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Be a

Nobody's Perfect,
Not Even Moses

Parshat Chukat: Numbers 19:1-22:1;
Isaiah 66:1-24.

M

oses. Just say the name and
so many images appear:
Baby Moses floating down
the Nile, rescued by Pharaoh's daugh-
ter. Defender of the slaves in Egypt.
Going before Pharaoh to demand
that the slaves be set free.
Crossing the Sea of Reeds.
Spending 40 days and
nights on Mount Sinai,
receiving God's Torah.
Leader of the freed people,
wandering for 40 years
in the wilderness. Moshe
Rabbeinu — Moses our
Teacher. A great leader, but
not allowed to enter the
Promised Land.
Why? In chapter 20 of the
Book of Numbers, we learn
of the death and burial of
Miriam, Moses' and Aaron's sister.
The Israelites then complain that they
have no water: "'Why did you make
us leave Egypt to bring us to this
wretched place ...? There is not even
water to drink!'" [20:5] Our tradition
teaches that due to Miriam's merit,
wells of water followed the people on
their journey in the wilderness. When
Miriam died, the wells disappeared.
God tells Moses and Aaron to gather
the people together and order a rock
to bring forth water. Instead Moses
tells the assembled people,`"Listen,
you rebels, shall we get water for you
out of this rock?'" [20:10] Moses then
strikes the rock twice with his rod
and water flows forth. God then tells
Moses and Aaron that they will not be
allowed to enter the land.
Our commentators don't have much
trouble understanding Aaron's pun-
ishment; after all, Aaron previously
helped the people to build the Golden
Calf to worship. Some commentators
also blame Aaron for not stopping
Moses from striking the rock. But
commentators throughout the ages
have struggled to understand why
Moses was punished so harshly.
Some suggest that Moses' anger at
the Israelites, due to their constant
complaints while in the wilderness,
was his downfall. Nachmanides taught
that Moses' real sin was taking credit
instead of giving credit where it is due.
Before striking the rock, Moses says,
"'Listen, you rebels, shall we get water

for you out of this rock?"' He implies
that it is his and Aaron's power, not
God's, which causes the water to come
from the rock. This deception, accord-
ing to Nachmanides, is Moses' great
sin. Moses called attention to his and
Aaron's power, failing to
sanctify (or even recognize)
God's power before the
people.
Others take
Nachmanides' teaching one
step further: Not only do
Moses and Aaron fail to
give credit to God, but they
also criticize the Israelites.
They refer to the people
as "rebels" and blame the
people for what they, Moses
and Aaron, are about to do.
For 40 years Moses led
the people, and for 40 years they com-
plained. Not only was Moses tired,
he was old and grieving the death
of his sister. Maybe we should cut
Moses a little slack. He did the best
he could, with the knowledge and
strength available to him. Moses may
have overreacted by calling the people
"rebels" and by not precisely following
God's command, but he did his best in
a very trying situation.
None of our Biblical "heroes,"
including the great Moshe Rabbeinu,
is depicted as perfect. Indeed, just
the opposite: They are presented as
normal human beings — flawed,
imperfect. They get angry; they make
mistakes. That's why we can relate to
them. Moses made a mistake — he
was a flawed individual. He wasn't per-
fect — he was human, just like us.

JN. Car/awn

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