Hukkat/Balak 2009

Where is Gd’s justice? Gd is described as a just Gd. In Genesis 18:25 Abraham Avinu says חָלִלָה לָּךְ הֲשֹׁפֵט כָּל־הָאָרֶץ לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט. Heaven forbid that the Judge of the whole earth should not do justly! In our weekday Amidah we describe Gd as the one who אוֹהֵב צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט, the one who loves righteousness and justice. According to the mystic kabbalists, one of Gd’s ten aspects is דין, judgement. So we expect Gd to be just.

There are many parts of the Torah that are difficult to understand, difficult to reconcile with what we consider to be justice, righteousness, or goodness. When I was growing up, and this may be true of some of you, the hardest thing for me to accept was the fact that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

It didn’t seem fair. I had seen many movies and read many books, and I know how these stories end. The hero gets his reward. The enemy is defeated, and the hero gets to go home. Where is Moses’ reward? 

He doesn’t want the job. Pharaoh hates him. The Egyptians hate him. The Israelites hate him. He has to beg Gd not to destroy the people over and over again. Gd listens! Gd saves the people because of Moses, and they still don’t like him! All we ever hear are complaints!

Moses asks for two things, and two things only. The first is to see Gd’s face. And Gd says no. Nothing personal, says Gd, but no one living can see my face. 

Moses second request is to be able to enter the Promised Land. This too is denied him. Why?

This week we have a double parasha, Chukkat and Balak. In Chukkat, the people ask for water. Gd’s glory appears to Moses and Aaron, and He says ‘Take your rod and assemble the community, and speak to the rock... and water will come from the rock...” Moses takes his rod and assembles the people. He says “Listen you rebels, shall we get water from you out of this rock?” and he strikes the rock twice with his staff.

The water gushes out all right. But Gd tells Moses and Aaron that they will not enter the land that they are seeking. What did Moses do wrong? What did Aaron do wrong? Some commentators say that Moses erred by making it seem as if he and Aaron were doing the miracle. Isn’t Gd always trying to get people to respect Moses? Do people think that Moses, after serving Gd for so many years, is suddenly opening his own miracle shop?

Other commentators point out that Gd never told Moses to strike the rock. Again, are we supposed to think that Gd can have water come out of a rock without touching it, but Moses can only have water come out by hitting it? Or, as some commentators say, no question it was Gd’s miracle, but isn’t it a little less of a miracle if you have to hit the rock?

Okay, a tiny, tiny bit less of a miracle.

You might remember that there was a similar event back in the book of Exodus. But in that case, Gd tells Moses to take his staff and strike the rock! This time, Gd tells Moses to take his staff, but He doesn’t tell him to strike the rock. Why did He tell Moses to take his staff then?

For years, this seemed to me like a setup. Gd told Moses to take his staff and strike the rock the first time because He knew that by telling Moses to take his staff the second time He could trick Moses into striking the rock. 

Gd is a Gd of justice. He knew that Moses could not enter the Promised Land. Moses will be 120 years old when the people enter. It is time for someone younger. If Moses leads the people into the Promised Land they will come to worship him. So Gd tricks Moses into striking the rock so that Gd will have an excuse to take the leadership away from him.

I used to think that was the answer, but now I see what a bad answer that is. Suppose a worker’s job is going to disappear. The boss then gives the worker an assignment at which he knows the worker will fail. When the worker does, the boss fires him, saying you failed. You’re not a good worker. What kind of boss is that? If the worker needs to be fired, the boss should go and say I’m sorry. I have to fire you. And this is why.

Did Gd trick Moses into striking the rock so He could deny Moses entry into the Promised Land? What does Gd say? He says יַעַן לֹא־הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי לְהַקְדִּישֵׁנִי לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָכֵן לֹא תָבִיאוּ אֶת־הַקָּהָל הַזֶּה אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַתִּי לָהֶם He says ‘Because you did not cause there to be faith in Me, and sanctify Me in the eyes of Israel, you shall not bring this community into the land which I will give to them.

I still don’t get it. I certainly can’t see anything that Aaron did wrong. And if Moses did something wrong, how come the water came forth from the rock anyway? And if Moses did not sanctify Gd in the eyes of the people, why didn’t Gd just say ‘Here, you forgot to sanctify me. Now do it again, but this time, do it this way...’

I do believe that Moses and Aaron’s time had come. They had to turn the leadership of the tribe over to younger people. I also believe that Gd is just, and not petty. There must have been a reason for Gd to do things the way they were done. I don’t pretend to understand. Was it a lesson for Moses? Was it a lesson for the Israelites? Is it a lesson for us?

If Gd is just-- and Gd must be just-- there is no reason for Gd not to be just-- Moses must have gotten his reward. The midrash tells us that when Moses dies he turns to Gd and says ‘It is not fair that I struggled all this time and never entered the Promised Land. And Gd, as it were, puts His arm around Moses and says ‘I know. So I’ll tell you what, Moses. Since you never entered the Promised Land, I won’t enter it either. Until the Messiah comes. And then you and I will enter the Promised Land together. שבת שלום.