Why Did Moshe Use a Copper Snake

In this week's parsha, Chukas, Bnei Yisroel complain about their "rotten bread" and G-D sends a plague of venomous snakes. After many people in Israel died from the snakes' bites they came to Moshe and begged him to pray to G-D in order that the plague should end. However, G-D said that Moshe needed to make a snake and put it on a pole and whoever was bitten should look at it and they would live. This whole episode can be seen in Bamidbar 21:5-9. The intriguing part about this story is that although G-D only asked Moshe to make a snake and put it on a pole, Moshe made a COPPER snake and put it on a pole. In Chapter 21:8-9:

ח. וַיֹּאמֶר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל נֵס וְהָיָה כָּל הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָי:

8. The Lord said to Moses, "Make yourself a serpent and put it on a pole, and let whoever is bitten look at it and live.

ט. וַיַּעַשׂ מֹשֶׁה נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת וַיְשִׂמֵהוּ עַל הַנֵּס וְהָיָה אִם נָשַׁךְ הַנָּחָשׁ אֶת אִישׁ וְהִבִּיט אֶל נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת וָחָי:

9. Moses made a copper snake and put it on a pole, and whenever a snake bit a man, he would gaze upon the copper snake and live.

Also, G-D commanded Moshe to make a שָׂרָף (Saraph) and Moshe made a נְחַשׁ (Nachash). What is the significance of this difference and does it have anything to do with the fact that Moshe made the serpent out of copper and thereby the verse says נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת?

The Ramban in Bamidbar 21:9 answers this question by giving an idea similar to homeopathic medicine, that G-D made it that the thing that causes the sickness can also heal it and that is why Moshe uses this similar language. Also, G-D wanted to show that He is the one that causes life and death and that is why He used that which caused the sickness to also cure that sickness, to show that it is all up to G-D.

The Maharal on Rashi verse 8 acknowledges the position of the Ramban, that the copper snake had a real medicinal activity, however, he disagrees and says that the medicinal properties of the copper snake were complete miracles without a reason. There was nothing scientific about it, it was a miracle plain and simple. What really cured the Jewish people, according to the Maharal, was the fact that the Jews would pray harder once they saw the snake on the pole and they looked heavenward.

The Maharal on Rashi in verse 9 explains why Moshe used a copper snake (נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת) instead of a snake(שָׂרָף). Rashi said:

נחש נחשת: לא נאמר לו לעשותו של נחשת, אלא אמר משה הקב"ה קוראו נחש, ואני אעשנו של נחושת, לשון נופל על לשון:

a copper snake: He was not told to make it of copper, but Moses said,"The Holy One, blessed is He, called it a snake (נָחָשׁ), so I will make it of copper, (נְחשֶׁת), one term similar to the other term. — [Mid. Gen. Rabbah 19:31:8]

The Maharal uses a very well established idea found throughout his writings and the writings of others, like Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch. The reason Moshe felt it was appropriate to make the snake out of copper was because of the similarities of the words נָחָשׁ (snake) and נְחשֶׁת (copper). The Maharal explains that the essence of an object is described by its name in lashon hakodesh (Hebrew). Therefore, since these two words are spelled so similarly they are connected on a very deep level. An example of this is the word הב (give) and the word אהבה (love). These two words are interconnected in the following way, אהבה has at its core the word הב because love is really expressed by the fact that the person that loves someone wants to give the person that is the object of their love everything. This is a big idea found throughout the Maharal, words that are similar are related on a deep level.

This idea, as mentioned previously, is also found throughout the writings of Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch. He points out that the root נחשׁ can represent several things: Foretell, using hidden tricks, snake, metal chain, copper and bottom. So what can we learn from these different meanings of the root נחשׁ, what was Moshe trying to teach us by using a copper snake?

I think that Moshe was trying to add his own message to this cure that G-D was handing over to the Jewish people. Moshe was telling the Jewish people that they should use the experience from the desert to foretell what was to come in the future. When the Jews challenge G-D and do not have faith in Him then that leads them to plague and death. The snake was on a tall poll in the sight of everyone showing them that there is no hidden trick here and that this cure is straight from G-D. Ultimately, if one did not look up to the snake and pray to G-D for salvation they would end up at the bottom, a bad place.

G-D commanded Moshe to make a snake for everyone to look up and realize that G-D is behind the plague. They then would realize that they must pray to G-D and the would know He is in charge of everything. However, Moshe added the copper aspect of the snake to teach the Jewish people that not only must we realize that this plague is from G-D and that we must learn a lesson from this situation, also we must see that it is not a trick and if you fail to realize these things then you will not succeed in anything. Let us never forget this message that Moshe sent to the Jewish people and hopefully we will all be successful.

