Chukat | חוקת | “Statute”

Chukat | חוקת | “Statute”

Torah Portion:
   

Num 19-22:1;

HafTorah:  Judges 11:1-33

Brit Chadashah:  1 John 3:9-21, 4:3-30; 12:27-50; 1 Cor 1:20-31

Gospel reading: Matthew 21:1-17

Num 19:1-2 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying, (2) “This is a law of the Torah which יהוה has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, that they bring you a red heifer, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish and on which a yoke has never come.

Num 19:1-2 וידבר יהוה אל־משׁה ואל־אהרן לאמר׃ (2) זאת חקת התורה אשׁר־צוה יהוה לאמר דבר אל־בני ישׂראל ויקחו אליך פרה אדמה תמימה אשׁר אין־בה מום אשׁר לא־עלה עליה על׃

Transliteration:  Va-y'daber יהוה el Moshe v'el-Aharon lemor zot chukat ha- torah asher tsiva יהוה lemor daber el'b'nei Yisrael c'yikchu eleicha farah adumah t'mimah asher ein-bahh moom asher  lo-alah aleiha'ol

The main focus  on this Torah portion  is:

• the red heifer and the laws of purification.  
• Moses was told to speak to the rock and instead he hit the rock and Moses was punished for this and was not aloud to lead the people in to  the land. 
• Aaron died at mount Hor and the people mourned 30 days.
• the people complained against God and Moses. God sent snakes to kill the people, the people repented and Moses was told to make a staff with a serpent out of bronze and anyone who had been bitten had only to look at  the staff and they lived. 

A good overview of the torah portion can be found  here or kid parasha that is easy to understand here 

The Ten questions of the torah portion:

1.       What is the color of the special cow in this week’s Torah portion?

Red (19:2).

2.       What else is special about this cow?

The cow has no spots and has never been used for working the fields (19:2).

3.       What is the purpose of this red cow?

To help purify anyone who has become Tameh (contaminated) (19:9).

4.       Where did Miriam Die?

Kadesh (20:1).

5.       What happened when Miriam died?

There was no more water (20:2).

6.       What was Moses supposed to do to get more water?

Take his staff and TALK to the rock and ask it to give water (20:8).

7.       What did Moses really do?

He hit the rock with his staff twice (20:10).

8.       What was Moses and Aaron's punishment for not listening to God’s instructions?       

They were not allowed to enter Israel (20:12)

9.   What happened when Israel complained again? How did Hashem punish them?

He sent fiery serpents to bite the congregation (21:6)

10. What did Moses make to help save Bnei Israel?

A copper serpent. Anyone who was bitten by a serpent could look at the copper serpent and recover (21:9).

Copy work or worksheet for the torah portion:


http://api.ning.com/files/HiABn9wre8rwXItzq3p0yhzkhhYAp7d62UzaNdeRnqjEKB5WaThDDtEPxbC6fx-Af99qJFsjdoAnghRhJrkt6gKC3cRuMcoQ/ChukatKids.pdf


http://www.4shared.com/document/CzEWRV7W/Copywork_Parshas_Chukas.html
Again you have to sign up then just download it. it is the torah portion hebrew worksheet.


http://api.ning.com/files/RMy9ji2xMifzT0NPF6wi-KyHifg5E6NIXKaSlX0rtiA4JWhV1UkpR6mqISSnlbuQV0mkBR5m-lpQ3z3-7X621xOGWksCF9qS/Curr042.pdf

Torah Hebrew word study
This also includes the brit hadasha reading.

http://ronypony.blogspot.com/2012/06/short-parsha-riddles-chukas.html

Coloring pages for the Torah portion:

1. Aish.com
2. Torah Tots

 Kid's crafts to go with Torah Portion

After discussing this story, it is fun to make the poisonous snakes and/or the copper snake.

This week’s Parsha, Parshat Chukat, includes a very enigmatic episode:

And G-d sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the nation, and many perished of the people of Israel. And the people came to Moshe, and they said, “we have sinned, because we spoke against G-d and against you; pray to G-d that He take away from us the snakes.” And Moshe prayed on behalf of the nation. And G-d said to Moshe, “make for yourself a snake and put it on a pole, and it will be that anyone bitten will see it, and live.” And Moshe made a copper snake (nachash nechoshet), and set it on a high pole, and it was that if a snake bit a man, and he stared at the copper snake, that he lived.  Numbers 21:6-9

Materials needed:

Paper plate (or construction or cardstock paper)
Paint or markers
Scissors
Googly Eyes
Red felt

Instructions:

1)   Paint the plate either green or copper. Let it dry. 

2)   Cut out the spiral from the outside-in.

3)   Glue on googly eyes and red tongue.

4)   Add other decorations and designs, using markers or cut-outs.

5)   Make a hole at the top and put a string to hang your snake/s.

Emily Shapiro Katz has been a community Jewish educator for over ten years in Jerusalem, Atlanta, and San Francisco. This summer, she will move to Beer Sheva with her husband, Andy, and daughters Maya, age 5 and Avital, age 2. Her contributions to this website reflect her interest in teaching Tanach, doing craft projects, and entertaining her kids. Emily blogs about her Parsha Projects at http://parshaprojects.blogspot.com/