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The Israel
Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
Parashat Hashavua This
parasha series is dedicated ******************************************************** This
parasha series is dedicated ******************************************************** PARASHAT
CHUKKAT ********************************************************* Dedicated
in memory of Cvi ben Moishe Reinitz (Nagykallo, Hungary) - whose yarzheit is on
2 Tammuz, from those who remember him. ********************************************************* Mei
Meriva Rav
Yehuda Rock Much
debate has surrounded the question of what exactly the sin of Moshe and Aharon
at Mei Meriva is. The scope of this
shiur does not allow for a comprehensive review of all of the various
opinions (the Abravanel counts no less than eleven of them!). Instead, let us try to define the
parameters of the exegetical problem by noting the different types of solutions
and evaluating them. We shall also
propose a new explanation that combines two existing ones, as an attempt to
address the complexity of this issue's exegesis. First,
let us take a look at the relevant verses in our parasha, Chukkat
(Bamidbar 20:2-13): And
there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered against Moshe and
against Aharon. And the people
quarreled with Moshe and spoke, saying: "If only we had died when our brethren
died before God! And why have you
brought God's community to this wilderness, to die there – we and our
cattle? And why did you bring us up
from Egypt to bring us to this evil place – a place of neither seed nor figs nor
grapes nor pomegranates, and with no water to drink?!" And
Moshe and Aharon went from the presence of the community, to the entrance of the
Tent of Meeting, and they fell upon their faces; and God's glory appeared to
them. And God spoke to Moshe,
saying: "Take the staff and gather the congregation – you and Aharon, your
brother – and speak to the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth its
water, and you shall bring forth water for them from the rock, and you shall
give the congregation and their cattle to drink." So
Moshe took the staff from before God, as He had commanded him. And Moshe and Aharon gathered the
community before the rock, and he said to them: "Hear now, you rebels: shall we
bring forth water for you from this rock?!" And Moshe lifted his hand, and with his
staff he struck the rock twice, and abundant water emerged, and the congregation
and their cattle drank. And
God said to Moshe and to Aharon: "Because you did not believe in Me, to sanctify
Me before the Israelites' eyes, therefore you shall not bring this congregation
to the land which I have given to them." This is Mei Meriva (Waters of Strife),
for the Israelites strove with God, and He was sanctified in them. The
following verses are also relevant to our discussion: -
"God
said to Moshe and to Aharon at Hor Mountain: '…Aharon shall be gathered to his
people, for he shall not come to the land which I have given to the Israelites,
since you rebelled against My word at Mei Meriva"
(20:23-24). -
"God
said to Moshe, 'Go up to this Mountain of Avarim, and see the land which I have
given to the Israelites. You will
see it, and then you will be gathered to your people, you too, just as Aharon
your brother was gathered. Since
you rebelled against Me, in the Tzin Wilderness, in the congregation's
strife, to sanctify Me by water before their eyes; they are Mei Meriva of
Kadesh, Tzin Wilderness" (27:12-14). -
"And
you all drew near to me and you said: 'Let us send men before us, that they may
spy out the land…' But you would not go up, and you rebelled against the word of
Lord your God… Yet in this matter
you did not believe in Lord your God… And God heard the sound of your words,
and He grew angry and He swore, saying: 'Not one of these men of this evil
generation shall see the good land…' And God grew angry with me, too, on
your account, saying: 'You, too, shall not enter there. Yehoshua bin Nun, who stands before you
– he shall enter there. Encourage
him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it… And your little ones, concerning
whom you said that they would be prey, and your children who have not known good
and evil – they will enter there; to them I will give it, and they will possess
it" (Devarim 1:22, 26, 34, 37-39). -
"And
God spoke to Moshe on that very day, saying: 'Go up to this Mountain of Avarim…
and die on the mountain which you will go up… For you transgressed against Me
among the Israelites at Mei Meriva of Kadesh, Tzin Wilderness, for you did
not sanctify Me in the Israelites' midst" (Devarim
32:50-51). We
are familiar with the explanation offered by Rashi, based on the Sages' view
(Midrash Tanchuma, Midrash Aggada, ad loc.): that Moshe sinned in
striking the rock instead of speaking to it, as he had been
commanded. This
explanation arises directly from the verses: in God's command to Moshe, He tells
him to speak to the rock; immediately thereafter, we read that Moshe strikes the
rock. This explanation also suits
the verses that speak of "rebellion" (at Aharon's death: "Since you rebelled
against My word") – i.e., disobeying God's command. We can also understand how God can say
(at Moshe's death), "For you transgressed against Me" – after all, this is a
clear act of transgression. Nevertheless,
most of the commentators tend to avoid this simple explanation, offering other
possibilities instead. In fact, we
may list a number of exegetical reasons (some of which are mentioned by the
commentators) for not sufficing with this explanation: -
Is
it possible that Moshe Rabbeinu, the giver of the Torah, God's faithful servant,
would deliberately rebel against an explicit command? This question is partly an issue of
faith, but it also represents a serious exegetical consideration. Even if we propose that Moshe could, in
fact, stumble and sin, the question remains – how could he stumble in a matter
that is so clear, and what would be his motive for doing something different
from what God had commanded? -
As
noted, Moshe's action is later on referred to by God as "rebellion." However, in the narrative itself, in our
parasha, God says only, "Why did you not believe in Me, to sanctify Me
before the Israelites' eyes?
