Parshas Chukas – Moshe’s egregious error was …

After the death of Miriam, there is no water for the Children of Israel and they complain bitterly to Moshe and Aaron (Numbers 20:2-5). God tells Moshe: “Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock in their presence and it will give forth water. And you shall bring forth for them water from the rock, and give to drink the community and the livestock.” (20:7). Moshe assembles the people, admonishes them by saying “Listen you rebels, can we take water from this rock?,” then hits the rock with his staff twice. Water rushes out and the community’s need for water is satiated. God is not pleased and states: “Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the presence of the Children of Israel, therefore you will not bring this congregation into the land I have given them.” (20: 10-12).  

What was Moshe’s sin, that necessitated such a harsh punishment? This question has bothered many commentators over the centuries. Rashi offers his view: had Moshe spoken with the rock and it produced water, the people would have been faced with a powerful moral lesson - if an inanimate object followed God’s will, rational and intelligent creatures are even more obligated to fulfill God’s commands. This example was lost when Moshe struck the rock. There are many other opinions on the matter.

Rabbi Shimson Raphael Hirsch offers an opinion on this question in the name of Chacham Bernays, which I find particularly insightful. According to this view the Jewish people were at a crossroads, poised to enter the land of Canaan and begin an entirely new phase of their relationship with God. In this phase the staff of God (representing open miracles) would be replaced with a focus on the word of God; no longer would the Jews rely solely on awe-inspiring feats that defied nature but, instead, they would need to abide by the commands of God and then He would steer events in their favor. By hitting the rock, Moshe failed to advance the Jewish people’s understanding of God to the next phase and for that, he could no longer serve as their leader.