Shabbat Parashat Chukat - 5782

Shabbat Parashat Chukat - 5782

Rabbi Hal Miller

Aharon shall be brought in to his people for he shall not enter the land

that I have given to the children of Israel because you defied My word

at the waters of strife. [Bamidbar 20:24]

What did Aharon do to warrant such a punishment? Was it not Moshe who

struck the rock? And even Moshe can be concerning in that situation. What

did God see that the two brothers had to die outside the promised land?

In verse 20:8, God commands Moshe, "Take the staff". Kol Dodi asks that

"If Moshe was supposed to speak to the rock and not hit it, why was he

commanded to take the stick? He answers that "Moshe was meant to convey

a symbolic meaning. When teaching, we must be prepared on two levels, to

teach positively and to have the means to mete out punishment if necessary."

Thus the staff was a demonstration tool for the sake of the people, not for the

rock. Ramban thinks the staff is a red herring, that the miracle of water is no

less for Moshe hitting the rock than it would have been for him speaking to it.

But in a similar situation, Shemot 17:6, God told Moshe to strike the rock. If

Moshe in our portion made the mistake of thinking that because of the past

he should do the same here, how was Aharon at fault?

We have proof in 20:12 that Aharon was somehow at fault as well as Moshe.

The wording is "because you (plural) did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in

the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you (plural) will not bring..." The

apparent fault was not a physical act, rather a lack of belief. The offense was

not the striking of the rock, rather the lack of faith that God would perform, as

He said in 20:8, "and you (plural) shall speak to the rock before their eyes and

it shall give its waters".

Both Moshe and Aharon were commanded to speak to the rock. Neither did so,

apparently from some mistaken understanding of how they were to obtain water.

But God did not tell them that they would obtain water, rather that He would do it.

All they needed to do was believe and follow His directions.