Well,
I sent my 16 year old off to Israel as part of her summer program this week.
The house has been cleaned. My wife and two younger children are off at summer
camp. The house is quiet and I finally took a huge cleansing breath
appreciating the quiet at least for a moment. I am sure in a couple of weeks it
will feel too quiet and I will begin missing my family. In the meantime I have
had a chance to kind of catch up with what has been going on in the world.
Certainly the tragedy surrounding the events in Dallas serves as a stark of
last week’s Parsha, Korach, and the fact that at times it seems that American
society is left standing at an abyss with some Americans being swallowed up by
hate, or the tragic results of the expression of that hate. However earlier
this week, I watched the memorial service for the slain Dallas policemen. I
watched and listened as former President George Bush spoke eloquently and
powerfully sounding like a statesman: "At our best, we know we have one
country, one future, one destiny. We do not want the unity of grief, nor do we
want the unity of fear. We want the unity of hope, affection and high
purpose," I watched and listened as President Obama stood up and spoke eloquently
and powerfully sounding like a statesman, reminding us that words without deeds
are empty and that, ultimately, a change in attitude is best expressed by a
change in behavior: "I've seen how inadequate words can be in bringing
about lasting change. I've seen how inadequate my own words have been."
Then I saw a quiet and subtle act, a quiet and sublet deed that reflected both
men’s call for a coming together and focusing upon that which binds society as
opposed to what divides it. I was moved
by a very subtle moment when former President Bush took the First Lady’s hand
and held it.
This
Shabbat we read from Parsha Chukat. Chukat begins by telling us the Law for the
Red Heifer. A Chuk is a statute for which there is no logical
reason. Unlike Mitzvot which is a
commandment, and for which reasons and rationale may abound in order for the
Mitzvah to make sense, a Chuk is simply taken on faith. Unlike a Mishpat, which is a judgment that comes from a specific case/decision, a Chuk is
seemly plucked out of the air and there is no thought given to decisions. The
Chuk concerning the Red Heifer is that the individual Priest who prepares the
mixture that will render the entire nation spiritually pure, will himself
become impure from the mixture. However the Parsha continues the theme of
Chukat following the statute of the Red Heifer. A brief narrative concerning
the death of Miriam, the lack of water and B’nai Yisroel’ s resulting anxiety
and lack of faith leads to the issuance of another Chuk. Moshe and Aaron don’t
know what to do and God tells them: Kach
et HaMateh v’Hakhaeil Et Ha’Edah Ata v’Aharon Achicha v’Dibartem El HaSela
L’Eineihem V’Natan Meimav V’Hotzeitah Lahem Mayim Min HaSela V’Hishkita et
HaEidah v’Et B’Iram – Hashem spoke to
Moshe saying: Take the staff and gather together the assembly, you and Aaron
your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes that it shall give its
waters. You shall bring forth for them water from the rock and give drink to
the assembly and to their animals (Num. 20:8). This statute was directed at
Moshe and Aaron. There was no apparent logic or reason for it. Why does Moshe
need to take the rod if he has to speak to the rock to get the water? And when
Moshe fails to heed the statute, he is punished without any mercy. He is
forbidden to lead B’nai Yisroel into Eretz Canaan. The last time God issued
such a directive to Moshe (back in the book of Exodus 17:6), Moshe was
instructed to strike the rock. Now, without warning God has changed the way Moshe
was to draw water from the rock. Now without warning of the punishment if Moshe
fails to heed the directive, Moshe is unable to fulfill his mission and bring
B’nai Yisroel into Eretz Canaan. The Parsha concludes with B’nai Yisroel
defeating the Amorites and temporarily dwelling on the planes of Moav, on the
Eastern side of the Jordan River.
The Torah text offers a very simple explanation of
Moshe’s sin and ensuing punishment. After striking the rock twice, water came
out from the rock, and the assembly drank, God explains the reason for the
harsh punishment. Ya’an Lo He’ehmantem
Bi L’Hakdisheine L’Einei Bnai Yisroel Lachein Lo Taviu et HaKahal Hazeh el
Ha’Aretz Asher Natati Lahem: Because
you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel,
therefore you will not bring this congregation to the Land that I have given
them (Num. 20:12). The most humble man who had the closest relationship to
God, receives perhaps the most hurtful of punishments for a moment of weakness.
However it seems that Moshe’s ultimate shortcoming was that he wasted an
opportunity to teach this new generation, this generation that was not familiar
with slavery, nor familiar with life in Egypt, nor directly experience the
miracle of the Exodus. Moshe, the greatest teacher, prophet, and transmitter of
law and theology missed a glaring opportunity to teach B’nai Yisroel. When such
a person with vast amounts of power and responsibility miss a sacred
opportunity to teach, to explain and create an opportunity for the common folk
to draw closer to God, then we can understand the harshness of the punishment.
While we may disagree, we can appreciate why God could no longer support Moshe
as the leader to bring B’nai Yisroel into Eretz Canaan.
When
Moshe hit the rock, he not only missed an opportunity to teach a fundamental
lesson to this new generation that was coming of age in the Wilderness. By
losing his temper, as justified as he may have been, by hitting the rock, he
also diminished himself. No longer was he a statesman concerned about the
welfare of the community during a moment of crisis. For a brief moment he
became caught up in his own emotion. One of the pundits commented that after
watching and listening to both President Bush and President Obama; the two
candidates running for President, by comparison, seem small. His point is well
taken, inspired leadership, greatness in leadership is about sanctifying
moments in word and deed. Anything less than that diminishes the leader. Moshe found
that out as he no longer had the zechut,
the merit, to enter into the land. It
seems that many in the United States electorate understand that as their vote
will be about a choice against someone as opposed to a choice for someone.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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