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Chok (Decree)

Red Heifer: A Soap Ritual

After contact with a corpse, a person must be sprinkled with a liquid mixture containing the ashes of a red heifer, together with cedar and ezov, alkaline plants that, when burnt, function as the key ingredients in a detergent.

Dr.

Joseph Weinstein

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The Enigmatic Rites of the Red Heifer

Prof. Rabbi

Michael Chernick

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Why the Torah Prohibits Incest

Although incest taboos are found in the majority of cultures, medieval Jewish thinkers found this to be an insufficient explanation for the Torah’s prohibitions. 

Prof. Rabbi

Marty Lockshin

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Is It Possible to Make Sense of a Biblical Ritual (Chok)?

Prof.

Edward L. Greenstein

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Eglah Arufah: A Ritual Response to an Unsolved Murder

The law of the heifer whose neck is broken, eglah arufah, has puzzled both traditional and modern commentators. What is it meant to accomplish? How does it work?

Prof. Rabbi

Marty Lockshin

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