(ח) קַח אֶת הַמַּטֶּה וְהַקְהֵל אֶת הָעֵדָה אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ וְדִבַּרְתֶּם אֶל הַסֶּלַע לְעֵינֵיהֶם[2] וְנָתַן מֵימָיו וְהוֹצֵאתָ לָהֶם מַיִם מִן הַסֶּלַע וְהִשְׁקִיתָ אֶת הָעֵדָה וְאֶת בְּעִירָם:
Chukat 5729.
במדבר פרק כ
(א) וַיָּבֹאוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כָּל הָעֵדָה מִדְבַּר צִן בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן וַיֵּשֶׁב הָעָם בְּקָדֵשׁ וַתָּמָת שָׁם מִרְיָם וַתִּקָּבֵר שָׁם:
(ב) וְלֹא הָיָה מַיִם לָעֵדָה וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ עַל מֹשֶׁה וְעַל אַהֲרֹן:
(ג) וַיָּרֶב הָעָם עִם מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר וְלוּ גָוַעְנוּ בִּגְוַע אַחֵינוּ לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק:
(ד) וְלָמָה הֲבֵאתֶם אֶת קְהַל יְקֹוָק אֶל הַמִּדְבָּר הַזֶּה לָמוּת שָׁם אֲנַחְנוּ וּבְעִירֵנוּ:
(ה) וְלָמָה הֶעֱלִיתֻנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם לְהָבִיא אֹתָנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הָרָע הַזֶּה לֹא מְקוֹם זֶרַע וּתְאֵנָה וְגֶפֶן וְרִמּוֹן וּמַיִם אַיִן לִשְׁתּוֹת:
(ו) וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן מִפְּנֵי הַקָּהָל אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל פְּנֵיהֶם[1] וַיֵּרָא כְבוֹד יְקֹוָק אֲלֵיהֶם: פ
(ז) וַיְדַבֵּר יְקֹוָק אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
(ח) קַח אֶת הַמַּטֶּה וְהַקְהֵל אֶת הָעֵדָה אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ וְדִבַּרְתֶּם אֶל הַסֶּלַע לְעֵינֵיהֶם[2] וְנָתַן מֵימָיו וְהוֹצֵאתָ לָהֶם מַיִם מִן הַסֶּלַע וְהִשְׁקִיתָ אֶת הָעֵדָה וְאֶת בְּעִירָם:
(ט) וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת הַמַּטֶּה מִלִּפְנֵי יְקֹוָק כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ:
(י) וַיַּקְהִלוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן אֶת הַקָּהָל אֶל פְּנֵי הַסָּלַע וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם שִׁמְעוּ נָא הַמֹּרִים[3] הֲמִן הַסֶּלַע הַזֶּה נוֹצִיא לָכֶם מָיִם:[4]
(יא) וַיָּרֶם מֹשֶׁה אֶת יָדוֹ וַיַּךְ אֶת הַסֶּלַע בְּמַטֵּהוּ פַּעֲמָיִם וַיֵּצְאוּ מַיִם רַבִּים וַתֵּשְׁתְּ הָעֵדָה וּבְעִירָם: ס
(יב) וַיֹּאמֶר יְקֹוָק אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן יַעַן לֹא הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי לְהַקְדִּישֵׁנִי לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָכֵן לֹא תָבִיאוּ אֶת הַקָּהָל הַזֶּה אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָהֶם:
(יג) הֵמָּה מֵי מְרִיבָה אֲשֶׁר רָבוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת יְקֹוָק וַיִּקָּדֵשׁ בָּם: ס
(יד) וַיִּשְׁלַח מֹשֶׁה מַלְאָכִים מִקָּדֵשׁ אֶל מֶלֶךְ אֱדוֹם כֹּה אָמַר אָחִיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ אֵת כָּל הַתְּלָאָה אֲשֶׁר מְצָאָתְנוּ:
Alef.
1.
תהלים פרק לט
(יב) בְּתוֹכָחוֹת עַל עָוֹן יִסַּרְתָּ אִישׁ וַתֶּמֶס כָּעָשׁ חֲמוּדוֹ אַךְ הֶבֶל כָּל אָדָם סֶלָה:
With
rebukes dost Thou Chasten man for iniquity, and like a moth Thou Makest
his beauty to consume away; surely every man is vanity. Selah
The sin was Moshe’s disrespectful manner of addressing the Jewish people in BaMidbar 20:10.
2.
The Midrash seems to emphasize the singular of “Avon” suggesting that
there was a single flaw in Moshe’s behavior that led to his inability to
enter the land of Israel. The simple interpretation would be that
“Avon” is talking about sins in general as opposed to a single
transgression.
3.