Another explanation that I just realized, thanks to the commentors D and Anon, can go like this:

The terms נחשׁ (snake) and נְחשֶׁת (copper) are interconnected in the following manner. נחשׁ means snake, however, it is also used to refer to the evil inclination (Bava Basra 16a and many other places). Therefore, copper was used as the remedy for the evil inclination because of its ability to tame and overcome the evil inclination. Where do we see this? Rashi (Shemos 38:8):

from the mirrors of the women who had set up the legions: Heb. בְּמַרְאֹתהַצֹבְאֹת Israelite women owned mirrors, which they would look into when they adorned themselves. Even these [mirrors] they did not hold back from bringing as a contribution toward the Mishkan, but Moses rejected them because they were made for temptation [i.e., to inspire lustful thoughts]. The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him, “Accept [them], for these are more precious to Me than anything because through them the women set up many legions [i.e., through the children they gave birth to] in Egypt.” When their husbands were weary from back-breaking labor, they [the women] would go and bring them food and drink and give them to eat. Then they [the women] would take the mirrors and each one would see herself with her husband in the mirror, and she would seduce him with words, saying, “I am more beautiful than you.” And in this way they aroused their husbands desire and would copulate with them, conceiving and giving birth there, as it is said: “Under the apple tree I aroused you” (Song 8:5). This is [the meaning of] what is בְּמַרְאֹתהַצֹבְאֹת [lit., the mirrors of those who set up legions]. From these [the mirrors], the washstand was made, because its purpose was to make peace between a man and his wife. [How so?] By giving a drink from the water that was in it [the washstand] to [a woman] whose husband had warned her [not to stay in private with a certain man] and she secluded herself [with him anyway. The water would test her and either destroy her or prove her innocence. See Num. 5:11-31]. You should know that they were actually mirrors, because it is said: “The copper of the waving was seventy talents… From that he made…” (Exod. 38:29, 30), but the washstand and its base were not mentioned there [among the things produced from the seventy talents. Thus,] you have learned that the copper of the washstand was not of the copper of the waving. So did Rabbi Tanchuma expound [on the matter] (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 9; Num. Rabbah 9:14). And so did Onkelos render: בְּמֶחְזְיַתנְשַׁיָא [“the mirrors of the women”], which is the Aramaic translation of מַרְאוֹת, mirrors in French. So we find in Isaiah (3:23) וְהַגִּלְיֹנִים (sic), which we render: וּמַחְזְיָתָא, and the mirrors.

So we see that the women used COPPER mirrors to channel the evil inclination to be used for something good. Therefore, Moshe was telling Bnei Yisroel that we need to channel the evil inclination, represented by snakes, into something good, represented by the copper. Thereby we can see the connection between נחשׁ and נְחשֶׁת. The נחשׁ (evil inclination) can be used to create something very good נְחשֶׁת (representing good deeds) if we channel it in the correct way.

Giving Meaning to the Red Heifer

In this week's parsha, Chukas (Chukat), we have the mysterious commandment of the Parah Aduma (Red Heifer). This is what makes the name of the Parsha, Chukas, so appropriate. A Chok is a commandment that we do not know the reason for and is, in fact, something that the true reason is unknowable. This is why Rashi tells us on the second pasuk of this week's parsha (Bamidbar 19:2):

זאת חקת התורה: לפי שהשטן ואומות העולם מונין את ישראל לומר מה המצוה הזאת ומה טעם יש בה, לפיכך כתב בה חקה, גזירה היא מלפני ואין לך רשות להרהר אחריה:

This is the statute of the Torah: Because Satan (The Yetzer Hora: Etan's addition) and the nations of the world taunt Israel, saying, “ What is this commandment, and what purpose does it have?” Therefore, the Torah uses the term “statute.” I have decreed it; You have no right to challenge it. — [Yoma 67b]

Even though we are told that the commandment of the Para Aduma (Red heifer) can not be challenged based on human logic, that does not mean we can't learn valuable ideas from it. In fact, some of the most fundamental ideas found in Judaism can be understood through a proper dissection of the Para Aduma commandment. So, let's dissect the commandment (Bamidbar 19:2):

ב. זֹאת חֻקַּת הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְ־הֹוָ־ה לֵאמֹר דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה תְּמִימָה אֲשֶׁר אֵין בָּהּ מוּם אֲשֶׁר לֹא
עָלָה עָלֶיהָ עֹל:

2. This is the statute of the Torah which the Lord commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow, upon which no yoke was laid.

The question here is why should it be a Red Heifer that is perfect in it's redness(As Rashi tells us on this pasuk), it should have no physical blemishes and it should never have done any physical labor? I think that these details and their proper understanding can help us relate and give meaning to the commandment of the Red Heifer.

First, let's understand how the commandment of the Red Heifer works. As stated in Bamidbar 19, the ashes of the Red Heifer are combined with water and are used when a person comes in contact with a dead body. This person that comes in contact with a dead body becomes impure and needs to be sprinkled with the ashes of the Para Aduma in order to become ritually pure again. So the idea we should think about is, "How is a Para Aduma connected to a dead person?"