Therefore you shall not bring this community to the land…" This would seem to suggest that the
punishment is meted out not for some intentional, willful rebellion, but rather
for a deficiency in the leadership of Moshe and Aharon, as a result of which
they cannot be the ones to lead the nation into the land. -
The
act of hitting the rock is performed by Moshe alone. Aharon aids him in gathering the people
together, but only Moshe strikes the rock instead of speaking to it. Why, then, is Aharon also
punished? As
noted, other commentators have tried to adopt a more forgiving view of Moshe's
transgression, explaining the decree that he cannot enter the land as a
necessary result of his failure or deficiency in leadership, or as indicating
God's very stringent judgment of such a greatly righteous person. The Ibn Ezra, for example, says that
Moshe's act is an unintentional mistake (because he loses his concentration and
hence is not able to perform the sign by means of speech alone), but he
nevertheless lessens the public sanctification of God's Name through that
sign. The Ramban explains that what
God really means is for Moshe to strike the rock, and that his sin lies in
striking it twice, rather than just once.
Rabbeinu Chananel (quoted by the Ramban) understands Moshe's sin as a
failure to attribute the miracle to God, declaring instead, "Shall we
then bring forth water…?" The Rambam (Shemona Perakim, Ch. 4) explains
that Moshe expresses anger towards the people, while God expresses no anger (the
Ramban rejects this possibility).
Additional exegetical approaches have been raised (see the Ibn Ezra,
Abravanel, and others). What is
common to all of them is that they offer some explanation of Moshe's behavior
that does not reflect deliberate rebellion, and they attribute the transfer of
leadership from Moshe and Aharon to the failure to sanctify God's Name, in one
sense or another. We
have already noted that these approaches are supported by God's words here –
"Why did you not believe in Me, to sanctify Me…?" Their other advantages include, in some
cases, a more "credible" view of Moshe's act (i.e., not as a direct, deliberate
rebellion) and an explanation for why Aharon is punished along with Moshe. On the other hand, the supporters of
these approaches are hard-pressed to explain some other details of the
narrative, as well as the verses from later on, which explicitly refer to the
act as "rebellion" and "transgression."
We may summarize and say that the root of the exegetical problem here
lies in the fact that there are different elements that seem to point in
mutually contradictory directions: at one end, there is a description of the act
as a specific transgression, a rebellion; at the other end, there is a more
nebulous idea of a general deficiency in leadership. Our task, then, is to find an
explanation that will bridge this chasm. Before
proposing a full explanation, let us point out two further exegetical problems
that are relevant to our discussion: Firstly,
in Sefer Devarim (cited above), Moshe mentions the decree that he will
not enter the land: "God was angry with me, too, on your account, saying: 'You
too, shall not enter there.'"
However, these words are uttered in the context of the story of the
Spies! The
commentators explain that Moshe is indeed speaking about the decree that appears
in our parasha, following the events at Mei Meriva – all of this as an
aside. The Ramban suggests two
reasons for mentioning it in the context of the Spies. Firstly, Moshe wants to speak about all
of the punishments that have prevented people from crossing into the land, so as
to emphasize the consistent principle that sins cause exile. Secondly, after Moshe mentions Kalev ben
Yefunneh, who does not allow himself to be carried away by the counsel of the
Spies and merits to enter the land, he also mentions the matter of Yehoshua,
since he too will be entering the land, because he followed God, like
Kalev. For this reason he also
mentions that he himself, Moshe, will not enter the land, and that the nation
will be led by Yehoshua in his stead. However,
a simple reading of the verses indicates that God's anger with Moshe and His
decree that he will not enter the land comes in the wake of the Sin of the
Spies. This is not consistent with
the text in our parasha. Furthermore,
there is an apparent contradiction in the verses in our parasha. First we read, "Why did you not believe
in Me, to sanctify Me…?" – indicating that a sanctification of God's Name fails
to occur. Afterwards, however, we
read: "This is Mei Meriva, where the Israelites strove with God, and He was
sanctified in them" – in other words, God's Name ends up being sanctified!
