From the Desk of Rabbi Avi Alpert | Spiritual Leader, Congregation Bet Shalom
The Red Cow in the Room: Preparing for the Impossible
We are now less than a month from Passover. For many of us, the cleaning and preparations associated with the “Holiday of Freedom” have already begun. Our weekly Torah cycle is currently tethering us to the reality that this major pilgrimage is on the cusp, and we must begin to plan our Seders, ensuring we invite friends and those in need to join our tables.
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Parah, distinguished by a special Maftir reading from Numbers 19. This esoteric section of the Torah is admittedly foreign to modern sensibilities. It details the requirement of an entirely red heifer—blemish-free and never having worked—which is slaughtered and burned with cedar, hyssop, and crimson wool. Its ashes, handled with the utmost care and mixed with spring water, were used to ritually purify the people so they could qualify for Temple procedures, specifically the offering of the Korban Pesah.
In his Mishneh Torah, Maimonides classifies this as the ultimate Hok—a divine decree that transcends human logic. It may be perplexing, yet the Torah utilizes this obscure ritual to ready us psychologically for Passover and beyond. While we have not utilized the Parah Adumah for centuries, Jews in synagogues across the globe will still listen intently to the words detailing its preparation.
How do we make sense of this? How can the knowledge of the Red Heifer transform our lives today?
As I write this, we may be witnessing the story of Purim replaying in real-time. Haman’s spiritual successors are being vanquished by the resolve of Israeli and American forces. For generations, we read the Book of Esther as a memory of the distant past. While it has applied to various historical struggles, we have never seen its themes of defense and victory unpacked quite like we are seeing now.
The Purim details are not the only part of our tradition standing to be reworked. Can you imagine our entire people celebrating the Seder in Jerusalem, savoring the actual flavors we were intended to eat, and truly reliving the birth of our nation? To experience the Torah’s richness in its fullest sense, we may need to “embrace the Red Cow in the room.”
The purification that emanates from these ashes need not remain foreign or impossible. Few would have predicted our people returning to our indigenous land, let alone becoming a leading global force in so many areas. If the return to Zion was possible, then the “far-fetched” restoration of our highest spiritual procedures may not be so impossible after all.
Shabbat Shalom.
In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, we read the dramatic story of the Golden Calf. Faced with uncertainty while Moses is away on Mount Sinai, the Israelites search for something tangible to bring them together. The Torah reminds us how deeply people long for connection, meaning, and shared purpose. At the Tucson J that same human desire—to gather and to belong—lies at the heart of our work. The J is a place where our community comes together to learn, to celebrate, to support one another, and to bring Jewish values to life in meaningful ways. Like the Israelites encamped together in the wilderness, we continue to build a vibrant and welcoming community where everyone belongs.
This week at the J, we celebrated the joyful holiday of Purim! On Sunday, BBYO teens gathered with their friends at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging for their last Better Together program to exchange mishloach manot (gifts of food)—one of the four mitzvahs of the holiday—and decorated masks and crowns. After four meaningful years, the Better Together program is coming to a close, but our partnership with Handmaker will continue in new ways.
Also on Sunday, we were proud to host the Tucson Torah Center and PJ Library Hamantasch Bake, with over 50 families in attendance and hundreds of delicious cookies baked at home after mixing, kneading, filling, and shaping together in costume and community. Purim festivities continued on Monday with the Early Childhood Education Purim Parade and Carnival!
On Tuesday, Linda Travis, Psy.D, Director of Healthy Aging, led the final of four sessions of our “Aging + Social Connections: Let’s Get Together + Talk” series. The sessions were free and designed to foster connection and provide support to older adults and caregivers navigating the complexities of aging. Beginning mid-January, the sessions focused on the importance of social relationships and friendship in the later stages of life.
Just today, Disability Program Services participants honed their life skills in Cooking Club with special guest, Davis Hubbell, our Director of Teen Engagement who had a past career as a baker! Together, the group learned how to make Challah and Pita Bread—and shared the results with staff across the building!
As we reflect on the moments of belonging and connection that shaped our week here at the J, we recognize the many people who make that possible, including you! Shabbat Shalom. Thank you for being part of our community.
Reminders, Resources + Learning
Each week we share resources for more learning:
This week’s resources:
- Ki Tisa: Democracies and Holiness Require Open Space by Rabbi Andrea Goldstein (T’ruah)
- What Happened to Moses on Mount Sinai by Rabbi Ismar Schorsch (My Jewish Learning)
Last week’s resources:
- The Finest That We Have To Offer by Rabbi Abi Weber (T’rauh: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights)
- The Ultimate Destination Spot by Rabbi Guy Izhak Austrian (My Jewish Learning)
Is there a topic you’d like to learn more about? Email Jenn Selco with requests.