דברים פרק ט
(ז) זְכֹר אַל תִּשְׁכַּח אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִקְצַפְתָּ אֶת יְקֹוָק אֱלֹקיךָ בַּמִּדְבָּר לְמִן הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר יָצָאתָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם עַד בֹּאֲכֶם עַד הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה מַמְרִים הֱיִיתֶם עִם יְקֹוָק:
The difference between the usage of this language
in BaMidbar 20 and Devarim 9 is that whereas in the former instance,
Moshe was emotionally responding in an out-of-control manner and looking
to belittle the people, in the case of Devarim Moshe was
dispassionately summarizing what had happened in the past. Objectively
speaking, the people were guilty of rebelling. But in the heat of the
moment, he was off-base for losing his temper. Whenever Moshe becomes
angry he makes errors and/or forgets what the relevant Halachot are in
specific cases.
Beit.
1. According
to Rabbeinu Chananel, it was Moshe and Aharon acting contrary to their
humility, i.e., they spoke as if they were the ones causing the miracle
as opposed to HaShem Who actually was behind the miraculous events.
According to R. Yosef Albo, it was their very humility that caused the
problem, since they should have had more confidence that whatever they
would say would be fulfilled by HaShem. Akeidat Yitzchak states that it
is difficult for him to accept that humility for which Moshe is
particularly praised should be cause for his terrible error leading to
the Decree that he could not enter the land of Israel.
2.
RaMBaN states that R. Chananel is the last word on this subject and his
view should silence those who are questioning what happened.
3. Tehillim 91:1-3, 5-6, 13.
תהלים פרק צא
(א) יֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיוֹן בְּצֵל שַׁקי יִתְלוֹנָן:
(ב) אֹמַר לַיקֹוָק מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי אֱלֹקי אֶבְטַח בּוֹ:
(ג) כִּי הוּא יַצִּילְךָ מִפַּח יָקוּשׁ מִדֶּבֶר הַוּוֹת:...
(ה) לֹא תִירָא מִפַּחַד לָיְלָה מֵחֵץ יָעוּף יוֹמָם:
(ו) מִדֶּבֶר בָּאֹפֶל יַהֲלֹךְ מִקֶּטֶב יָשׁוּד צָהֳרָיִם:...
(יג) עַל שַׁחַל וָפֶתֶן תִּדְרֹךְ תִּרְמֹס כְּפִיר וְתַנִּין:
O
thou that dwellest in the covert of the Most High, and abidest in the
shadow of the Almighty; I will say of the LORD, who is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust, That He will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence…
Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that
flieth by day; Of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the
destruction that wasteth at noonday… Thou shalt tread upon the lion and asp; the young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under feet.
R.
Yosef Albo cites the verses from Tehillim 91 as a proof that God will
Subjugate the laws of Nature to the will of those who believe in HaShem.
However, it could be countered that all that the verses say is that God
will Protect those who trust in Him; not that they should bald-facedly
tempt fate, as for e.g., R. Chanina ben Dosa did by placing his foot
squarely atop the lair of a poisonous snake, practically “daring” HaShem
to Perform a miracle on his behalf.[5]
4. R. Yosef Albo accuses Moshe of two sins:
a)
When the people challenges him, he fled rather than standing up to them
and demanding a miracle to be performed (20:6). (This is in contrast to
Moshe’s demand that Korach and his followers die unnatural deaths in
order to demonstrate that God is Supporting Moshe.)
b)
When needing to produce water from the rock, Moshe did not simply
demand that the water be produced, since if he had true faith he would
have been able to do so.
A verse in Devarim that illustrates these two sins is 32:51—
דברים פרק לב
(נא) עַל אֲשֶׁר מְעַלְתֶּם בִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמֵי מְרִיבַת קָדֵשׁ מִדְבַּר צִן עַל אֲשֶׁר לֹא קִדַּשְׁתֶּם אוֹתִי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
Because 1) ye trespassed against Me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribath-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; --I Told you to speak to the rock but you hit the rock.
2) because ye sanctified Me not in the midst of the children of Israel.—It
would have been a greater demonstration that nature is made subservient
to the Tzaddik had you merely spoken to the rock rather than hitting
it.
5. a) אמנם הדבר הגדול העומד כנגדו בדעתו—the
great obstacle that opposed him in his mind (from carrying out
HaShem’s Order (was his being accustomed to awaiting God’s Direction
rather than demanding on his own initiative that God Respond to his
request.)
b) צרכיהם אלא על זה הענין, רצוני בדבר ה'—their
needs by no other means than this way, that is to say in accordance
with the Word of HaShem (since Moshe would await HaShem’s Orders, he
could not bring himself to verbally order the rock, a part of overall
nature, to comply with his wishes via God’s Performing a miracle on Moshe’s behalf.)
c) יבטא בשפתיו ובשמן ערב של מליצה אל יניא את ראשנו—
)תהלים פרק קמא
(ה) יֶהֶלְמֵנִי צַדִּיק חֶסֶד וְיוֹכִיחֵנִי שֶׁמֶן רֹאשׁ אַל יָנִי רֹאשִׁי כִּי עוֹד וּתְפִלָּתִי בְּרָעוֹתֵיהֶם:
Let the righteous smite me in kindness, and correct me; oil so choice let not my head refuse; for still is my prayer because of their wickedness. )
Let him articulate it with his lips and the pleasant oil of metaphor we should not refuse (the truly humble
would realize when it was necessary to articulate one’s desire for a
miracle. To refuse to do so is an indication of a flaw in the state of
humility.)
d) בדבר קטן נאמר "צוך אלקים ויכולת עמוד", עם היות כי לפי דעתנו דבר גדול דיבר—even for a small matter it is stated (Shemot 18:23) “If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people also shall go to their place in peace,” even
if in our minds a great thing he said (although it is not stated as
such, perhaps these Tzaddikim did not take the initiative in any of
these instances, and in every case they were first Ordered by God as to
what to do.)
