself thus every single time — but rather)

in order to make known the law in this matter; and consequently one does this one time

(just like all the other laws in the Yad which are said only once)<sup>40</sup>].

6.

All matters of the Torah are precise to the utmost.

One must say,

that that which the Rambam makes known the law

(regarding the manner of the obligation of "awaiting his coming")

in the laws of the red heifer — although the matter of Mashiach is already mentioned in the Rambam before the laws of the red heifer<sup>41</sup>

(also there in passing)

— it is because of a thematic connection*<sup>41</sup>

that exists between the matter of the ashes of the heifer with the coming

(and revelation)

of Mashiach.

The explanation of this⁴²

The general concept of exile is a state of impurity of the dead.

Dripping on this matter literally,

that we are impure through contact with the dead⁴³,

This is also the spiritual content of the matter of exile: the cause of exile is because of "our sins" — that there is lacking in the "and you who cling to Hashem your G-d" — consequently

is lacking

in the "life all of you today".

And the ash of the red heifer — the purification from the impurity of the dead — alludes to the redemption from exile,

the purification from the state of separation from clinging to Hashem, the living G-d.

And it can be said that this is the precision in the prophecy of the redemption⁴⁶

"And I will sprinkle upon you pure water and you will be purified" — specifically sprinkling,

that is,

the purification through sprinkling — "the sprinkling of the water of purification that removes the impurity of the dead"^,4,

and the purification will be revealed in the coming of Mashiach our righteous one,

may he come and redeem us speedily in our actual days,

and in the language of the Rambam — "speedily may he be revealed, amen may it be His will."

(From the talk of 7 MarCheshvan 5746)