unorthodox torah
by William Finn


chukas-balak

Whenever I think of Moses, I think of Charlton Heston in the movie The Ten Commandments. In the Bible, Moses had a speech impediment. It probably would have ruined the movie’s dramatic tone if Moses marched into Pharaoh’s court and announced, “The burning buth thays leth my people go!”

Also when I think of Moses, I think of the term, “Old Testament prophet.” I imagine an imposing bearded figure hurling wrath and “thou shall nots” down a mountaintop. In truth, though, Moses’ single greatest character trait was his constant intervention on the behalf of the Israelites. Over and over again, he convinced God to spare the Jews. Forget Charlton Heston. Moses should have been played by Alan Dershowitz or Johnnie Cochran.

In this portion, Moses is denied entry into the Promised Land for striking a rock. Why such a severe punishment?

God tells Moses that his sin was the failure to sanctify Him at the waters of the rock. God is sanctified in the prayers for the dead, the kaddish. Before the incident at the rock, Moses’ sister Miriam had died. Moses and the people of Israel didn’t say the kaddish for Miriam and thus failed to sanctify God.

Sometimes, when a loved one dies, the family harmony established by the deceased is lost and arguments ensue. When Miriam died, Moses and the people of Israel quarreled.

God had commanded Moses to talk to the rock to bring forth water. The idea was that consoling words would melt the stony anger of the people, and allow true grief to ensue. But Moses himself was too upset by Miriam’s death. He angrily struck the rock, the worst possible thing he could have done. Instead of demonstrating the power of words, Moses reinforced the rage in the people’s heart.

Moses’ failure is one of perception. Commentators have observed that God told Moses to assemble a “congregation.” However, Moses screamed at the people, calling them “rebels” (Numbers 20: 8-10). He did not see Israel as a holy congregation worthy of consoling words. He was no longer their advocate. Moses was no longer Moses.

God selected Joshua as the new leader to replace Moses. As one of the few spies who gave an accurate report on the land of Israel, Joshua’s great virtue was to perceive things correctly. He was tikkun (correction) for Moses’ failure.

Moses represented the generation who knew the Israelites as slaves. Slaves do not inherit the Holy Land. The Israelites needed a general like Joshua who saw them as a free people, ones capable of forming a mighty army.

We are attached to our perception of ourselves and others. We should remember that God’s judgment, not ours, is the final arbiter of the truth. After all, even the holy Moses, toward the end of his life, got it wrong.

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