להקדישני לעיני בני ישראל לכן לא תביאו את הקהל הזה אל הארץ אשר נתתי להם לא האמנתם ביאל משה ואל אהרן יען 'ויאמר ה ויקדש בם 'המה מי מריבה אשר רבו בני ישראל את ה
HaShem said to Moshe and Aharon, “Since you did not believe in Me in the presence of the children of Israel, therefore you will not bring this congregation into the Land which I given them. These are the waters of strife which the children of Israel contended with HaShem; but (HaShem) was sanctified with them.” (Bemidbar 20, 12-13)
Many opinions are offered by the commentators as to the “error” of Moshe and Aharon and exactly what happened at this incident. The sefer Tapuchei Chaim writes that the ten major opinions are alluded with the three words (ten letters) from the verse: לא האמנתם בי
מעשה ה'לא בזדון אלא בשוגגA dispute arose between the Jews and Moshe; the Jews selected a rock which they said was the rock to provide water, but Moshe did not wish to speak to that rock; to emphasize his point Moshe threw his staff down which hit the rock without intentionרמב"םאף היינו כעס
Moshe & Aharon expressed anger against the Jews, thinking HaShem was similarly not pleased with them; HaShem was not angry with themרש"יהיכה ולא מדבר
Moshe hit the rock and did not speak to the rock to bring water which limited the Kiddush HaShemהעיקריםאיחור – שלא נתוררו מעצמם
HaShem was particular against Moshe & Aharon since they did not seek for themselves water (rather waited for Divine instruction); they displayed a slight lack of faith within Moshe & Aharon)אבן עזראמריבה
A second striking of the rock became necessary since the proper intentions were lost at the first strike due to the complaints of the Jewsרמב"ןנוציא – שלא אמר יוצא
Moshe and Aharon said “we will bring forth the water” and did not attribute the cause to HaShem; this provided an opening for others to think that Moshe and Aharon actually devised the means to do soאבן עזראתודה – שלא אמרו שירה
Moshe and Aharon did not provide a public display of thanks and gratitude to HaShem (like was done regarding the well at Arnon)אבן עזראמורים – שאמרו אם בני ישראל "שמעו נא המורים"
It was not proper to publicly disgrace the children of Avrohom, Yitzchak, and Yaacovאבן עזרא(ב) פעמיים
By striking the rock two times, less Kiddush HaShem was providedרבי משה הכהןהוי' – שטעו בדבריו של ה'
Moshe understood that HaShem was expressing only the potential for water to come from the rock which led to others thinking that HaShem could not bring water for the Jews
Mei Merivah - Waters of Strife - Additional insights
Ch. 20, v. 11: "Va'yach es ha'sela" - And he smote the stone - Rashi in the following verse explains that Moshe did not maximize the "kiddush HaShem" because had he only spoken to the stone the masses would have learned a more powerful message of hearkening to HaShem. If a stone, which awaits no reward or punishment follows HaShem's WORD, all the more we should follow HaShem's commands. This is a bit difficult to understand. The stone's miraculously giving forth water in response to being hit with a staff conveys the same message. What difference is there if the mode of communication is "talking to a rock" or hitting it?
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in Dorash Moshe explains that we could have learned the message that our WORDS have a positive effect when we attempt to bring someone closer to proper Torah observance, even when we feel we are "talking to a rock." This lesson is not derived from smiting the rock.
Perhaps there is another symbolism here as well. The Torah is likened to water. The first time, Moshe hit the rock and it issued forth water. Now he was to speak to it. Issuing forth water, studying and understanding Torah comes with difficulty, symbolized by smiting. When one continues studying, understanding comes more easily, just as speaking is a lesser effort than smiting.
Ch. 20, v. 12: "Lo he'emantem" - You have not caused faith - The Yalkut Shimoni says that there were four misdeeds. Our verse says "lo he'emantem," meaning that HaShem commanded that Moshe talk to the rock, and instead he smote it, "lo kidashtem" (Dvorim 32:51), meaning that they did not bring forth water from any stone that was requested of them, "m'altem" (ad loc.), meaning that Moshe told them off by saying "hamin ha'sela" (verse 10), and "m'ri'sem" (verse 24), meaning that they did not speak in front of the rock, i.e. they did not teach a chapter of Torah knowledge.
Ch. 20, v. 8: "V'dibartem el ha'sela l'ei'nei'hem" - And you shall speak towards the stone in front of their eyes - What should Moshe say? The M.R. 19:9 says that he was commanded to say a halachic dissertation. The N'tzi"v offers 2 explanations of this Medrash. One is that with Moshe's telling over words of Torah to all of the bnei Yisrael he would re-enact the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai, as the words that would emanate from his throat would be on the level of HaShem Himself communicating. When the giving of the Torah took place there was a supernatural flow of water, as related in Shoftim 5:5, "af ovim notfu mayim." Here too, this activity would bring about an abundant flow of water. Alternatively, he offers that anytime there is a congregation of bnei Yisrael learning the Torah it creates a Celestial influence of happenings that are not restricted by nature, so water would abundantly flow even from a dry rock in the middle of the desert.
Ch. 20, v. 11: "Va'yach es ha'sela b'ma'teihu PAAMOYIM" - And he smote the rock with his staff PAAMOYIM - We are accustomed to translate PAAMOYIM as twice. Why would Moshe strike the rock twice? The M.R. says that when he struck the rock the first time only a trickle of water came out. Upon striking it a second time it emitted a powerful stream. However, the Mechilta of Rashb"i writes on the word PAAMOYIM, "chad d'ovid hashto v'chad d'ovid mikodem," - one that he did now, and one that he previously did. It seems that according to this interpretation, PAAMOYIM does not mean TWICE, but rather, a second time. Moshe had already struck the rock earlier, as recorded in Shmos 17:6. (Haksav V'hakaboloh)
Ch. 20, v. 10: "Shimu noh hamorim" - Because Moshe spoke in a harsh manner, he created an atmosphere of toughness. He could no longer speak softly to the rock to give forth its waters. He now had to hit it. His shortcoming was in his manner of speech, not in the actual hitting, as it was only a result of his previous action. (Kedushas Levi)
QUESTION: Why didn't Moshe speak to the rock?
POSSIBLE ANSWER: Had Moshe spoken to the rock, HaShem would have indeed been sanctified. Every Jew would have come to the conclusion: "If a rock, which does not speak and does not hear, performs HaShem's will, how much more so are we required to listen to Him!"
However, Moshe thought to himself that this logic could also be used by Satan against the Jewish people when they sinned. He would come before the heavenly tribunal as a prosecutor and say to HaShem, "Your children, the Jewish people, are even worse than an inert rock. The rock does what You want, and Your people for whom You do so much do not perform Your will."
Not wanting to give Satan any ammunition against the Jewish people, Moshe jeopardized his life and future, and decided not to speak to the rock.
ANOTHER POSSIBLE ANSWER:
We try to unravel the puzzle based on the words of the Tikunei Zohar (Tikun 21, 44). Aside from the simple, straightforward understanding of HKB”H’s directive to Moshe: “Vedibartem el hasela leineihem venosan maimov” – “And you shall speak to the rock before their eyes and it shall give its waters”, there was also a spiritual intent inherent in this command. The entire scenario was intended as a symbolic gesture to provide the people with an abundant source of Torah — which is compared to water. As the Gemara states (Bava Kamma 17.), “Ein mayim elo torah” – water inevitably refers to Torah; this is derived from the passuk in Yeshayahu (55, 1). The Tikunei Zohar states that the rock represents Torah she’b’al peh, and that the entire and unfortunate sequence of events was triggered by the assembly’s rebellious and contentious nature, wishing to force Moshe and Aharon’s hand.
Had Moshe spoken to the rock, he would have released a wealth of Torah knowledge with unusual clarity, free of doubts and disputes — akin to the situation in the World to Come. The Navi describes the World to Come as follows (Yirmiyah 31, 33), “From the lowliest to the greatest, all will possess an inherent knowledge and awareness of HaShem.” As a consequence of Moshe striking the rock, however, only a scarce amount of Torah knowledge emerged; furthermore, this led to numerous doubts and disputes amongst Torah scholars concerning halacha.
The divine kabbalist, the author of the Megaleh Amukos on parshas V’Eeschanan (74), applies this concept to explain the possuk in our parsha. Immediately after the incident of “mei-merivah,” it states (Bamidbar 20, 13): " They are the waters of conflict, where Bnei Yisrael became contentious. The passuk indicates that as a consequence of Moshe striking the rock, doubts and controversy multiplied amongst Torah scholars. The Megaleh Amukos goes on to reveal a wonderful allusion in Yirmiyahu 23, 29. HaShem is compared to fire and to a hammer that shatters a rock into many pieces. In other words, HKB”H is saying that His Torah was meant to be transmitted with extreme clarity — without doubts and disputes — yet, like a hammer it will shatter rock — because Moshe struck the rock with his staff, like a hammer, disputes arise and spread among Yisrael. The allusion to this incredible revelation is that the numerical value of the word hammer equals Moshe’s staff. Due to the disputes among Torah scholars, Torah is transmitted bit by bit, drop by drop, often with uncertainty.
But as we can explain, this entire scenario was arranged by HKB”H for klal Yisrael’s benefit. as far as Moshe and Aharon were concerned, they were surely worthy of bringing forth water from the rock in the ideal manner. If Yisrael--the assembly on whose behalf Moshe and Aharon were acting — were worthy of the final redemption then their agents would successfully fulfill their mission by speaking to the rock. In that event, the water would flow from the rock — alluding to the waters of Torah that would come forth in abundance with tremendous clarity and without any need for controversy. On the other hand, if Yisrael were yet unworthy, their agents, Moshe and Aharon, would fail in their mission on Yisrael’s account. They would be forced to resort to the staff and to strike the rock; at least, some of the vast waters of Torah would trickle out to quench the thirst of the holy flock; notwithstanding, disputes and controversy would ensue among the Torah scholars due to the inevitable lack of clarity.
Yet these disputes among Torah scholars guarantee the perpetuation of Torah during periods of exile. For, it is impossible to clarify the truth and depth of halacha without debates between Torah scholars. We have learned in the Gemara (Taanis 7.), “Just as one iron blade is used to sharpen another, so too, two Torah scholars sharpen each other’s minds by means of their halachic debates”.
