In Parshat Huqqat, (Numbers 19:1-22:1) Moses is taught the laws of the Red Heifer, whose ashes purify a person who has been contaminated by contact with a dead body. After 40 years of journeying through the desert, the people of Israel arrive in the wilderness of Zin and the people thirst for water. G-d tells Moses to speak to a rock and command it to give water. Moses gets angry at the rebellious Israelites and strikes the stone. Water issues forth, but Moses is told by G-d that neither he nor Aaron will enter the Promised Land.

Aaron dies and is succeeded by his son Elazar. Snakes attack the Israelite camp after yet another eruption of discontent in which the people “speak against G-d and Moses”; G-d tells Moses to place a brass serpent upon a high pole, and all who will gaze heavenward will be healed. The people sing a song in honor of the miraculous well that provided the water in the desert. The Parsaha ends with Moses leading the people in battles against the Emorite kings.

The Parsha contains many verses and stories that deal with Human Rights. Here are a few commentaries on Parshat Huqqat by Rabbis associated with Rabbis for Human Rights.

• Huqqat: Human Rights and the Purification of Society
• Huqqat: Act according to the Golden Mean
• Huqqat: Thinking Before Speaking

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