Summary

Moses and Aaron were punished and prohibited from entering the land of Israel because Moses decided to hit the rock instead of speaking to it. Why was it wrong of Moses to hit the rock? G'd made an even bigger miracle that all the other rocks in the area started to gush with water. Moses' mistake by raising his voice or raising his staff is not so significant. Moses missed the opportunity to sanctify G'd's name in front of the entire Jewish people. Moses' dilemma was whether it would be better to follow G'd's exact instructions and ignore the talk of the people, or it would be better to take into account how the people perceived what was going on and adjust G'd's instructions. It is not our job to "help G'd". Our job is to follow G'd's instructions and leave the rest to the One Who is in charge of every detail of the world.

Moses hit the rock

In last week's parasha, the Torah related how Korach challenged Moses' authority and questioned whether everything Moses said and did was exactly in accordance with G'd's instructions. In this week's parasha we see how loyal and truthful Moses was, and how we can trust and believe that every word in the Torah is the word of G'd. In the parasha we find a description of the downfall of Moses and Aaron and how they were punished and prohibited from entering the land of Israel, because Moses decided to hit the rock instead of speaking to it, as G'd had commanded him (see Bamidbar 20:7-13). If Moses had edited the Torah himself, it would have been easy for him to write this in a different way or omit it altogether.

Moses in a quandary

If we analyze this event a little closer, we start to wonder why it was wrong of Moses to hit the rock. The Midrash Rabbah (Bamidbar 19:9) relates that when Moses went to the specific rock G'd told him, the people claimed that Moses was not going to bring forth the water by a miracle. They were somehow under the impression that this rock had a natural spring within it. They therefore picked another rock and told Moses to bring them water from this other rock. Moses was in a quandary. If he would follow G'd's exact instructions, G'd's name would not be sanctified, for the people would claim that this was not a miracle but a natural spring. On the other hand, if he would listen to the people he would be disobeying G'd's instructions. The Midrash continues that Moses became frustrated and called out: (Bamidbar 20:10): "Listen now, fools, can we bring water forth from this rock [that G'd did not designate?" see Rashi ibid]. Moses then raised his hand and hit the rock with his staff twice, and a lot of water came forth, and the assembly and the animals drank."

Bigger miracle

The Midrash concludes that Moses in the end decided to hit the rock that G'd had instructed him, and G'd made an even bigger miracle that not only did that rock bring forth water, but the rock that the people had requested water from, and all the other rocks in the area, started to gush with water.

Missed opportunity

As we often find in regards to the sins described in the Torah, it is not clear what exactly was Moses' mistake. Rashi learns that Moses erred as he hit the rock instead of speaking to it. Others say that Moses was wrong when he got angry and shouted at the people and called them fools (see Ohr HaChaim Bamidbar 20:8). In the next verse, the Torah quotes G'd's reproof to Moses and Aaron. G'd did not refer to the act they did wrong, but rather to the rationale behind it, as He said, "You did not believe in Me to sanctify Me." This teaches us that whether Moses made a mistake by raising his voice or raising his staff is not so significant. The main problem was that he did not stay calm and put his trust in G'd. In this way, he missed the opportunity to sanctify G'd's name in front of the entire Jewish people.

Moses' dilemma

From the above Midrash emerges a strange paradox. Moses was punished for not sanctifying G'd at the time when he was trying to find the best way how to sanctify Him. Moses was wondering whether it would be better to follow G'd's exact instructions and ignore the talk of the people, or it would be better to take into account how the people perceived what was going on and adjust G'd's instructions. According to Rashi, Moses chose to make a slight change and hit the rock rather than speaking to it, as he felt that this would bring about the greatest sanctification of G'd. But G'd immediately rebuked him and told him that he did just the opposite.

Not our job to "help G'd"

This teaches us an important lesson. It is not our job to "help G'd". Our job is to follow His instructions. Sometimes people are concerned what will others say when they conduct themselves according to halacha. They even worry that their conduct may cause a desecration of G'd's name. They therefore look for leniencies in the way they conduct themselves. Others are eager to make Judaism more marketable in order to reach out to unaffiliated Jews, and they water down the halacha to attract the masses.

Moses was wrong

The Torah here teaches us that Moses was wrong in trying to "help G'd", even though he acted with his best intentions. G'd is capable of ensuring the continuity of the Jewish people and Judaism in ways beyond our imagination. Just as G'd made the water gush forth from all the rocks, He will make sure that Judaism and the Torah will continue to flow without our interventions. Our job is to follow G'd's instructions and leave the rest to the One Who is in charge of every detail of the world.

These words were based on a talk given by Rabbi Avraham Kahn, the Rosh Yeshiva and Founder of Yeshivas Keser Torah in Toronto.

These words were based on a talk given by Rabbi Avraham Kahn, the Rosh Yeshiva and Founder of Yeshivas Keser Torah in Toronto.

Shalom. Michael Deverett