_a.jpg "צילום: ישראל ברדוגו")
Weekly Torah portion: Hukkat
How sad and ironic: We lesser mortals are the inheritors of the Land while Moses, the worthiest of all, lies in an unmarked grave over the Jordan
The midrashic interpretations given to this biblical passage are an indication that the Sages were troubled by the plain meaning of the text. Measured against the heroic dimension of the leader, how insignificant his burst of anger, his moment of doubt. Granted that the righteous are judged by “a thread of a hair,” it would appear to be unfair to both God and Moses to leave the text as is without further comment.
The Sages employed a number of intriguing strategies in an attempt to re-enforce or deflect the surface meaning of Scripture.
A midrash notes a violation of trust and confidentiality of that “face-to-face” relationship with God which allowed Moses to express freely his protest. Exhibiting his lack of trust publicly, he broke his intimate connection with God. The midrashist points to a contrasting biblical passage (Numbers 11:21) where God remains unperturbed in the face of an even greater act of faithlessness. In this passage, Moses articulates his skepticism of God’s ability to supply six hundred thousand men with sufficient amounts of meat and fish. These sentiments, however, are voiced in a private conversation with God. As such, God does not take umbrage with Moses’ defiance. In striking the rock, however, Moses acts out his frustration publicly. In the words of the midrash:
Why was it decreed then that he not enter the Land? To what is it likened, to a king who had and intimate friend who spoke with great insolence when they were together privately and the king took no heed? Sometime later, the friend acted insolently toward the king before his legions. He decreed the death of his friend. Similarly, The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: “The first act of insolence (cf. Numbers 20:12) was just between us, now it took place before many. This cannot be, as Scripture relates, Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of Israel, therefore you shall not lead this congregation in the land that I have given them.” (Numbers Rabba 19:10)
A second midrash accents the gravity of Moses’ demeaning address to the people he serves. In this teaching, the difficult situation of the children of Israel is taken into account. What can be expected from a slave people wrenched from the “material security” of Egypt and forced to confront the perils and privations of an uncharted wilderness? Had they not cause to grumble in the name of survival? The exigencies of daily existence tend to crowd out the memory of divine feats. In this context we understand the accusatory words of the midrash:
As a result of Moses’ words listen you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock, I (God) decreed that Moses would not enter the Land. (Yalkut Shimoni, Job 908)
A second strategy takes another tack in order to mitigate the apparent severity of the divine fiat.
In one midrash the divine decree is conceived as a trade-off between two parties, and not unilateral act on the part of God. Moses accepts his fate on condition that God exonerates Israel for their worship of the Golden Calf. Here, the selfless commitment to the children of Israel and not the momentary disparagement is underscored.
“Master of the Universe, let rather (me) and a hundred like (me) perish than that the finger-nail of even one of them (Israel) should be injured!” (Deuteronomy Rabba. 7:10)
A final ploy emphasizes God’s concern for Moses’ feelings. A midrash regards the divine decree as an act of compassion to spare Moses the humiliation of being replaced by Joshua. Moses appeals to God that he be permitted to serve under Joshua, if only he be allowed to enter the Land. The appeal granted, he walks on the left side of Joshua as a sign of subordination. They enter the Tabernacle together only to be then separated by a heavenly cloud. When Joshua emerges Moses enquires
“What was revealed to you? Joshua replied: ‘When the word was revealed to you did I know what God spoke with you?’ At that moment Moses exclaimed: ‘Better to die a hundred times than to experience envy, even once’”. (Deuteronomy Rabba. 9:9)
The opening two midrashim attempt “to justify God in the eyes of man.” In contrast, the last teachings reflect the compassionate face of both Moses and The Holy One, blessed be He. For the love of Israel, Moses is willing to forgo his dream to enter the Land; for the love of Moses, God wishes to spare him the personal indignity of losing his prime of place before God in the Tabernacle. Moses, blinded by his desire to enter the Land, had to learn the hard way the compassionate wisdom of God’s decree.
A Talmudic legend relates that Moses (perhaps in compensation for his loss of the Land), was offered to say grace at the feast honoring the righteous in the world to come. He refuses saying, “I will not do so for I did not merit entering the Land of Israel” (Pesachim 119a). Indeed, in heaven above as earth below, Moses is portrayed as a very humble man, more so than any other man on earth (Numbers 12:3).
How sad and ironic: We lesser mortals with our pitiful, problematic, self-serving leaders are the inheritors of the Land while Moses, the worthiest of all, lies in an unmarked grave “o’er” the Jordan.
Rabbi Dr. Aharon Zinger is a senior lecturer in Midrash at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies
