I had a professor for Classical Jewish History, Prof. Yaakov Elman, who felt that some rabbis in the Talmudic age understood the nature of impurity in the Bible as completely institutional, as opposed to ontological. Meaning, the reason we have rules regarding what is pure and impure is only insofar as it relates to the Temple, but not because it has an actual basis in reality. If true, this would accord with how man see the Rambam's view of tumaah, see Maimonides' Confrontation with Mysticism by Menachem Kellner. See for yourself the medrash Prof. Elman based this on:
Translation goes like this:
Then, the medrash goes on with another story, which indeed offers a purpose for the Red Heifer, and is in fact the one quoted by Rashi:
The broader idea between the two, I believe, is an approach to Jewish law in general. The law requires a regimented lifestyle, and tons of rules and regulations. To what end is all of this?
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai first offers the "non-Jewish" approach. That is the one where the rules are an actual response to reality. A woman in niddah is contaminated, she needs to immerse to wash it away. A man touched a dead animal, he is contaminated, he needs to immerse to wash it away. This is because they actually have some kind of spirit of impurity on them, as Zachariah seems to say, and this immersion will heal them.
But his students knew he was just "answering a fool according to his folly", "educating the child according to his way." He was pushing him away with a reed, something that seems strong, but easily bends if you want it to. They wanted to know, what is the real answer?
He answers that the source of all rules, including the seemingly most mentioned and most important, tumaah and taharah, are because God said so. That's it. They don't have to serve any purpose beyond that.
The next medrash believes the same thing, but goes further.
Rules are there to fix what was broken with the Israelites at the mountain. They did not yet have very many rules. There had to set the months, to eat the pascal lamb, keep the Sabbath, and don't have any other gods before Me, etc. And they still managed to screw it up. But God was saying to them, rules will fix your outlook, will make you better people, and God-oriented, God-driven. By doing these laws, letting them invade every aspect of your lives, your Judaism becomes more real, and stronger. Religious life, God, it's in the details.
(Bamidbar Rabbah 19:8)שאל עובד כוכבים אחד את רבן יוחנן בן זכאי אילין עובדייא דאתון עבדין נראין כמין כשפים אתם מביאים פרה ושורפין אותה וכותשין אותה ונוטלין את אפרה ואחד מכם מטמא למת מזין עליו ב' וג' טיפין ואתם אומרים לו טהרת אמר לו לא נכנסה בך רוח תזזית מימיך אמר לו לאו ראית אדם שנכנסה בו רוח תזזית אמר לו הן א"ל ומה אתם עושין לו אמר לו מביאין עיקרין ומעשנין תחתיו ומרביצים עליה מים והיא בורחת א"ל ישמעו אזניך מה שאתה מוצא מפיך כך הרוח הזו רוח טומאה דכתיב (זכריה יג, ב): "וגם את הנביאים ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר מן הארץ" מזין עליו מי נדה והוא בורח לאחר שיצא אמרו לו תלמידיו רבינו לזה דחית בקנה לנו מה אתה אומר אמר להם חייכם לא המת מטמא ולא המים מטהרין אלא אמר הקב"ה חקה חקקתי גזירה גזרתי אי אתה רשאי לעבור על גזרתי דכתיב "זאת חוקת התורה".
Translation goes like this:
A non-Jew once asked Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai, "These things you do seem like witchcraft... You bring a cow, burn it, crumble it, take its ashes, and if one of you is impure by a dead body, you sprinkle him with two or three drops, and then you say say he's purified!"
[Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai] said to him, "Has a restless spirit (Jastrow identifies it as epilepsy or insanity) ever entered you?"
"No."
"Have you ever seen someone who had a restless spirit enter him?"
"Yes."
"What do you do for him?"
"We bring roots for him and smoke them under him, and we sprinkle water on him. And [the spirit] runs away."
"Hear with your ears what's coming out of your mouth! This is such a spirit, a spirit of impurity! As it says (Zachariah 13:2) 'and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.' We sprinkle him with water for impurity."
After he left, our rabbi's students said, "You pushed him off with a reed. What will you say to us?"
He said to them, "By your lives, a dead person doesn't make things impure, and the water doesn't make things pure. Rather, God said, 'I have engraved a rule, I have decreed a decree, and you have no permission to transgress what I decreed,' ("חקה חקקתי גזירה גזרתי") as it says "This is a chok (rule) of the Torah."
Then, the medrash goes on with another story, which indeed offers a purpose for the Red Heifer, and is in fact the one quoted by Rashi:
מפני מה כל הקרבנות זכרים וזו נקבה א"ר איבו משל לבן שפחה שטינף פלטין של מלך אמר המלך תבא אמו ותקנח את הצואה כך אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא תבא פרה ותכפר על מעשה העגל:
What is the connection between the two? They are in the same section, does that mean they are connected thematically? I think so."Why are all other sacrifices male, but this one is female? Rabbi Avo said, It is akin to a maidservant's son who defecated in the palace of the king. The king said, "The mother should come and clean up the mess." So was God saying, "Let the cow come and atone for the sin of the golden calf."
The broader idea between the two, I believe, is an approach to Jewish law in general. The law requires a regimented lifestyle, and tons of rules and regulations. To what end is all of this?
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai first offers the "non-Jewish" approach. That is the one where the rules are an actual response to reality. A woman in niddah is contaminated, she needs to immerse to wash it away. A man touched a dead animal, he is contaminated, he needs to immerse to wash it away. This is because they actually have some kind of spirit of impurity on them, as Zachariah seems to say, and this immersion will heal them.
But his students knew he was just "answering a fool according to his folly", "educating the child according to his way." He was pushing him away with a reed, something that seems strong, but easily bends if you want it to. They wanted to know, what is the real answer?
He answers that the source of all rules, including the seemingly most mentioned and most important, tumaah and taharah, are because God said so. That's it. They don't have to serve any purpose beyond that.
The next medrash believes the same thing, but goes further.
Rules are there to fix what was broken with the Israelites at the mountain. They did not yet have very many rules. There had to set the months, to eat the pascal lamb, keep the Sabbath, and don't have any other gods before Me, etc. And they still managed to screw it up. But God was saying to them, rules will fix your outlook, will make you better people, and God-oriented, God-driven. By doing these laws, letting them invade every aspect of your lives, your Judaism becomes more real, and stronger. Religious life, God, it's in the details.
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