Of all the mitzvot of the Torah, our Rabbis tell us that the mitzvah of Parah Adumah is the most enigmatic. So much so, that King Solomon, the wisest of all men, said: "I thought that I was wise, but (upon seeing my inability to comprehend the mitzvah of Parah Adumah - Midrash) I realized that wisdom was far from me.

What is Parah Adumah?

If a person came into contact with a corpse, he could only be purified through being sprinkled with the ashes of a perfectly red cow. Now, while that is strange enough, what is absolutely paradoxical is that those involved in preparing the ashes became impure. Or to quote our sages: "it made pure those who were impure, and made impure those who were pure!"

As mentioned earlier, even King Solomon couldn't figure this one out!

Nevertheless, Jews, who are never prepared to take "no" for an answer, have come up with a number of insights that can be derived from the conundrum of the Parah Adumah.

Here is one:

A Jew may feel that it his duty to achieve the highest levels of purity and holiness - to become as the Buddhists would have it, an "enlightened" individual. To do this, he absents himself from "worldly" pursuits and lives a monastic life of study and prayer.

Very commendable! A holy man and a true saint!

Then he hears that another Jew has fallen to a very low level - he has, metaphorically speaking, come into contact with a corpse and is spiritually "dead". The holy Jew may think to himself, "What has this got to do with me? Although I may be able to assist the fallen Jew, there is every chance that I will in the process become tainted by my contact with him! In the process of my lifting him up, it is possible that he will pull me down. All my years of spiritual elevation will then be compromised!"

Comes the mitzvah of Parah Adumah and tells us. To save a Jew from spiritual death, you must bear the risk of falling a little even if it means becoming contaminated yourself. Holiness and "enlightenment" are not individual pursuits. G-d's interest is in the creation of "Goy Kadosh" - a holy nation. You must therefore never say, "I saved my own soul - and to heck with everyone else."  G-d loves all His children - the fallen just as much as the enlightened. Just as a parent would expect his children to look out for each other, even at some risk to themselves, so too G-d. Pursue your goals of enlightenment, by all means. But be prepared to purify others, even if it means contracting a little impurity yourself.

Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM