Chukas: Missing the Most Important Word

By Tuvia Goldstein

“We use our words and we don’t hit!” Those words, oft-cited by my mother in a house full of boys, are often the classic message derived from משה’s striking the rock and his subsequent punishment. This idea comes from none other than רש''י, who explains that משה’s great sin was in not abiding ה'’s directive of ודברתם אל הסלע. Since משה hit the rock instead, he and אהרן were punished, barring them from entering א"י. But is that really why they were punished? Why did ה' first tell משה to take his staff if not to use it? The תורה even doubles down by devoting an entire פסוק to informing us that משה did in fact take his staff with him. That makes it seem like he was doing the right thing!

(ח) קח את המטה והקהל את העדה אתה ואהרן אחיך ודברתם אל הסלע לעיניהם ונתן מימיו והוצאת להם מים מן הסלע והשקית את העדה ואת בעירם:

(ט) ויקח משה את המטה מלפני יקוק כאשר צוהו:

The רמב"ם answers that משה should’ve realized that he wasn’t dealing with regular people. He should’ve remembered that even the “smallest” of those gathered before him were like יחזקאל בן בוזי and would assume any action of his was directed from ה'. This led them to think that משה’s anger, as expressed by שמעו נא המורים, stemmed from ה'’s anger with בנ"י for their request. However, nothing ה' said to משה indicated that He was angry in any way. This anger of משה was his downfall and resulted in his being barred from entering א"י. The רמב"ם places this as the definitive last point in his longer discussion about the absolute danger of anger.

The רמב"ן is not convinced by these ideas. He points out that neither explanation should apply to אהרן, especially since אהרן never got angry. Additionally, the תורה refers to the place as מי מריבה because it was the place אשר רבו בני ישראל את ה', which doesn’t sound like the kind of place that ה' would be super happy with.

The רמב"ן thinks that this question is ultimately a סוד גדול מסתרי התורה. However, the answer closest to the truth in his view comes from רבינו חננאל. He explains that rather than ascribing the wondrous act of bringing water forth from a solid rock to ה', משה simply says המן הסלע נוציא לכם מים. Instead of his statement, which implies that משה and אהרן will use their wisdom to produce the water, they should have said המן הסלע הזה נוציא ה' לכם מים. That is why ה' criticizes them for ruining the opportunity for קידוש ה'.

This might also explain why they were punished by not being allowed to bring בנ"י to הארץ אשר נתתי להם. The focus needs to be on the fact that ה' is the נותן of the land. Were משה and אהרן to lead the people in, some might be too quick to ascribe those victories to משה and אהרן. By elevating a new leader, ה' was making it clear that no matter the human at the head of the nation, ultimately ה' is the Leader and Provider for this nation. That message needs to be enforced especially when בנ"י is in that transition from their miraculous survival in the desert for 40 years to the daily life in their own homeland. When משה and אהרן missed this simple opportunity to publicly ascribe the nation’s survival to ה', ה' responded in kind by ensuring that there would be no doubt as to the cause of the nation’s future success.

I think this message is also the fundamental idea often overlooked in בלק. בנ"י, camped unawares in ערבות מואב, are under repeated threat from בלעם’s fearful tongue. Yet each time, as בלעם constantly reminds בלק, he is constantly blocked and redirected by ה'. Until the end of the פרשה, ה' is keeping a watchful eye over the entire nation, ensuring that they are protected without them even realizing the threat they face.

This focus on ה' as the source of our success is a key message for all of us. As we move further and further from the desert-like years of inspiration, and more into the run of the mill day to day years of our lives, we need to constantly reiterate who the source of our ברכות is. Even to take a breath of fresh air and marvel at the beautiful weather, clear air, and the million pound hunk of metal streaking through the sky 7 miles above your head. Remind yourself Who is the ultimate source of the lives we live. That is the message of the מי מריבה and the פרשה of בלק. And hopefully, if we can keep that in the foreground of our minds, we can rise to the challenge of the end of פרשת בלק.