Frustration

Pity Poor Moses

After 40, maybe, after 50 years of preparing and leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses was tired.

from his labors

from seemingly endless quarrels and complaints

of the people’s apparent inability to see their place in the bigger picture of God’s plan.

Now, he’s back at Rephidim/Kadesh

Where, 40 years earlier, God provided water by telling Moses to strike the rock.

Again, the people quarrel and complain for lack of water.

Again, God provides, but this time, he tells Moses to “tell the rock … to yield its water.”

Now, 40-50 years of labor and frustration push Moses over the edge:

‘Listen up, you rebels! Are we supposed to provide water for you from this rock?’

e. He winds up and whales on the rock, not once but twice!

We’ve all been there at some point, haven’t we?

Maybe the situation wasn’t one of life-and-death, as in this story, but

maybe the situation seems unsolvable,

factions all argue for this or that resolution,

it’s all gone on for what seems like eternity,

and nothing would feel better than to blow my stack.

We can empathize with Moses.

So, why did God punish him so quickly and so severely?

He did disobey God

and deny God the chance to show his compassion for the people,

and at the same time, to show them how close he was to answer their prayers.

Still, it seems very harsh

Especially in view of the compassion with which God had dealt with Moses, all through those years in Egypt and in the desert.

Basil of Caesarea, Homily 90, says:

Moses did not free his people from sin, but he begged from God the exemption of the punishment due to sin. However, he was not able to give his own ransom when he was in sin, because, after the many and great wonders and signs which he saw, he uttered those words expressive of doubt: ‘Hear me, ye rebellious and incredulous: Can we bring you forth water out of this rock?’ Therefore, the Lord, because of this word, said to Moses and Aaron: ‘Because you have not believed me to sanctify me before the children of Israel, you shall not bring these people into the land which I have given them.’1

2. Basil, like most commentators, emphasizes Moses’ sin, his failure, and sees his punishment as the natural consequence.

3. but I can’t help identifying with his momentary anger.

a. I can’t tell you what was in the minds of the writers and editors of Numbers

b. still less, what was in God’s mind.

4. But a rabbinic midrash provides a clue

a. Deuteronomy 34:5 “5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord,”

b. Thus we find that even though the decree of death cannot be overruled, God displays great compassion and empathy for the greatest prophet that ever arose in Israel, "whom the Eternal singled out, face to face." (Deut. 34:10) Would that each of us be granted the same gentle and loving death.

Jonathan Stein is senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel, San Diego, California.

D’var Torah https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/divine-kiss

Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 6310 פֶּה

498 occurrences; AV translates as “mouth” 340 times, “commandment” 37 times, “edge” 35 times, “according” 22 times, “word” 15 times,

c. The rabbis interpret ‘by the mouth of God’ as ‘by the kiss of God’ (‘Baba Bathra,’ 17 a)

With this understanding, perhaps we see God once again affirming Moses’ special place in salvation history and possibly mitigating the severity of his punishment. After all, if one has to die, what better way than by God’s kiss?

1 Basil of Caesarea, Exegetic Homilies, trans. Agnes Clare Way, vol. 46 of The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1963), 317–318.