One of the great paradoxes of the Parah Adumah - indeed, that which qualifies it as a chok par excellence - is the fact that the kohen who handles the Red Heifer becomes impure, while everyone else who comes into contact with it becomes pure. What message does this unusual phenomenon have for us?


Think for a moment about the great heroes and leaders of the Jewish People throughout the ages, those men and women who sacrificed so much for the nation, who worked tirelessly on our behalf. What happened to them?


Noach, the tzadik, gets drunk and is emasculated by his own son. Sara drops dead thinking Yitzchak was killed at the Akeida. Rivka is buried alone, in the middle of the night. Yaakov tells Pharoah his years have been "short and bad." Moshe dies without being allowed into Eretz Yisrael. Shmuel sees his protege Sha'ul stripped of his kingdom. Shlomo goes astray and loses 80% of his kingdom. Rabbi Akiva is tortured to death by the Romans.


In our own era, consider the Prime Ministers and Presidents of Israel. Golda Meir is forced to step down after the fiasco of the Yom Kippur War. Menachem Begin resigns in the wake of the war in Lebanon and becomes a hermit for the last nine years of his life. Yitzchak Rabin is assassinated. Ezer Weizmann leaves office under a cloud and Moshe Katzav is involved in an ongoing sex scandal. Ehud Olmert is ____________ (you fill in the blank).

Those men and women who sacrificed so much for the nation, who worked tirelessly on our behalf. What happened to them?



You might ask yourself, "Why would anyone want to be a Jewish leader, knowing what might be in store for him or her? Why would anyone want that abuse?"


Indeed, how many people with great skills and strengths did opt out of serving the nation, preferring the private sector, peace and quiet?


But that's precisely the point. Perhaps the mark of a great leader is someone who fully acknowledges and accepts that he will be unappreciated for all he does, yet does it anyway. Someone who is so dedicated to the cause of the collective that he will labor in obscurity, take all kinds of abuse, and "get no respect." Someone who will do everything in his power to purify others - all the while, castigated as "impure" for his efforts - but who will still keep on going.


Is there a president, prime minister, rabbi, teacher, kohen, gabbai or mother who doesn't fit this description?


Now, it's hard to know if a leader is motivated by a large sense of civic duty, or just an over-inflated ego; if the chazan is singing to spiritualize the people, or to put himself on a pedestal. So, we just have to pray: send us more men like Moses, and less characters like Korach.