Shalom Chaverim,
I’ve shared this before, but it seems appropriate these days:
Do you think our local, national, and global politics can get “ugly”?! Check this out:
Last week, Moses’ leadership was threatened by Korach’s rebellion. There were accusations on all sides of demagoguery, corruption, incompetence, megalomania… In the end, the earth opened up and swallowed the rebels alive.
This week in parashat Chukat God removes (in the most permanent way possible) Moses’ two top ‘Cabinet Ministers’ after their 40 or so years of service: Miriam and Aaron, who are Moses’ siblings as well, pass on to the World-to-Come.
God also gives Moses notice: Although there will be time for an orderly transfer of power, Moses is now officially dismissed as leader of the nation.
Why? What can a leader do that is so bad that God has to step in and make dramatic changes?!
[The other side of the theological coin: We are aware of all the horrible things that leaders have done throughout history….and yet God did not step in, or seemingly did not step in, very quickly – why?!]
As usual, there are many interpretations in the Torah about what it was that Moses did so egregiously that God fired him from his role as leader and prophet.
An event seems to have triggered this momentous change:
The people were thirsty. God tells Moses and Aaron to take the famous staff and in front of everyone to order a nearby rock to yield its water. Moses assembles the people and says “Listen you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?” He struck the rock twice with the rod and out came water.
Immediately, God says: “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm my sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them.” [Bamidbar 20:6-13]
The Torah recounts this incident three other times, each offering a slightly different explanation of what went wrong:
“…because you rebelled against My word…” [Bamidbar 20:23-24]
“…because you rebelled against My commandment…in strife of the congregation, to sanctify Me at the waters before their eyes.” [Bamidbar 27:12-14]
“…because you trespassed against Me in the midst of the children of Israel…because you did not sanctify Me in the midst of the children of Israel.” [Devarim 32:51]
Some explanations, proposed by various commentators are:
- By saying, “shall we get water out of this rock”, Moses and Aaron made it seem that they themselves – rather than God – were working the miracle of bringing water forth from the rock. That they, rather than God, were leading the nation forward. If so, not only would they be taking credit for something they did not do, but they would be misleading the people to believe in sorcery, or that some flesh-and-blood humans can have divine powers…
- Maybe they deviated from God’s command by striking the rock rather than speaking to it. A similar situation happened soon after the Exodus. At that time Moses was commanded to strike the rock. But in that case, the people were all ex-slaves, barely removed from the daily abuse they suffered. To see a rock struck by the staff would have communicated authority to the people who understood only force. Now, however, the people are nearly all those born in freedom. The many years in the desert have cultivated them toward building a society based on freedom and the Torah’s values. In such a society, force must not be authorized to lead the people. Rather, persuasion must prevail, whose essence is debate, a free press [as it were] to get the actual facts; integrity, values, and principles undergirded by Torah. Moses’ use of force showed his leadership had not ‘graduated’ to the needs of the generation [Rabbi Jonathan Sacks].
- Maybe they showed a lack of faith by questioning whether they would be able bring water out of the rock.
- Maybe their attitude was all wrong, short tempered and exasperated, and as such God realized their inability – also their age of leadership compared to the younger generation – to be the ones to lead the people into their next and imminent big adventure, the conquering of the Land.
- Similarly, maybe it was because Moses lost his temper. A leader must lead by example, and here he lost his patience. Moreover, Moses was seen by the people as representing God’s word, and thus letting his own personal feelings become the message it appeared that Moses’ attitude represented the [incorrect] transmission of God’s will/perspective/command – i.e., that God was angry. And carrying this line further, this misrepresentation would also constitute a desecration of God’s Name because Moses’ personal anger seemed to present a false – and negative – portrayal of God’s character and reaction to the situation: specifically, that God was angry with the people when in fact God was compassionate and understanding of their plight (extreme thirst).
- Finally, it could be that Moses failed in his role as prophet to convey the Truth that God stated, thus belying the trust in his ability to be a conduit for communicating accurately God’s message for the people.
No one knows the actual reason behind God’s actions. However, think of yourself and the leadership roles you take on in your life – whether in the family, in your job, as a volunteer, in your community: Which of these explanations – if any, or any other kind of failure – would most threaten the validity of what your leadership is all about?
Be sure to let Moses’ situation help you avoid such a leadership pitfall.
What kind of transgression would have you question the validity of our leadership locally, nationally, and in the world?
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Michael Schwartz