… the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community, and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water… “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?” Bamidbar 20:8,10
Our Torah portion contains the well-known narrative in which Moshe is commanded by God to address a designated rock thus triggering a divine intervention resulting in water for a parched nation. As the text unfolds, we read, Moshe strikes the rock twice after taunting the Israelites gathered to watch saying to them, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?”
God’s critique of both Moses and Aaron in their handling of this matter is articulated as, “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.” The statement prompts much discussion amongst Cha”zal, our ancient sages of blessed memory, as to the nature of the sin committed by the two Israelite leaders. Their various views are well articulated by the medieval biblical commentators.
One cluster of commentators including Rashi, his grandson Rashbam, and Shadal, assert that the sin was in the act of striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Targum Yonatan attributes the sin to the striking of the rock a second time as an expression of Moshe’s anger in the moment. Rambam also focused on Moshe’s anger as expressed in both word and deed.
Several of the medieval biblical commentators focus exclusively on Moshe’s words with ibn Ezra highlighting the great leader’s denigration of the people by calling them “rebels”. Ramban points to Moshe’s framing his words as a question that might be misconstrued as an expression of doubt in God while Rabbenu Hananel calls attention to the words, “shall we” with the implication that Moshe and Aharon, and not God, will be the ones to provide water to the people.
Common to all the commentators is a desire not only to pinpoint the specific sin, but also, to understand the severity of the consequences. For their failure to properly honor God, the two aging leaders are told that neither will accompany the Israelites into the Promised Land which they are on the verge of entering. Compared with the major examples of misbehavior in the wilderness by the Israelites the punishment of Moses and Aaron feels severe.
An emergent theme amongst the sages who struggled with this question is that the two leaders were by their status and standing held to a higher standard of expectation. The words and deeds of individuals in authority are, then as now, highly impactful and deeply scrutinized. For centuries of our sages, the experience of Moshe and Aharon described here was an enduring lesson to be mindful of what they proclaimed publicly and how they behaved before the community.
As we, as a society, struggle with the multiplicity of issues before us, the challenges of navigating the many needs of a complex society, simultaneous to providing economic opportunity, responding to food insecurity, challenges in the health care system, and assuring that we build a more just, equitable and safe society for everyone, we must hope that the lessons on leadership in our Torah guide our leaders to be thoughtful in their words, patient in their deeds, and respectfully lead us in dialogue.
Shabbat Shalom –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
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