Symbols Used with Ceremonial Cleansings

There are some unusual items listed for the ceremonial cleansing of a diseased person (Leviticus 14:1-7) and someone who came into contact with a dead person (Numbers 19:1-10), including cedar wood, hyssop, scarlet yarn or wool, and a red heifer. All of these items seem to symbolize vitality. For example, cedar wood and hyssop have a pleasant smell, the color scarlet might represent a healthy complexion, and a solid red heifer "without blemish or defect and that has never been under a yoke" is a prime, perfectly strong animal. All of these are used during ceremonies intended to represent the removal of opposite characteristics--the smell of rot, the look of disease, weakness and death.