I
t is a scene that still has the power to shock
and disturb. The people complain. There is no
water. It is an old complaint and a predictable
one. That is what happens in a desert. Moses should
have been able to handle it with ease. He has been
through far tougher challenges in his time. Yet sud-
denly at Mei Meriva (“the waters of contention”),
he exploded into vituperative anger:
“‘Listen, you rebels, shall we bring you
water out of this rock?’ Moses raised
his hand and struck the rock twice
with his staff.” Num. 20:10–11
In past essays, I have argued that
Moses did not sin. It was simply that
he was the right leader for the gen-
eration that left Egypt but not the
right leader for their children who would cross the
Jordan and engage in conquering a land and build-
ing a society. The fact that he was not permitted to
lead the next generation was not a failure but an
inevitability. As a group of slaves facing freedom,
a new relationship with God and a difficult jour-
ney, both physically and spiritually, the Children of
Israel needed a strong leader capable of contending
with them and with God. But as builders of a new
society, they needed a leader who would not do the
work for them but who would instead inspire them
to do it for themselves.
The face of Moses was like the sun, the face of
Joshua was like the moon (Bava Batra 75a). The dif-
ference is that sunlight is so strong it leaves no work
for a candle to do, whereas a candle can illuminate
when the only other source of light is the moon.
Joshua empowered his generation more than a fig-
ure as strong as Moses would have done.
But there is another question altogether about the
episode we read of this week. What made this trial
different? Why did Moses momentarily lose con-
trol? Why then? Why there? He had faced just this
challenge before.
The Torah mentions two previous episodes.
One took place at Mara, almost immediately after
the division of the Red Sea. The people found
water, but it was bitter. Moses prayed to God,
God told him how to sweeten the water, and the
episode passed. The second episode occurred at
Rephidim (Ex. 17:1–7). This time there was no
water at all. Moses rebuked the people: “Why are
you quarrelling with me? Are you trying to test
God?” He then turned to God and said, “What
am I to do with this people? Before long they will
stone me!” God told him to go to a rock at Horeb,
take his staff and hit the rock. Moses did so, and
water came out. There was drama, tension, but
nothing like the emotional distress evident in this
week’s parshah of Chukat. Surely Moses, by now
almost 40 years older, with a generation of expe-
rience behind him, should have coped with this
Rabbi Lord
Jonathan
Sacks
44 | JUNE 29 • 2023
Losing
Miriam
SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH