Written by Rachel Harris
Delivered Shabbat 13th July 2024
Shabbat Shalom
The story I read today is a famous one – the Israelites in the wilderness complain to their leaders, not for the first time, asking why they brought them out from Egypt to wander in the desert without good food and now, no water, which dries up after the death of Miriam. Moshe and Aaron pray to God, who instructs them to assemble the people before this rock and order it to produce water. But instead, Moshe strikes the rock. It works, and the people drink, but God states that because Moshe didn’t trust him, he will not lead the people into the land.
Bit harsh, no?
Especially as there was past precedent for using his staff to action God’s miracles. Indeed, when I showed this Dvar Torah to Miriam, she pointed out that back in Shemot, just after the Israelites had left Egypt, at a similar moment of thirst, God literally commanded Moshe to strike the rock to bring forth water. So, what was so terrible about doing the exact same thing again that it warranted such a grave punishment? The Midrash, and later commentaries, offer some suggestions; he failed to sanctify the name of God, he succumbed to anger, he lacked faith, or simply he was being judged to a higher standard by being in that leadership position. As we know, a mistake by a Prime Minister is much harder to forgive and carries much greater implications than the mistake of a junior staffer.
But my Pardes teacher and good friend, Gila Fine, has some beautiful Torah on this. She claims that if you zoom out and look at Moshe’s life as a whole, you see the struggle between the hand and the mouth. The famous Midrash teaches that Pharoah heard a prophecy that Moshe would rise and oust him from power. So to test his kingly ambition, he places Moshe between two bowls; one of gold, and one of hot coals. Naturally, the baby Moshe reaches towards the gold, but the archangel Gabriel smacks his hand over to the coals, his badly burnt hand flies up to the mouth, transferring the wound from his hand to his tongue. As a result, Moshe is slow of speech and tongue, and like many who struggle to express their feelings verbally, he acts them out, becoming a man of the hand. He smites the Egyptian man dead and buries his body in the sand. He escapes to Midian, encounters the burning bush and is charged to take the Israelites out of Egypt. And he objects, telling God he doesn’t have the words. God in response turns his hand white with leprosy, and says he must learn to speak. Moshe returns to Egypt, and initially continues to act with his staff, effectively, an elongated hand. He performs God’s miracles and he leads the Israelites out of slavery. Initially, as a political leader, he is a success. But once in the desert, his mission changes. He must become a religious leader, instructing people in the ways of God, so he must speak. But he is so used to stretching out his arm, he still doesn’t seem able to open his mouth. With his staff he parts the Red Sea, with his hands he brings the tablets from Sinai, with his hands he smashes them. He is always terse and angry. He is so used to speaking with God, he can’t bring himself to speak with his fellow man, and has no patience with their shortcomings. We can see a series of failures to transcend the hand and become a man of the mouth, and Moshe is punished for it. There are moments for actions and moments for words. The earliest stories in Tanach are about often brutal actions, but later there is speech and it eventually takes over. Like rearing a child, you initially need physical actions to stop a toddler hurting themselves, but for an older child, you must explain. God forces Moshe to transcend to speech, and helps people to grow up. Physical actions may be more powerful initially, but words are more enduring.
I love the literary way Gila teaches this, as not only is it a great message, but it weaves together different parts of Tanach and finds patterns and themes in the text, which is really reflective of my time at Pardes over the last two years. I’ve now learnt multiple texts with multiple teachers with multiple perspectives, and after a while, you realise how it all comes together, and you paint a bigger picture in your mind. And inevitably the more you learn you realise how little you have learned, and see how much more there is to learn, and it's simultaneously infuriating and exhilarating. So, as you know, I am planning to return to Israel, and while full-time Jewish studies is going to be replaced with Ulpan and hopefully a paid job soon, I plan on continuing part-time. I think learning for its own sake has enriched my life for the better, and I will happily talk about it with anyone who will listen to me.
But to briefly return to the text, and its messages, we’ve just had a general election – the United Kingdom has new leaders - and what they say is what will be remembered when we get to the next one. Was it inspiring, was it honest, was it respectful?
It is my blessing that they use their words, and their actions for good. And as I continue in my journey to a country with some leadership challenges, I bless them too; to all the leaders, to make good decisions, to listen to their people, for patience, for humility, and to maybe stop and think before striking the rock.
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