For almost forty years while the Jews were traveling in the desert, their source of water was the be’er, a large rock that provided the water they needed to survive. The Jewish nation then consisted of about three million people. They had also taken many animals with them when they went out of Mitzrayim, so they required millions of gallons of water each day. The be’er provided all they needed and more.
When Miriam died, the rock disappeared, and the Klal Yisroel recognized that their survival was in jeopardy. HASHEM told Moshe Rabbeinu to go out into the desert, speak to the rock, and bring the water back. When Moshe and Aharon went to the rock, they spoke to it and received no response. Moshe then assumed that just as it was necessary to hit the rock when the Jews first went out into the desert, so too now. When he hit the rock, it began pouring forth water.
Later, HASHEM told Moshe and Aaron that they had erred. HASHEM told them to speak to the rock, and it was through the power of speech that the miracle was to come about. On some level, they were lacking in their trust in HASHEM, and this caused them to miscalculate. Had they been more complete in their trust, they would have used words alone, and the rock would have provided the water.
Rashi tells us that because of this mistake, the Jewish people lost out on a great lesson. Had Moshe only spoken to the rock, the Jews would have said to themselves, “A rock doesn’t require sustenance, yet it listens to the word of HASHEM; surely, we, who rely on HASHEM for parnassa, must listen to Him.” However, since Moshe hit the rock instead of speaking to it, that lesson was lost.
Rashi seems to be saying that if Moshe had spoken to the rock, the Jewish people would have increased their level of service to HASHEM. They would have realized that their livelihood was dependent upon their doing mitzvahs, and this would have added focus and precision in the way that they fulfilled them.