Similarly, we read later on in
Sefer Bamidbar (27:13), when Yehoshua is appointed: "You rebelled
against Me, in the Tzin Wilderness, in the congregation's strife, to
sanctify Me by water before their eyes"! What this actually means, according to
the commentators (see Rashi, the Ibn Ezra), is that God is sanctified through
the death of the righteous, when He is exacting in judging them. This concept is derived from God's
words, quoted by Moshe to Aharon following the deaths of Nadav and Avihu
(Vayikra 10:3): "I shall be sanctified in those who are close to
Me." However, aside from the fact
that there are other interpretations of the phrase in Vayikra (and we
shall not elaborate here), in our case, the verses are not speaking about the
deaths of Moshe and Aharon; what is emphasized is the fact that they will not
enter the land. Obviously, this
means that they will die before reaching Eretz Yisrael; still, the
punishment that our parasha is meting out is not a death sentence. Similarly, it is not at all certain that
at this stage the Israelites are aware of the decree (since God speaks only to
Moshe and Aharon). If they are not
aware of it, then, from the perspective of this concept, there is no
sanctification of God. At the very
least we may suggest that since the people's knowledge of the decree is
essential to their perception of the sanctification of God, then if the decree
is indeed publicized, the text should note this. The Ramban notes this problem. On
the simple level of the verses, it seems that God is indeed sanctified through
the miracle of the water gushing from the rock, as described in our
parasha. The Ramban supports
this view. However, this brings us
back to our original question: if the sign, as it is performed in practice, does
cause a sanctification of God, as the language of the verse – "And He was
sanctified in them" – would suggest, then why are Moshe and Aharon punished for
not sanctifying God? If the claim
is that they diminish the sanctification – i.e., that the miracle would have
been much greater had Moshe spoken instead of striking the rock – then this,
too, should be reflected in the language of the verses, rather than the absolute
condemnation: "Why did you not believe in Me, to sanctify Me before the
Israelites' eyes?" One
exegetical approach answers the two latter points; we refer here to Rav Yedaya
of Lunel's Avvat Nefesh, cited at length in the commentary of the Shadal
on our verse: For
when the Israelites gather against Moshe and Aharon, demanding water — even
though they do not ask in the right way, but rather through quarrel and strife —
the proper response would have been to promise that they would receive what they
wanted and to tell them, "Do not fear, God will not let you and your cattle die
of thirst. Has He not sustained you
with manna for forty years and struck the rock so that water would flow, so that
you have lacked nothing? Therefore,
do not rebel against God." In any
event, it would have been proper to rebuke them and disapprove of the quarrel,
not to be weak and afraid to answer them.
For one of the essential requirements for a prophet is the attribute of
gevura (internal strength, courage), not fearing or retreating from
anything. Yet, these two prophets,
of such sterling qualities and intelligence, who had led the nation for forty
years in the wilderness, Moshe and Aharon – we find no evidence that they give
any response, when the Israelites gather against them in the matter of the
water. Rather, they are weak, and
they retreat from the confrontation, heading away from the congregation, to the
Tent of Meeting, as it is written: "And Moshe and Aharon went from the presence
of the community, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting," and the Ibn Ezra
comments, "as though fleeing." According
to Rav Yedaya, this is the crux of their failure: they do not know how to stand
up to the people and give them moral guidance and encouragement, in order to
stop the people's complaints and restore their faith in
God. According
to this view, we can well understand how, on the one hand, God says, "Why did
you not believe in Me, to sanctify Me before the Israelites' eyes?," while on
the other hand the Torah also says, "And He was sanctified in them." What is expected of Moshe and Aharon is
for them to stand before the nation and express their faith in Him, thereby
bringing about a public sanctification of His Name. Since they fail to do this, God has to
be sanctified in a different way – through the sign and wonder of water gushing
from a rock. While this sign is
performed by Moshe, such that he does participate in the sanctification of God's
Name that does actually happen, it is not through the expression of his own
faith, as warranted by the situation.
It is this failure that results in the reins of leadership being
transferred from him to Yehoshua.
