Chukat Torah Reading - Parshah Complete: (Numbers 19:1 - 22:1) First Portion Numbers Chapter 19 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 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. And you shall give it to Eleazar the kohen, and he shall take it outside the camp and slaughter it in his presence. Eleazar the kohen shall take from its blood with his finger and sprinkle it toward the front of the Tent of Meeting seven times. The cow shall then be burned in his presence; its hide, its flesh, its blood, with its dung he shall burn it. The kohen shall take a piece of cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson wool, and cast them into the burning of the cow. The kohen shall wash his garments and bathe his flesh in water, and then he may enter the camp, and the kohen shall be unclean until evening. The one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water and cleanse his body in water, and he shall be unclean until evening. A ritually clean person shall gather the cow's ashes and place them outside the camp in a clean place, and It shall be as a keepsake for the congregation of the children of Israel for sprinkling water, for cleansing. The one who gathers the cow's ashes shall wash his clothes, and he shall be unclean until evening. It shall be an everlasting statute for the children of Israel and for the proselyte who resides in their midst. Anyone touching the corpse of a human soul shall become unclean for seven days. On the third and seventh days, he shall cleanse himself with it, so that he can become clean. But if he does not sprinkle himself with it on the third and seventh days, he shall not become clean. Whoever touches the corpse of a human soul which dies, and he does not cleanse himself, he has defiled the Mishkan of the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from Israel. For the sprinkling water was not sprinkled on him, so he remains unclean, and his uncleanness remains upon him. This is the law: if a man dies in a tent, anyone entering the tent and anything in the tent shall be unclean for seven days. Any open vessel which has no seal fastened around it becomes unclean. Anyone who touches one slain by the sword, or a corpse, or a human bone or a grave, in an open field, he shall be unclean for seven days. They shall take for that unclean person from the ashes of the burnt purification offering, and it shall be placed in a vessel with spring water. Second Portion Numbers Chapter 19 A ritually clean person shall take the hyssop and dip it into the water and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, and on the people who were in it, and on anyone who touched the bone, the slain person, the corpse, or the grave. The ritually clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day, and he shall cleanse him on the seventh day, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall become ritually clean in the evening. If a person becomes unclean and does not cleanse himself, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation, for he has defiled the Sanctuary of the Lord; the sprinkling waters were not sprinkled upon him. He is unclean. This shall be for them as a perpetual statute, and the one who sprinkles the sprinkling waters shall wash his clothes, and one who touches the sprinkling waters shall be unclean until evening. Whatever the unclean one touches shall become unclean, and anyone touching him shall be unclean until evening. Numbers Chapter 20 The entire congregation of the children of Israel arrived at the desert of Zin in the first month, and the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there. The congregation had no water; so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses, and they said, "If only we had died with the death of our brothers before the Lord. Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord to this desert so that we and our livestock should die there? Why have you taken us out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place; it is not a place for seeds, or for fig trees, grapevines, or pomegranate trees, and there is no water to drink. Moses and Aaron moved away from the assembly to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they fell on their faces. the glory of the Lord appeared to them. Third Portion Numbers Chapter 20 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock in their presence so that it will give forth its water. You shall bring forth water for them from the rock and give the congregation and their livestock to drink." Moses took the staff from before the Lord as He had commanded him. Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock, and he said to them, "Now listen, you rebels, can we draw water for you from this rock?" Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, when an abundance of water gushed forth, and the congregation and their livestock drank. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them. These are the waters of dispute where the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was sanctified through them. Fourth Portion Numbers Chapter 20 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "So says your brother, Israel, 'You know of all the hardship that has befallen us. Our fathers went down to Egypt, and we sojourned in Egypt for a long time. And the Egyptians mistreated us and our forefathers. We cried out to the Lord and He heard our voice. He sent an angel, and he took us out of Egypt, and now we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. Please let us pass through your land; we will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink well water. We will walk along the king's road, and we will turn neither to the right nor to the left until we have passed through your territory.'" Edom replied to him, "You shall not pass through me, lest I go out towards you with the sword!" The children of Israel said to him, "We will keep to the highway, and if we drink your water, either I or my cattle, we will pay its price. It is really nothing; I will pass through on foot." But he said, "You shall not pass through!" and Edom came out toward them with a vast force and with a strong hand. Edom refused to allow Israel to cross through his territory; so Israel turned away from him. Fifth Portion Numbers Chapter 20 They traveled from Kadesh, and the entire congregation of the children of Israel arrived at Mount Hor. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, saying, "Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not come to the Land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you defied My word at the waters of dispute. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and ascend Mount Hor. Strip Aaron of his garments and dress Eleazar his son with them. Then Aaron shall be gathered in and die there. Moses did as the Lord commanded him. They ascended Mount Hor in the presence of the entire congregation. Moses then stripped Aaron of his garments and dressed Eleazar his son in them, and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar descended from the mountain. The whole congregation saw that Aaron had expired, and the entire house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty days. Numbers Chapter 21 The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the south, heard that Israel had come by the route of the spies, and he waged war against Israel and took from them a captive. Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, "If You deliver this people into my hand, I shall consecrate their cities." The Lord heard Israel's voice and delivered the Canaanite. He destroyed them and their cities, and he called the place Hormah. They journeyed from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to circle the land of Edom, and the people became disheartened because of the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in this desert, for there is no bread and no water, and we are disgusted with this rotten bread." The Lord sent against the people the venomous snakes, and they bit the people, and many people of Israel died. The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that He remove the snakes from us." So Moses prayed on behalf of the people. 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. 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. Sixth Portion Numbers Chapter 21 The children of Israel journeyed on and camped in Oboth. They journeyed from Oboth and camped in the wasteland passes in the wilderness, which faced Moab, toward the rising sun. From there they journeyed, and they encamped along the stream of Zered. From there they journeyed, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which was in the desert, extending from the Amorite border, for Arnon was the Moabite border between Moab and the Amorites. Concerning this it is told in the account of the Wars of the Lord, "What He gave at the Reeds and the streams of Arnon. And the spilling of the streams that turned to settle at Ar and leaned toward the border of Moab. From there to the well; that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, 'Gather the people, and I will give them water.'" Then Israel sang this song: "'Ascend, O well,' sing to it! A well dug by princes, carved out by nobles of the people, through the lawgiver with their staffs, and from the desert, a gift. From the gift, to the streams, and from the streams to the heights. From the heights to the valley in the field of Moab, at the top of the peak, that overlooks the wastelands." Seventh Portion Numbers Chapter 21 Israel sent messengers to Sihon the king of the Amorites, saying: "Let me pass through your land. We will not turn into fields or vineyards, nor drink well water. We shall walk along the king's road, until we have passed through your territory." But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his territory, and Sihon gathered all his people and went out to the desert toward Israel. He arrived at Jahaz and fought against Israel. Israel smote him with the sword, and took possession of his land from Arnon to Jabbok, as far as the children of Ammon, for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. Israel took all these cities, and the Israelites dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and all its villages. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and he had fought against the first king of Moab, taking all his land from his possession, as far as Arnon. Concerning this, those who speak in parables say, "Come to Heshbon, may it be built and established as the city of Sihon. For fire went forth from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it consumed Ar of Moab, the masters of the high places of Arnon. Woe is to you, Moab; you are lost, people of Chemosh. His sons he has given over as refugees and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon, king of the Amorites. Their kingdom is destroyed from Heshbon; it has been removed from Dibon; we laid them waste as far as Nophah which is near Medeba." Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. Moses sent to spy out Jaazer and they captured its villages, driving out the Amorites who lived there. Then they turned and headed north toward the Bashan. Og, the king of Bashan, came out toward them with all his people, to wage war at Edrei. The Lord said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have delivered him, his people, and his land into your hand. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon the king of the Amorites who dwells in Heshbon. They smote him, his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor, and they took possession of his land. Numbers Chapter 22 The children of Israel journeyed and encamped in the plains of Moab, across the Jordan from Jericho.