Parashat Chukat Numbers 19:1−22:1 

Torah Tidbit Chukat: Red Cows and Copper Snakes

In the July edition for Kol Beit El I wrote that Parashat Chukat is a parsha full of loss and chaos. And that’s true, as a quick recap shows: Miriam, Aaron, and many Israelites lose their lives. Miriam’s well ceases. The people grumble. Moses hits the rock and learns that he, too, will die before leading the people across the Jordan and touching the promised land. And yet, this parsha also offers at least two possibilities of healing: The Red Heifer ritual, primarily a ritual for purification after one has been in contact with a corpse, and the Nehushtan, the Copper Snake, which heals everyone who was previously bitten by venomous snakes sent by God to punish the Israelites for their complaining.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל־נֵס וְהָיָה כׇּל־הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָי
וַיַּעַשׂ מֹשֶׁה נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת וַיְשִׂמֵהוּ עַל־הַנֵּס וְהָיָה אִם־נָשַׁךְ הַנָּחָשׁ אֶת־אִישׁ וְהִבִּיט אֶל־נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת וָחָי

Then יהוה said to Moses: Make a seraph (a figure of a fiery snake) and mount it on a standard. Anyone who was bitten and then looks at it shall heal. And Moses made a copper snake and mounted it on a standard, and when someone bitten by a snake looked at the copper snake, they would live. (Numbers 21:8-9)

I kept the Sefaria translation “shall heal” for the first verse but used the direct translation in the second verse. In both instances, the Hebrew says וָחָי – would live – which is the ultimate result of healing and recovering: Overcoming the venom’s deadly power.

Several things about the Copper Snake might strike as odd. First, doesn’t this smack of idolatry or magic? It does, though this is not the only time the Israelite cult incorporates pagan or culturally foreign elements. Second, why did Moses choose to make the snake figure of copper? God didn’t tell him to do so. And third, wouldn’t one prefer to dafka look away from the very representation of what has caused harm? While an understandable reaction, looking away avoids confrontation with the root of the suffering. It eschews reflection and acknowledgment, in the biblical narrative, that would be something like: I was bitten by a snake because I complained about God. Now, facing the snake’s image, I also face my impulse to complain, and that helps me to move on.

Whether or not one agrees with the theology behind such reasoning, what might resonate regardless is that facing the Nehushtan here catalyzes a process of liberation both from mental (aka the negative inclination to complain) and actual physical poisoning. In this case, the exposure to an ailment helps overcome it.

What are our Copper Snakes today? Every time I think about the Nehushtan, I recall that as a child, my brother was allergic against anything that contained raspberry flavor. He underwent a medical process called desensitization, a treatment that aims to reduce reactions by gradually exposing the body to the very allergen that causes the reaction. I think of how venting or joking about an ex-partner until it becomes boring not only for friends but also for oneself can be a good remedy. Or I think of folks who could only quit smoking when they still had cigarettes in reach, and it became their free choice not to light them.

None of these very mundane comparisons fit the biblical Copper Snake 100%, and the allergy treatment primarily diminishes the symptoms and might not work for everyone. And yet they all have in common that sometimes, in a measured way, exposure to what has caused harm can kick off a process of recovery, of a better or renewed life. I like to understand these verses in Numbers as outlining a certain form of therapy.

And the episode reveals an additional layer of the therapy process: Adding one’s own voice and imagination, one’s full self can be helpful, too. As noted above, God did not tell Moses to make a copper snake. Rashi, echoing Bereishit Rabah 31, describes Moses’ reasoning: “The Holy Blessed One called it a “snake” (נחש, nahash), so I will make it out of copper (נחושת, nehoshet): language falling on language.”

This is beautiful, poetic reasoning: Moses takes charge not only by erecting any snake figure but by taking the liberty to give it his personal, creative touch. I interpret this as an expression of resilience and of love. Moses likely could have used other materials. But he chose one that is related linguistically. Amidst dire circumstances, he was capable of remaining playful and opted to embellish the task by adding a lyrical note to the healing strategy. I understand this as a dedication that expresses love for God’s commandments as well as the life-affirming desire for complete healing.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Julia Knobloch
rabbiknobloch@bethelsp.org