Hukat is a pivotal Parshah, in more ways than one. It lies at the heart of the book of Numbers, being the sixth of ten Parshiot. It lies at the heart of the story of Israel in the wilderness, providing the transition from the story of the generation that died in the wilderness and the new generation, forty years later, that would inherit the Land. It is also the middle of the 23 weeks of summer between Pesach and Rosh Hashanah; with Pesach and Shavuot on the one side and the Three Weeks and Tisha B’av on the other. This year it also happens to fall on the longest Shabbat of the year. Hukat is thus a Parshah of transition, with, for example, the death of two of the leaders of Israel and a death sentence pronounced on the third. Yet Hukat begins with a seeming inflexibility. The very word Hukat, carries with it the idea of permanence and immutability. Yet we see even in the Parshah of the Red Heifer, the transition to the new generation. It is Elazar, not Aaron, that is tasked with the preparation of the purifying ashes. Indeed, it is this ritual that begins the Parshah, and spans the 38 years between the story of Korach and the death of Miriam; that holds the key to the lesson of this period of the year. We find that the Torah mandates that part of the ashes of the Red Heifer are to be kept for a memorial. Such a command normally occurs in the Torah concerning things that hold an eternal lesson for future generations; such as the Manna, for example. What enduring message does the ritual of the Red Heifer hold for us? The answer is the lesson of how to negotiate change, and especially, come through crisis. The ritual of the Red Heifer deals with the most basic crisis of human existence: that of death. It teaches us that we can endure even the pain of death and loss and yet emerge on the other side. How? By working together in a spirit of self sacrifice. In a famous paradox the priest who sprinkles the ashes on the impure person, himself becomes impure. Yet he enables the person who has had contact with death to emerge from his impurity to a renewed life. It is only by being willing to work with others and even, sometimes, sacrificing our own purity in order to raise others up, that we can surmount crisis and transition. That was lacking in the Generation of the Wilderness, who were unable to endure crisis and perish. That was the strength of their children who conquered the Land. And that is our strength as we go into the Three Weeks and beyond. 

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Sidra Statistics

A cohen is not allowed to enter a room were there is a dead body.