Pensée juive sur Les Nombres 20:4

After having blessed the tribes that represented the priesthood and the monarchy, the tribe that is privileged to host the holy Temple in the future, is blessed next. The fact that Benjamin is G'ds beloved is testified to by that very fact, (verse 12) A major factor is that it was the only tribe wholly uninvolved in the struggle between Joseph and his brothers. Joseph who is the mainstay of the kingdom of the ten tribes, comes next. Since Ephrayim will be the leader of that kingdom, the abundance of blessings heaped on Joseph are partly to be viewed as applying to all the ten tribes, but they are identified with Joseph who had displayed moral fortitude in his encounter with the wife of Potiphar. The reference to Joseph as an ox, has been discussed in chapter thirty. Issachar and Zevulun are named next, being the remaining sons of Jacob's major wives Rachel and Leah. Also, they complete the camp of Yehudah. Zevulun is here mentioned ahead of Issachar though he was younger, in recognition of the fact that he assumed the burden of earning a livelihood for his brother Issachar so that the latter could devote himself to Torah study, (verse 18) The "tents” referred to, are the seclusion of the yeshivah, the Torah academy. Zevulun's maritime activities will be amply rewarded so that he can afford to entertain "nations." Gad's turn is next, since he too was considered a reward from G'd by his mother for having turned her handmaid over to Jacob as a wife. Also, he completes the camp of Reuben and the unnamed Shimon. The blessing marchiv Gad, who expands Gad, refers to the fact that it was this tribe that was the first to settle on the East Bank of the Jordan. It was also he who formed the vanguard when it came to fighting for possession of the West Bank. He considered the fact that Moses, Aaron and Miriam were all buried in his tribal territory, as a good omen for his choice of location, and an insurance of the tribe's future loyalty to G'd and Torah. Dan is head of the army group forming the rearguard. His being described as a hit and run expert, fits Samson the best known of his heroes. Naftali being senior to Asher, is mentioned next. Since the chronological order has not been observed in these blessings, Moses is anxious to conclude the blessings for the individual tribes with Asher, who is not only assured of an abundance of material wealth, but is assured that this will not cause jealousy among his brothers, i.e. "he will remain popular with his brothers." (verse 24) In this way the blessings applicable to the nation as a whole in verse twenty five, are an extension of the bounty promised to Asher. Just as at the beginning of the blessings, the line "may Reuben live and not die," refers to the wish that no sudden death should cut short his normal lifespan, so also at the end of the blessings Moses expresses the wish (verse 25) "and as your young days so shall be your old age," meaning that eventual death should come about only as the result of the natural process of aging. "Riding the heavens" (verse 26), is a symbol of the speed with which G'd may come to Israel's aid when needed. The prophecies of Moses, unlike those of Bileam, are not intended for the distant future. Bileam had spoken about "I can see it, but not now" etc.; not so Moses who describes G'd as "riding the clouds" to Israel's assistance as something in the immediate future. In order to be meaningful, victory must comprise four elements. 1) The victor should emerge unharmed. 2) The enemy must have been harmed. 3) The enemy must be seen to have been hurt. 4) Such hurt must be real, not merely superficial. Moses deals with these four aspects of victory in verse twenty nine. 1) "The shield of Your help." 2) "The sword of Your excellence." 3) "Your enemies will dwindle before you," and 4) "You will tread upon their heights." You will be seen to be enjoying the fruits of victory.

I understand the matter as follows. The Jews, for all of their complaints, never regretted leaving Egypt, except in the episode of the spies, where it is written (Numbers 14:4): "And one man said to his brother: 'Let us appoint a chief and return to Egypt'" — for which the "well-known" punishment was decreed upon them at that time. But all that they said in their other complaints (Ibid 20:4-5): "And why did you bring the congregation of the L-rd to this desert?" "And why did you take us up out of Egypt?" — all this was in the manner of a son whining to his father. They saw that the Blessed One granted Moses all that he requested. They, therefore, implored Moses that he lead them to their land over a well-trodden path and not by way of a dry, parched, wasteland. Or, if they had to go through the desert, that he, at least, provide for all their needs there. For they knew that the Blessed One would not deny anything that he requested and they attributed their difficult circumstances to insufficient compassion on his part. Because of this they complained to him incessantly — for this reason, and for no other. Accordingly, it was unbefitting of Moses to grow angry at their legitimate request, our sages of blessed memory stating in this respect (Tanchuma, Chukath 9): "Because he gave way to anger (saying "Hear now, you rebellious ones," something unbefitting of him), he gave way to error." And his error was in assuming — because he had been told the first time: "And strike the rock," and he was told now: "Take the rod" — his error was in assuming that the Blessed One desired him to strike the rock now, too, as at first. And the result of this erroneous assumption was that he struck the rock twice with his rod. Apparently, the first time only a few drops issued forth, as stated by our sages of blessed memory (Midrash Tanchuma 9) (though what they say is not entirely consistent with this interpretation). In any event, this fact would seem to be corroborated by the Scriptural account itself. For if the water had issued forth in abundance the first time, Moses would not have had to strike the rock a second time. It is obvious, then, that the first time only an insufficient amount issued forth. This is attributable to the fact that (although, in terms of the striking itself, more water should have issued forth than there did the first time), because the act was not performed in conformance with the Blessed One's will, what should have been an aid became a deterrent; for the act was not a natural one, but dependent upon the Blessed One's will. And there is no question that when Moses struck the rock the first time, fruitlessly, he must have been struck with surprise, as one whose work did not materialize as intended — at which he struck the rock a second time, attributing his first failure to the possibility of inadequate communion with the Blessed One resulting in an imperfect act. He, therefore, struck the rock a second time, at which time the water came gushing out — not because of the second striking, but because the water that had started to drip suddenly burst forth. It is even possible that the second striking diminished the flow of the water, for "all who would add to the mitzvah of the L-rd diminish it." Now, unquestionably, the people, to whom some of this would have been transmitted through his movements and gestures, would begin to entertain the doubt that it was through their ingenuity that Moses and Aaron had brought forth water for them from the rock. And this is the intent of the verse (Ibid 20:12): "Because you did not believe in Me…" That is, you were not scrupulous enough with My words to believe that the nearness of the rod to the rock itself would suffice to bring the waters. If you had done as you should, I would have been sanctified this time, too, before the eyes of the Children of Israel, and they would acknowledge My might and My strength, but now, the thing was done by you in such a way as to bring doubt into the hearts of the Children of Israel, contrary to My intent that this time, too, My name be sanctified before their eyes.