On Saturday, the Shabbat just after Purim, the tradition is to once again bring out a second scroll—this time to read from Numbers on what we call Shabbat Parah. Not a particularly comfortable reading, the text addresses the consequences of coming into contact with a dead body, and the purification rituals that must ensue. Rabbi Mychal Springer, writing on this portion, notes the parallel between the text of the Torah and the text of this week’s haftarah, taken from the book of Ezekiel. Where the Torah portion deals with the aftermath of physical defilement, using the ashes of a red heifer in the purification ritual, the Book of Ezekiel—with its focus on spiritual defilement and renewal—feels more in tune with our calendar.
One of the many names for Passover in our texts is Chag HaAviv, the spring holiday. Just this past week, we marked the Spring Equinox, and with it Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Like a preponderance of light-focused holidays around the Winter Solstice, it seems no coincidence that faith traditions across the globe honor and celebrate the coming of spring and all it represents. “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean,” the words of Ezekiel call out; a few verses later, we read: “And I will give you a new heart, (לֵב חָדָשׂ) and put a new spirit (וְרוּחַ חֲדָשָׁה) into you.”
The promise of Ezekiel, and perhaps of spring itself, is just that—renewal and rebirth and possibility. Certainly, it is at the heart of this season, and of our Passover celebration next month. As we welcome spring, I am moved by this teaching from Rabbi Springer, who writes:
— Rabbi Sari Laufer