from the heart of jerusalem: rabbi binny freedman

The puzzling encounter over rock and water

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There is no more tragic figure in the entire Torah than Moshe Rabbeinu, our ultimate teacher.

And there is no part of the story of his life in the Torah that is more confounding and mysterious than the story, in this week’s portion Chukat, of his hitting the rock and consequently being denied entry into the Promised Land.

But what went wrong? The people arrive at the desert of Tzin and have no water, so they complain to Moshe, because that is what you do when you are Jews in the desert with no water (Bamidbar 20:1-13). It’s exactly what they had done in the past; not long after the splitting of the Red Sea they arrive at Refidim and have no water, and complain to Moshe (Shemot 17:1-7). Then as now, Moshe takes his staff and hits the rock and presto! — everybody’s happy.

Why does G-d this time punish Moshe and Aaron, preventing them from entering the land of Israel? 

A careful look at the verse will note that Hashem does not say they cannot enter the land of Israel, but rather that they will not lead the Jewish people home; at issue here is leadership. 

The commentaries many different explanations for what mistake Moshe made here, precisely because it is not at all clear, especially given that Moshe is essentially following a previously tested and proved strategy. Some (Rashi) suggest he was meant to speak to the rock which would have been more powerful than hitting it, while others (the Ramban) suggest that the way in which Moshe seems to berate the people (v. 9): “Shimu na ha morim” (listen now you rebels!) was the problem; Moshe got angry. 

It is worth noting that this story actually takes place in the 40th year, when Moshe’s expectations might have been different. Nonetheless, it seems strange that Hashem wants Moshe to speak to the rock and yet enjoins him to take the staff, which was used previously to hit the rock. If Moshe was only meant to speak to the rock, why was he taking the staff?

And Aaron’s role here is unclear. The people complain to Moshe (v.3), yet Aaron joins Moshe (v. 6) in running to G-d (to the tent of meeting); then G-d tells Moshe to take Aaron with him (v.8), and Aaron goes along (v.10) but although he does not actually say or do anything (v. 12) he is equally punished!

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