Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances which I teach you, to do them; that you may live, and go in and possess the land which Hashem, the G-d of your fathers, gives you.
The Ohr Hachaim explains a lesson that Moshe wished to teach Klal Yisroel from his own life. Moshe was telling them that there were two times in his life that he did not act as he should, and they should learn from him not to copy his mistakes.
The first time he acted incorrectly was when he hit the rock to bring water. He was in a rush, he did not wish to patiently talk to the rock, so he hit it. He thought he was acting with alacrity, rushing to fulfill Klal Yisroel’s needs. The truth is, he acted incorrectly, his zerizus was misplaced.
The second time he acted incorrectly was with the story of Zimri and Kazbi. As the Ohr Hachaim explained in Parshas Balak, Moshe was supposed to kill them himself, he should have been the zealous one who could not permit a sin to occur. If he would have done so, he would have sanctified Hashem’s name and perhaps even repaired his previous sin of cheapening His name. Pinchas was the one to act zealously, and he received the reward of a permanent personal bond with Hashem. Moshe would have had this bond, and he would have lived forever.
The Ohr Hachaim suggests that Moshe’s reasoning was that he was afraid of misplaced alacrity, having learned his lesson when he rushed to hit the rock and lost the gift of Eretz Yisroel. He was afraid that the halacha that says that someone who sees a person committing adultery with a non-Jewish woman may put them death only applies if someone happens to see, and is not permission to go out and search for the person who is doing so.
The story with the rock is considered a חק – a statute of Hashem’s, without a reason. He was to listen to Hashem and talk to the rock, and he did not do so. The story with Kazbi was a משפט – judgment. Moshe was to judge them and kill them, and he did not do so.
The possuk warns them וְעַתָּה יִשְ רָּאֵל שְמַע א ל הַחֻקִים וְא ל הַמִשְפָּטִים – they must listen to both the חֻקִים like speaking to the rock, and the מִּשְפָטִּים, like killing adulterers.
This was so that they could live and possess the land. Moshe was not permitted to do so, and they should learn from Moshe’s fate how to act.
The Next Possuk Continues the Lesson
וְצִמ תֶא רֹמְ שִל ו נֶ מִמ ועְרְגִת אֹלְו םֶכְתֶא הֶ וַצְמ יִכֹנָא רֶ שֲא רָבָ דַה לַע ופִסֹת אֹלֺת ה' א לֹוקיכֶם אֲש ֶר אָנֹכִי הֶ וַצְמ אֶתְ כֶם...
You shall not add to the word which I command you, and you shall not subtract from it, that you may keep the commandments of Hashem your God which I command you.
They were warned not to add or remove from the Torah. The Toras Cohanim has a story with a doctor who went to visit a patient. The patient was seriously ill and the doctor told him not to eat cold food or sleep in a damp area, because that could kill him. However, another doctor told him, “Do not eat cold food, and do not sleep in a damp area. If you do, you will die, just like another person I know that died because he did not listen to my instructions and ate cold food and slept in a damp area.” Of course, the second doctor gave a better warning than the first.
Moshe warned them to look at him and his fate and make sure they don’t fall for the same mistake. They should not add to the Torah at all, and not hit a rock to ensure the water comes out quicker. He misplaced a mitzvah, and they should be sure not to.
However, when there was a mitzvah to be done, they should be sure to do it. Moshe could have repaired his sin by jumping up and killing Kazbi and Zimri. They should be careful not to remove anything from the Torah. They were to learn from Moshe’s fate, and derive a lesson forever.