6.
Akeidat Yitzchak cannot imagine that, according to R. Yosef Albo,
Moshe’s humility could be the source of the problem in terms of his not
demanding of God to do a miracle that would clearly demonstrate the
suspension of nature. Humility by definition should not precipitate
transgression.
7.
In both instances in Shemot 16 and 17, Moshe appeals to God for
guidance rather than simply demanding that food fall from the Heavens or
water be given to them. Nevertheless God is not Angry, reflecting the
fact that Moshe did nothing wrong when he did not proclaim on his own
initiative solutions for the problems that the people were grappling
with.
Gimel.
1.
(ו) וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן מִפְּנֵי הַקָּהָל אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל פְּנֵיהֶם וַיֵּרָא כְבוֹד יְקֹוָק אֲלֵיהֶם: פ
R. Yosef Albo: Moshe should have called for a suspension of the laws of Nature in order to produce water for the people.
Mincha Belula: Moshe and Aharon should have stood and rebuked the people instead of running from before them.
2. a) Moshe
and Aharon are being accused of not complying with HaShem’s
Instructions (not that they did not give rebuke to the Jewish people.)
במדבר פרק כ
(כד) יֵאָסֵף אַהֲרֹן אֶל עַמָּיו כִּי לֹא יָבֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל אֲשֶׁר מְרִיתֶם אֶת פִּי לְמֵי מְרִיבָה:
b)
They are also accused of not believing sufficiently in HaShem. That
does not appear to be connected to whether or not they gave rebuke to
the people.
(יב) וַיֹּאמֶר יְקֹוָק אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן יַעַן לֹא הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי לְהַקְדִּישֵׁנִי לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָכֵן לֹא תָבִיאוּ אֶת הַקָּהָל הַזֶּה אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָהֶם:
c) Was the challenge of the people so improper that it should precipitate a rebuke? After all, they had no water.
(ד) וְלָמָה הֲבֵאתֶם אֶת קְהַל יְקֹוָק אֶל הַמִּדְבָּר הַזֶּה לָמוּת שָׁם אֲנַחְנוּ וּבְעִירֵנוּ:
(ה) וְלָמָה הֶעֱלִיתֻנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם לְהָבִיא אֹתָנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הָרָע הַזֶּה לֹא מְקוֹם זֶרַע וּתְאֵנָה וְגֶפֶן וְרִמּוֹן וּמַיִם אַיִן לִשְׁתּוֹת:
3.
Perhaps it could be said that when Moshe addressed the people roughly,
the very sin that Devarim Rabba identified as the cause for Moshe’s
inability to enter the land (!), prior to hitting the rock, he was
giving them rebuke for their behavior:
(י) וַיַּקְהִלוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן אֶת הַקָּהָל אֶל פְּנֵי הַסָּלַע וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם שִׁמְעוּ נָא הַמֹּרִים הֲמִן הַסֶּלַע הַזֶּה נוֹצִיא לָכֶם מָיִם:
4.
According to Tzaida LaDerech, the instructions that HaShem Gave was for
both Moshe and Aharon to speak to the rock. While only one at a time
could hit the rock with the designated staff, speaking to the rock
could have been carried out by both of them simultaneously. This should
have been an indication of how HaShem Wanted the two of them to proceed,
and when only Moshe acted by hitting the rock, this was considered a
shortcoming on Aharon’s part as well, who could have pointed out to his
younger brother the error before it was carried out.
(ח) קַח אֶת הַמַּטֶּה וְהַקְהֵל אֶת הָעֵדָה אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ וְדִבַּרְתֶּם אֶל הַסֶּלַע לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְנָתַן מֵימָיו וְהוֹצֵאתָ לָהֶם מַיִם מִן הַסֶּלַע וְהִשְׁקִיתָ אֶת הָעֵדָה וְאֶת בְּעִירָם:
4
Our Rabbis taught: In a certain place there was once a lizard7
which used to injure people. They came and told R. Hanina b. Dosa. He
said to them: Show me its hole. They showed him its hole, and he put his
heel over the hole, and the lizard came out and bit him, and it died.
He put it on his shoulder and brought it to the Beth ha-Midrash and said
to them: See, my sons, it is not the lizard that kills, it is sin that
kills! On that occasion they said: Woe to the man whom a lizard meets,
but woe to the lizard which R. Hanina b. Dosa meets!8
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