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Why does Parshas Parah precede Pesach (פסח) specifically? The shiur explores how Parah Adumah rectifies the sin of the Golden Calf by transforming death from an internal reality into an external one. This restoration makes possible both Kibud Av Va'em (since parents give life, not terminal illness) and the founding reality of Klal Yisrael—a nation internally free from separation from Hashem (ה׳).
Rabbi Zweig opens with a fundamental question: Why is Parshas Parah read specifically before Pesach (פסח)? Every holiday requires sacrifices, yet only Pesach has a special preparation through the reading of Parah Adumah. The Korban Pesach itself can even be brought in a state of tumah if most of the nation is tamei mes, so why the unique emphasis on purification before Pesach? The shiur then addresses an apparent contradiction in Rashi (רש"י). In Parshas Beshalach (Exodus 17:25), Rashi states that at Marah, before Matan Torah (תורה), Klal Yisrael received three mitzvos: Shabbos (שבת), Parah Adumah, and Dinim. Yet in Parshas Va'eschanan, when discussing the second luchos, Rashi says the mitzvah (מצוה) given at Marah was Kibud Av Va'em ("kasher tzivcha"—as you were commanded). In Parshas Mishpatim, Rashi seems to include both, creating an apparent count of eleven mitzvos instead of ten. How can these Rashis be reconciled?
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Parshas Ki Sisa (Parah Adumah), Exodus 17:25 (Marah), Bamidbar 19 (Parah Adumah)
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