Parashat Chukkat contains one of the saddest, and perhaps the most unfair, episodes in the Torah. It is in this Parsha that a seemingly minor error made by Moses causes God to issue the harsh edict that prohibits Moses from entering into the Promised Land.

Many of us know the basic story well. The Israelites, as they were wont to do, were complaining bitterly. This time it was about a lack of water. God tells Moses to "speak" to a rock and cause water to emanate from it. Moses, instead, "hits" the rock with his staff and the water comes out. Because Moses "hit", and did not "speak" to, the rock, God refuses him entry to the Promised Land. It is a harsh sentence indeed.

Having a hard time thinking of a God that would be so vindictive over a minor transgression, I have concluded that this was not so much an unfair edict as it was a pragmatic act of love. How is this possible?

Perhaps God recognized that Moses was getting old and that he would be hard-pressed to find the energy to continue to lead the continually disgruntled Israelites. Additionally, it was clear that the Israelites would find themselves in a series of wars as they battled for the land promised to them by God. This was not the job of an elder statesman; a younger man would need to take the reigns.

But, how could God "ease" Moses out of his leadership role. History tells us that, in most instances, those in power do not willingly relinquish it. At the same time, God needed to consider the ability of the new leader (Joshua) to actually lead if the old leader is still around. Hence, with so many valid reasons to seek a clean break for the new leader and the new conquering phase of the Israelite story, God needed to come up with a good reason to force Moses out of the picture. With this as a backdrop, the failure to speak with the rock provided God with a perfect reason to oust his MFP (Most Favored Prophet.)

As I read the text now, I see the ingenuity, and validity, of God's test. It is a test of the sharpness of Moses' mind. If we look at Moses' interactions with God, we find two basic "Moses reactions". In the first, God tells Moses to do something, and Moses does it exactly as he is told; for instance when God tells Moses what to say to Pharaoh, he does so almost verbatim. In the alternative reaction, God tells Moses to do something and Moses argues with God; as an example, when God threatens to destroy the Israelites after the false reports from the spies and Moses convinces God not to.

But, in the text of Parashat Chukkat (Numbers 20:8-11), we see that Moses neither does exactly as God says, nor does he argue with God. Indeed, God clearly tells Moses to "take the rod" and then "speak" to the rock. The language is unambiguous, but, somehow, Moses does not get it straight. Would a younger, less tired, Moses have made the same mistake? Apparently, it is a test that Moses does not pass. It also provided him with the impetus to do what needed to be done; to relinquish control to someone better suited for the tasks to come.

In the end, perhaps God was not unfair. Rather, He compassionately forced Moses to acknowledge an inevitable human reality. Even the greatest of leaders cannot lead forever. At some point a leader needs to move on and allow the younger generation to guide itself toward its own future. In Moses' case he could do this knowing that he, together with God, had given the young Israelite nation the tools to move forward.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Michael S. Jay