Pemikiran Yahudi Bilangan 20:8: Eight Chapters & Derashot HaRan

Thou knowest, also, that God said to our teacher Moses, the master of former and later ages, "Because ye have not confided in me, to sanctity me"⁵¹Num. XX, 12., "because ye rebelled against my order at the waters of Meribah"⁵²Ibid., XX, 24., "because ye did not sanctify me".⁵³Deut. XXXII, 51. All this (God said) although the sin of Moses consisted merely in that he departed from the moral mean of patience to the extreme of wrath in so far as he exclaimed, "Hear now ye rebels"⁵⁴Num. XX, 10. etc., yet for this God found fault with him that such a man as he should show anger in the presence of the entire community of Israel, where wrath is unbecoming. This was a profanation of God's name, because men imitated the words and conduct of Moses, hoping thereby to attain temporal and eternal happiness. How could he, then, allow his wrath free play, since it is a pernicious characteristic, arising, as we have shown, from an evil psychic condition? The divine words, "Ye (Israel) have rebelled against me" are, however, to be explained as follows. Moses was not speaking to ignorant and vicious people, but to an assembly, the most insignificant of whose women, as the sages put it, were on a plane with Ezekiel, the son of Buzi.⁵⁵Mekilta to בשלח (Ex. XV, 2). So, when Moses said or did anything, they subjected his words or actions to the most searching examination.⁵⁶See Moreh, I, 4, on the interpretation of Ex. XXIII, 8. Therefore, when they saw that he waxed wrathful, they said, "He has no moral imperfection, and did he not know that God is angry with us for demanding water, and that we have stirred up the wrath of God, he would not have been angry with us". However, we do not find that when God spoke to Moses about this matter He was angry, but on the contrary, said, "Take the staff ... and give drink to the congregation and their cattle".⁵⁷Num. XX, 8. We have, indeed, digressed from the subject of this chapter, but have, I hope, satisfactorily solved one of the most difficult passages of Scripture concerning which there has been much arguing in the attempt to state exactly what the sin was which Moses committed. Let what others have said be compared with our opinion, and the truth will surely prevail.

And this is not to be wondered at. For we find the Blessed One telling Moses (Exodus 4:17): "And this rod, take in your hand…" This rod, because it was in Moses' hand when he stood upon Mount Sinai, and Divinity came to rest upon it, so that the first sign was performed through it — because of this, afterwards, it was instrumental in the performance of the other signs, the Almighty commanding that it be used for all of the signs performed in Egypt. And the rod was effectual in this respect not only when it was moved, but even when it was simply present. For we find the Blessed One telling Moses at the latter "waters of contention" (Numbers 20:8): "Take the rod and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and speak…" Moses was not herein instructed to strike the rock at all, but only to speak to it, in spite of which it is stated: "Take the rod." This indicates that the mere presence of the rod was instrumental in the performance of that miracle, and that Moses' sin lay in striking the rock. This, too, is the view of Rashi according to the words of the Aggadah. The Ramban, however, dismisses this, saying that since Moses was commanded to take the rod it was implied that he was to strike the rock — for if the intent were that he only speak to it, why would he need this rod in his hand? In truth, however, this is no question. For just as we must perforce admit that the movements of the rod were instrumental in the performance of the miracles, though they lay neither in the nature of the rod nor in the nature of its movements, in the same way it is possible for the mere presence of the rod to be a factor in the performance of a miracle.