Rav Chaim Ibn Attar, the Ohr HaChaim
“Because of you Hashem was angered at me” (1:37).
The Ohr HaChaim is puzzled by Moshe’s claim that Hashem was angered at him because of the incident of the spies known as the Meraglim. Where, he asks, do we find that Hashem was angry at Moshe for the incident of the Meraglim? He takes issue with the Ramban’s commentary that there was another reason for anger, since the plain flow of the pasuk indicates that this anger was because of the Meraglim.
The Ohr HaChaim explains that Hashem’s anger at Moshe was because of the Meraglim in an indirect manner. There were several events whose cause and effect created this situation. First, the Meraglim spied out the land and brought back a negative report, which caused Bnei Yisrael to sit down and cry (Bamidbar 14:1). This senseless crying in turn caused a decree that we would now cry for all subsequent generations on that very night of Tisha B’Av (Taanis 29a).
The Ohr HaChaim explains that had Moshe in fact entered Eretz Yisrael he would have built the Bais HaMikdosh and it never would have been destroyed, since no nation could have laid a hand upon it. The Medrash Tehillim 79 tells us that we rejoice over the Destruction, calling it a Mizmor leAsaf rather than a Kina, a song rather than a dirge, because we are happy that Hashem poured out His wrath and anger on a building made of sticks and stones, rather than destroying the entire Jewish people. If Moshe had entered Eretz Yisrael and built the Bais HaMikdosh it could not have been destroyed and Hashem’s anger would instead, Heaven forbid, be poured out against the Jewish people, leading to their destruction, Heaven forbid.
It was therefore Hashem’s decree because of the Meraglim that ultimately led to Moshe’s petira, preventing him from entering the land and building the Bais HaMikdosh so that it would not be eternal and could be destroyed instead of the Jewish Nation. Now we understand Moshe’s statement: “Hashem was angry at me because of you – because of the incident of the Meraglim, which led to the decree of Tisha B’Av, which led to the destruction of the Bais HaMikdosh instead of Klal Yisrael, necessitating that I be forbidden to enter Eretz Yisrael to prevent me from building an eternal, indestructible, final Bais HaMikdosh, saving Bnei Yisrael themselves from destruction. Had the incident of the Meraglim never taken place, Moshe would have entered Eretz Yisrael with Bnei Yisrael and built the eternal Bais HaMikdosh, but because of the Meraglim there was evil and sin and the Bais HaMikdosh would be destroyed.
We might ask, Wasn’t Moshe prevented from entering the land due to the incident at Mei Meriva (“Waters of Strife”) when he struck the rock? The Ohr HaChaim explains that had Moshe sanctified Hashem’s name, Bnei Yisrael would have overcome the sin of the Meraglim. However, the incident of Mei Meriva lacked Kiddush Hashem. Had Moshe done what he was supposed to do, Bnei Yisrael’s purity would have reached such a high level that it would even have surpassed the level they were on before the Meraglim. Then the oath preventing Moshe from entering the land would have been anulled and Moshe would have come into Eretz Yisrael and built the eternal Bais HaMikdosh.