Apparently, strengthening faith by means of signs and wonders is
something that has its time and place, but here and now is a need for a more
profound faith. The path to this
faith leads through speech and pedagogy, not through miracles and wonders. Moshe, who is apparently not capable of
embracing this manner of education, cannot be the leader of the Jewish nation in
their own land. In
light of this explanation we can also understand why, in Devarim, Moshe
attributes the decree that he cannot enter the land to the episode of the
Spies. In that episode too – as in
our story – Moshe and Aharon are helpless in the face of the nation's complaints
(as we read in Bamidbar 14:1-5): And
all of the congregation lifted their voices and cried… And all of the Israelites
complained against Moshe and against Aharon, and the entire congregation said to
them: "If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this
wilderness! And why is God bringing
us to this land…?" And they said to
one another: "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt." And Moshe and Aharon fell upon their
faces before the entire community of the Israelite
congregation. Moshe
and Aharon's falling upon their faces amid the Sin of the Spies is apparently
comparable to their falling on their faces in our case, where they leave the
presence of the nation and come to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and again
"fall upon their faces." In the
case of the Spies, there is someone who takes on the challenge and addresses the
people with words of faith.
Immediately following the above verses, we read (ibid., vv.
6-9): And
Yehoshua bin Nun and Kalev ben Yefunneh, of those who had scouted the land, tore
their clothes, and they said to the entire Israelite congregation, saying: "The
land which we passed through, to scout it, is an exceedingly good land. If God favors us, then He will brings us
to this land and give it to us: a land which is flowing with milk and
honey. Only do not rebel against
God…" Apparently,
the deficiencies in the leadership of Moshe and Aharon are apparent already at
the time of the Spies, while Yehoshua already shows himself to be worthy of the
task. However, it seems that Moshe
and Aharon are given more time with the hope that, on a different occasion, they
will adopt a different approach.
This opportunity arises in our parasha, at Mei Meriva, and their
repeated failure here seals their fate. Thus,
while the verdict is sealed at Mei Meriva, the root of the phenomenon is
revealed already in the reaction of Moshe and Aharon to the complaint of the
Israelites in the wake of the Spies' report. For this reason, in the context of the
story of the Spies, Moshe recalls: "God was angry with me, too, on your
account." God's
command that Moshe "speak" to the rock "before their eyes" should be understood
in light of the above. The command
alludes to God's message to Moshe and Aharon. Seemingly, the fact that they stand
helplessly in the face of the Israelites' complaint, uttering no rebuke or
encouragement, arises from their sense of despair, their conviction that talking
to the people will not help. After
all of the nation's many complaints, despite all of the signs and wonders that
they have witnessed, Moshe and Aharon have simply lost their faith in the power
of speech and persuasion. God wants
to strengthen their faith in the power of speech – and to this end He commands
them to speak to the rock, as though telling them: If you have God with you, it
is possible even to speak to a rock and thereby to draw water from it; how much
greater the effect on the Israelites - human listeners! (Compare Midrash
Aggada, ad loc.) However, like
Yona in his generation, Moshe and Aharon refuse to take this route; they prefer
that the miracle speak for itself.
For this reason, they both refrain from speaking to the rock. Instead, the miracle is performed like
the earlier wonders in their history (see Shemot 17:5-6): Moshe alone
strikes the rock and brings forth water.
We may say that not only do Moshe and Aharon not act to express before
the Israelites their faith in God's power to bring them to the land, but they
themselves lack faith in their own ability, with God's help, to strengthen the
Jews' faith by means of speech. The
crux of the sin, then, is not the striking of the rock in and of itself, but
rather the failure to speak. This
failure is common to Moshe and Aharon, since both are commanded to speak to the
rock. Similarly, their failure here
is not a local problem; it is part of a broader failure of leadership. This "rebellion" itself expresses their
despair, their lack of faith.
Thus,
in each case, the Torah's explanation fits the context. In Parashat Chukkat, it is the
question of national leadership, so that this failure requires handing over the
reins before entering the land: "Since you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me
before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community
to the land." In the context of
imminent death, as Aharon's life draws to its end and his son Elazar replaces
him, the Torah focuses on the personal rebellion: "since you rebelled against My
word at Mei Meriva." At the end of
Moshe's mission (when Yehoshua is deputized in Bamidbar 27 and when he
actually assumes power at the end of the Torah), these two aspects are once
again brought together: "For you transgressed against Me among the Israelites at
Mei Meriva of Kadesh, in the Tzin Wilderness, for you did not sanctify Me in the
Israelites' midst." Translated
by Kaeren Fish
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