Rav Yonatan Grossman - The Sin of Moshe and Aharon
As we know, the sin of Moshe and Aharon in the chapter of the waters of Meriva is not explicit. Many different explanations have been given in order to explain what was wrong with their behavior. The different explanations given by the different commentaries can be divided into two basic types:
a. Moshe's ACTION - Instead of talking to the rock, Moshe hit it; he hit it twice instead of once; he hit a different rock than the one he was commanded to hit, etc.
b. Moshe's WORDS - "Listen you rebels" (ibid. 10) teaches us about Moshe's anger; the words of Moshe express doubt in the possibility of a miracle, etc.
It seems to me that for a nation who has wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, this is a most important and critical question. For 38 years there has been no communication between God and Moshe (assuming, correctly I believe, that this event took place in the 40th year). If the traveling in the wilderness is not done under the supervision of God and is not part of a Divine plan that leads to the land flowing with milk and honey, all of the sufferings of the journey would be for nothing, and this thought breeds despair in the heart of the nation.
God emphasizes to Moshe and Aharon that a clear miracle must be performed, by which the nation will understand that God is the one giving water to the nation in the wilderness. Moshe is instructed to perform the miracle IN FRONT OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE: "Take the rod and assemble the community, you and your brother Aharon, and before their eyes order the rock to yield its water ..." (ibid. 8). In other words, the nation suspects that Moshe and Aharon have been leading them of their own accord, and thus, it is important that all of the nation see that God is the one giving water.
And, so it was. Moshe gathers the people before the rock, hits it and out comes water. However, the main purpose of the lesson is not fulfilled as God desires. The verse states: "Listen you rebels, shall WE get water for you out of this rock?" (ibid. 10) On this verse, the Chizkuni explains: "For this reason, God was strict (with Moshe) for he was commanded to be specific in his use of language, so that all would know clearly that God is the one giving them the water, and Moshe was not precise with his words." The problem with Moshe's speech is in the following text: "shall WE get water for you?" From this language, it is possible to understand that Moshe and Aharon have special and supernatural powers, and even wresting water from a rock was within their power - they have the magic and they find the water.
Under normal conditions, we would not expect an inaccurate or imprecise wording to engender such a severe punishment. However, because this was exactly the problem gripping the nation - who are the leaders in the wilderness? Is it God or Moshe and Aharon leading us through the vast wilderness? - the precise wording has higher importance.The main educational message God requests to impart to the nation is thwarted, and even more so, the opposite could be infered from the words of Moshe, that indeed he and Aharon have the power. Moshe himself does not mean this to happen, of course, but he does not emphasize in his words that the absolute sovereignty of God also applies during the nation's trek through the wilderness; and so he is punished: "Because you did not trust enough in Me to affirm my sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the Land which I have given them" (20:12).
Rav Moshe Lichtenstein - Moshe's Leadership and the Transition of Generations
Moshe's angry response to the incident of Mei Meriva differs drastically from all of his prior responses to Benei Yisrael's repeated complaints and grumbling. Previously, Moshe and Aharon had prayed on their behalf and often appealed to them to turn to God rather than quarrel. Even during the severe crisis at Kivrot ha-Ta'ava, when Moshe simply could not relate to Benei Yisrael or show understanding for their complaint, he exhibited no anger towards them. He rather turned to God and asked that he be relieved of the leadership.
Suddenly, at Mei Meriva, a rift develops between him and the nation. The first expression of this change is the paralysis that grips Moshe upon hearing the nation's protest (Bemidbar 20:6). Rather than responding with his usual petition to God or appeal to the people, Moshe instead withdraws to the Tent of Meeting and falls on his face.
Moreover, the anger reflected in Moshe's admonition - "Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?" (20:10) - is not a single, isolated event, but rather marks the beginning of a process that characterizes the second half of Sefer Bemidbar. Throughout the final chapters we encounter time and time again friction and lack of communication between the leader of Israel and the flock under his charge. We can point to at least four incidents that reflect a distance, if not alienation, that has infiltrated Moshe's relationship with the people: a) Mei Meriva; b) Ba'al Pe'or; c) the battle against Midyan; d) the story of the tribes of Gad and Reuven.
We must first note that Mei Meriva marks the transition of generations. We no longer find ourselves in the first generation, the generation of the Exodus, but rather in the next generation, raised in the desert. The parents have died and been buried, and their children have taken their places. We must first note that Mei Meriva marks the transition of generations. We no longer find ourselves in the first generation, the generation of the Exodus, but rather in the next generation, raised in the desert. The parents have died and been buried, and their children have taken their places.
Moshe understood that the first generation was incapable of overcoming its past and rising to a high level of trust in God, believing that he would provide for them in the wilderness. He therefore pinned his hopes on the generation of the children. Given their upbringing under the clouds of glory and in the shade of Mount Sinai, and considering that they never had to experience to suffering of the Egyptian crucible, Moshe saw the generation of the children as the ones who would correct the mistakes of their fathers. They represented the nation's future.
The series of complaints by the second generation, beginning with Mei Meriva, reduced to naught all of Moshe's assumptions and hopes with regard to this generation. Hence his anger, the anger of frustration, of the shattering of hopes and bitter disappointment with Benei Yisrael, with that generation in particular and the human being in general, finds expression in his chiding of the nation. Their fear over the lack of water and their complaints about the manna parallel those of the first generation, as if they have learned nothing. It is this very fact that brings Moshe to the breaking point.
The incident of Mei Meriva demonstrated that Moshe could no longer serve as Benei Yisrael's leader due to the generation gap between them. Not the sin, but rather the rift seals the fate of Moshe and Aharon and denies them the privilege of leading the armies of Israel into the land. They belonged to the previous generation, the generation that was fated to die in the desert.
It was therefore decreed that Moshe and Aharon, too, will be denied the right to enter the land, for the generation that they lead and to which they belong may not enter. Moshe and Aharon did not sin in the incident of the spies, and God expresses no anger regarding their actions during this episode. The anger and bitterness that bursts forth with the declaration, "Listen, you rebels!" do not result from a momentary, tragic loss of control, but are rather a symptom of the rift and lack of communication between Moshe and the people. It becomes clear that Moshe cannot lead the nation for much longer, and if he does lead he will be unable to sanctify God's Name as he did in the past, given the abyss that has grown between him and the generation that will enter the land. Consequently, Moshe cannot proceed into the land as leader, and must therefore die in the wilderness as did the other members of the generation to whom God's decree of death applied.