Weekly Torah portion: Hukkat
"Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them” (Numbers 20:12).
What was the unforgivable sin at the Waters of Meriba of which Rashi (France, 1040-1105) writes that “were it not for this single sin, they would have entered the Land of Israel.” Rashi replies: “Had you spoken to the rock and it had brought forth (water), I would have been sanctified before the community, and they would have said: “Just as this rock, which can neither speak nor hear, and that does not require sustenance, fulfills the word of the Omnipresent, how much more should we.” In other words, Rashi sees striking the rock as the sin.
As opposed to Rashi, in the opinion of Nahmanides (Spain-Eretz Israel, 1194-1270), “the sin of Moses and Aaron at the Waters of Meriba is not stated in the text,” and Rashi’s account is merely legend. Nahmanides explains: “Inasmuch as He ordered ‘take the rod’ which implies striking with it, and had He desired that they only speak, what was the purpose of the rod in his hand? And so it was in regard to the plagues of Egypt, where it says (Exodus 7:15) ‘taking with you the rod that turned into a snake,’ where the purpose is to strike (the waters of the Nile) with it. And sometimes He says ‘hold out your arm’ when His intention is that he strike with the rod, since the text is brief in recounting what was said. And the miracle is no greater in speaking than in striking, since it is one and the same for the rock.”
Nahmanides also quotes Rabeinu Hananel (Kairouan, 965-1055), who wrote that the sin was that they said “shall we get water for you” when they should have said “God will get water for you.” According to this approach, the problem was not one of disobedience, but rather in creating the impression that Moses and Aaron were the source of the miracle.
We find a completely different approach in the midrash: “The Holy One said to Moses: Moses, in how can you ask to enter the Land? It is like a shepherd who set out to tend the king’s sheep, and the sheep were lost. The shepherd then asked to be admitted to the king’s palace. The king said to him: People will say that you lost the sheep” (Tanhuma (Buber) Hukkat 35; Numbers Raba (Vilna) 19). It would appear that the midrash does not accuse Moses of wrongdoing, but nevertheless holds him responsible. This is stated even more clearly in the continuation of the midrash: “Shall you be praised for liberating six hundred thousand and burying them in the desert, while you take in a new generation? Then it will be said that the generation of the desert has no place in the world to come. Rather, lie with them and enter with them.”
1. From the context, it would appear that Moses and Aaron sinned by striking the rock, as Rashi explains. According to Rashi, it would seem that the punishment for that sin was that Moses and Aaron were not permitted to enter the Land of Israel. Is that the obvious meaning of the statement “you shall not lead this congregation into the land”?
2. According to Nahmanides, the striking the rock was not the sin for which Moses and Aaron were punished. Does Nahmanides also think that striking the rock was the reasonably expected behavior?
3. The theme and wording of the midrash is reminiscent of the prophecy of Ezekiel (34:10): “Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and put a stop (the Hebrew term used for ‘stop’ – hishbatim - is the same as the term used by the midrash for ‘lost’ - hishbeita) to their tending the sheep.” Does the midrash intend to imply that the ‘sin’ of Moses and Aaron was a failure of leadership?
4. Is it possible that the words “you shall not lead this congregation into the land” do not impose a punishment for the commission of a sin, but rather express the natural consequence of a failure of leadership reflected in the Israelites’ conduct at the Waters of Meriba?
Iyunei Shabbat is published weekly by the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, The Masorti Movement and The Rabbinical Assembly of Israel in conjunction with the Masorti Movement in Israel and Masorti Olami-World Council of Conservative Synagogues.
Chief Editor: Rabbi Avinoam Sharon
