Chukat

Chukat, Huqqat, or Khukes (חֻקַּת ḥuqqaṯ, 'decree', the ninth word and the first distinctive word) is the 39th weekly Torah portion in the annual triennial cycle of Rabbinic and the sixth in the Book of Numbers. The parashah sets out the laws of corpse contamination (tumat hamet) and purification with the water of lustration prepared with the red heifer. It also reports the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, the failure of Moses at the Waters of Meribah, and the conquest of Arad, the Amorites, and Bashan. The parashah comprises Numbers 19:1–22:1. The parashah is the shortest weekly Torah portion in the Book of Numbers (although not the shortest in the Torah), and is made up of 4,670 Hebrew letters, 1,245 Hebrew words, 87 verses, and 159 lines in a Torah Scroll. Rabbinic Jews generally read it in late June or July. In most years (for example, in 2025 and 2028), Parashat Chukat is read separately. In some years (for example, 2026 and 2027) when the second day of Shavuot falls on Shabbat in the Jewish diaspora (where observant Jews observe Shavuot for two days), Parashat Huqqat is combined with the subsequent parashah, Balak, in the Diaspora to synchronize readings thereafter with those in the Holy Land, where Jews observe Shavuot for one day. Jews also read the first part of the parashah, Numbers 19:1–22, in addition to the regular weekly Torah portion, on the Shabbat after Purim, called Shabbat Parah. On Shabbat Parah, a reader first reads the regular weekly Torah portion, then reads the chapter of the Red Cow. Shabbat Parah occurs shortly before Passover, and Numbers 19:1–22 sets out the procedure by which the Israelites could purify themselves from the impurity of death (tumat hamet), and so prepare for the Pilgrimage Festival of Passover. s