First, let us deal with the Hebrew word Para (פָרָה). Para here means cow, however, Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch tells us that words that are spelled the same, although they have different meanings, have similar concepts behind them. The word Para can also mean to flourish or produce progeny. How interesting that something that symbolizes proliferation and life would be used to purify someone that became impure through death.

Next, we have the words Aduma Temimah (אֲדֻמָּה תְּמִימָה) from the word Adam. Here it means perfectly red, however, the word Aduma can mean healthy or, as the first man was named, it can refer to man. However, it must be perfectly red because if it has two black hairs then it can no longer be called a Para Aduma because it is noticeably no longer a Red Heifer. Thus, we have the proliferating or healthy man found in the words of Para Aduma, according to Rav Hirsch.

The requirement that there be no Mum (מוּם) is for all korbanos. However, here we can take special notice of it because this is, indeed, not a korban. The Para Aduma is used to make water that will endow another with spiritual purity. Therefore, the Para itself must represent a state of being that the person wants to reach, no blemishes.

The last phrase in this pasuk tells us a great deal about this commandment. The phrase "upon which no yoke was laid" (אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָלָה עָלֶיהָ עֹל) hints to us the spiritual power of this commandment. What is the significance of the fact that this cow has never been put to work? For this, we have an excellent Maharal in Tiferes Yisroel in chapter one. He tells us:

"At the end of Tractate Kiddushin (82B) it says: 'We learned in a Braisa, Rebbe Shimon the son of Rebbe Elazar said, 'In all my days I never saw a deer that dried figs in the field, a lion that transported packages, or a fox that was a shopkeeper, rather these animals all get their livelihood without aggravation. However, these animals were only created to serve me (man), and I was created to serve G-D. So, just like these animals were created to serve me and have a livelihood without aggravation so too I, who am created to serve G-D, how much more so that I should have a livelihood without aggravation. Alas, I have made my actions disgusting and deprived myself of my livelihood for it says in Jeremiah (5:25) {Your sins have overturned these.}' This is the end of the Gemorah in Kiddushin. Behold, the Gemorah is explaining that the actions and work that man does for his livelihood are not because of man's greatness, rather these actions are because of his lack of perfection."

The Maharal uses the Gemorah in Kiddushin to teach us a very valuable lesson, man has to work because of his fall from grace. Working is due to a lack of perfection and holiness in a man. Therefore, we can understand that a Red Heifer that works has lost this spiritual and symbolic perfection. This is why a Red Heifer can not have ever had a yolk on its back, because this is a spiritual impurity. The Red Heifer must symbolize spiritual purity in order to purify a person who has come in contact with a dead person.

Now we can put all the pieces together and understand the meaning of the Red Heifer, at least on some level. So the "perfectly red unblemished cow, upon which no yoke was laid" represents a proliferating or healthy man that has no spiritual blemishes and receives his sustenance without work. This represents what man was supposed to be before the sin of Adam eating the forbidden fruit! Thus, the point of the Red Heifer is to help us focus on what man was originally supposed to accomplish. What was that? The Maharal tells us that this is nothing other than the commandments from G-D. Originally, man was not supposed to die or work, rather man was supposed to follow G-D's commandments and everything else would be taken care of. However, once man "made his ways disgusting" as the Gemorah says, G-D made man work and die because man was unable to handle the responsibility of no death and no work. As the saying goes, "Idle hands do the devils work" and no hands are more idle than those who do not die or work.

However, what does this have to do with Bnei Yisroel? Why do they have to be constantly reminded that the only reason they had to come in contact with a dead person was because of Adam's sin? For this we turn to Rav Kook. He says (Kook, Midbar HaShur on Noach):

"At Mount Sinai, Israel reached the level of Adam before the Sin. Humanity would once again have enjoyed immortality, were it not for the subsequent sin of the Golden Calf (Talmud Bavli Avodah Zara 5a)."

This is why Bnei Yisroel must always be reminded of Adam's sin, because it was their's as well! Had they not sinned then we would again be living indefinitely. There would be no spiritual impurity from the dead. However, the Para Aduma is there as a reminder that we must constantly be watching ourselves and not give into sin. The disgusting actions that we perform like greed, lust, etc... must be curbed by our love and fear of G-D.

This enigmatic commandment can have great meaning to us if we concentrate on what it represents. Man was supposed to live forever and walk in the ways of G-D. By using the Para Aduma we are reminded that this IS still our ultimate goal, but the ease at which it was supposed to be attained has been altered. This was because of misdeeds and sin. Hopefully, we will all have the strength to overcome our base desires and focus on the idea of the Para Aduma, Man is supposed to live and follow in G-D's ways. However, the most important thing to realize about this commandment is that it applies to everyone. Every single person experiences death. There is not a single person that has not experienced death in some shape or form. Therefore, this commandment also teaches us that everyone is on the same level. No one has a pass. No matter how "great" you are, how rich you are, how many people listen to your words, you are just as responsible as everyone else. There is no pointing to someone else, everyone needs to be purified by the waters of the Para Aduma.