Moshe's Leadership and the Transition of Generations
SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
Parashat CHUKAT
SICHA OF
HARAV MOSHEH LICHTENSTEIN SHLIT"A
Moshe's
Leadership and the Transition of Generations
Translated by
David Silverberg
Moshe's angry
response to the incident of Mei Meriva differs drastically from all of his prior
responses to Benei Yisrael's repeated complaints and grumbling. Previously,
Moshe and Aharon had prayed on their behalf and often appealed to them to turn
to God rather than quarrel. Even during the severe crisis at Kivrot ha-Ta'ava,
when Moshe simply could not relate to Benei Yisrael or show understanding for
their complaint, he exhibited no anger towards them. He rather turned to God and
asked that he be relieved of the leadership.
Suddenly, at
Mei Meriva, a rift develops between him and the nation. The first expression of
this change is the paralysis that grips Moshe upon hearing the nation's protest
(Bemidbar 20:6). Rather than responding with his usual petition to God or
appeal to the people, Moshe instead withdraws to the Tent of Meeting and falls
on his face.
Moreover, the
anger reflected in Moshe's admonition – "Listen, you rebels, shall we get water
for you out of this rock?" (20:10) – is not a single, isolated event, but rather
marks the beginning of a process that characterizes the second half of Sefer
Bemidbar. Throughout the final chapters we encounter time and time again
friction and lack of communication between the leader of
Such a
radical change requires us to examine the transformation that occurred and
search for its roots. Why does Moshe change his mode of leadership? Why does he
now begin preaching and scolding, as opposed to his earlier approach?
II. One
Generation Goes, Another Comes
We must first
note that Mei Meriva marks the transition of generations. We no longer find
ourselves in the first generation, the generation of the Exodus, but rather in
the next generation, raised in the desert. The parents have died and been
buried, and their children have taken their places. Sefer Bemidbar
can be divided into two sections: the first half, which deals with the first
generation that never earned entry into the Land (chapters 1-18), and the second
half, which tells of the second generation, whose members are now prepared to
settle the Land (chapters 20-36).
In between
the two halves stands the section of the para aduma (red heifer). At
first glance, the section of the para aduma bears no topical relevance to
the plot of Sefer Bemidbar. Its halakhic content renders it far
more suitable for Sefer Vayikra. Furthermore, Chazal claim that
this section was actually transmitted on the day when the Mishkan was
consecrated; it thus even chronologically precedes the sections of the Torah in
which it is embedded.
I heard from
my grandfather and teacher, Rav Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveitchik zt"l, that
the location of Parashat Para comes to express the despair and tragedy of
Benei Yisrael's life in the wilderness. As a result of the decree of death
issued against that generation, their lives became an ongoing confrontation with
death. Parashat Para, which involves primarily the halakhic means of
dealing with death, became a central feature of their lives. Its location, at
this point in the Sefer, reveals for us – if only somewhat – the tragedy
of this generation, living in the shadow of impending death.
It emerges,
then, that Parashat Para provides us with a synopsis of those
thirty-eight years. It marks the point of transition between the second year,
when the decree of death was issued, and fortieth year, when the generation of
the exodus had died out and the people were ready to enter the land.
Moshe
understood that the first generation was incapable of overcoming its past and
rising to a high level of trust in God, believing that he would provide for them
in the wilderness. He therefore pinned his hopes on the generation of the
children. Given their upbringing under the clouds of glory and in the shade of
Mount Sinai, and considering that they never had to experience to suffering of
the Egyptian crucible, Moshe saw the generation of the children as the ones who
would correct the mistakes of their fathers. They represented the nation's
future.
With great
energy and enthusiasm, Moshe and Yehoshua invest all their strength in educating
the second generation. Moshe feels capable of shaping the spiritual world of the
generation that lives under his protection from their earliest age. They drew
all their education from him in total purity, without any external influences or
pressures. In such a situation, Moshe expects that the mistakes of their parents
would not repeat themselves in the new generation, for he attributed the
parents' complaints and lack of trust to the circumstances in which they lived,
rather than to human nature.
The series of
complaints by the second generation, beginning with Mei Meriva, reduced to
naught all of Moshe's assumptions and hopes with regard to this generation.
Hence his anger, the anger of frustration, of the shattering of hopes and bitter
disappointment with Benei Yisrael, with that generation in particular and the
human being in general, finds expression in his chiding of the nation. Their
fear over the lack of water and their complaints about the manna parallel those
of the first generation, as if they have learned nothing. It is this very fact
that brings Moshe to the breaking point.
III. A
Minor Sin, A Severe Punishment
In light of
what we have seen, we can assess Moshe's barred entry into the land and the
transition of leadership from him to Yehoshua. At first glance, the explanation
seems explicit in the text: Moshe sinned at Mei Meriva, and he is punished with
a decree forbidding his entry into the land. The Almighty judges the righteous
exactingly, and as a result of this sin, Moshe and Aharon are denied entry into
the land.
The matter is
not, however, quite so simple. This very point, that even the slightest
transgression can result in such harsh judgment, is precisely what troubles the
reader. Moreover, why focus on this particular wrongdoing? Indeed, Rashi (20:12)
notes that, at first glance, Moshe's remarks to God at Kivrot ha-Ta'ava (11:22)
appear far worse than his wrongdoing here at Mei Meriva. Why does this sin in
particular bar Moshe's entry into the land?
We must also
understand the punishment of Aharon, who did not play a significant role in
hitting the rock, yet shared Moshe's punishment.
In light of
these questions, which strengthen one another, we may suggest viewing Moshe's
denied entry into the land against the background of the processes we have
discussed. The break that occurred between him and Benei Yisrael, which found
expression in the anger and sense of helplessness that pervades the second half
of Sefer Bemidbar, forms the basis of the denial of his right to
enter the land. His leadership ability has weakened, and he can no longer lead
Benei Yisrael proudly into their land.
In order to
clarify this idea and reconcile it with the text, we must first resort to the
verses towards the beginning of Sefer Devarim. There Moshe links
the decree prohibiting his entry into the land with the sin of the scouts. In
truth, however, upon examining the verse more closely, we see that it does not
attribute Moshe's punishment to the sin of the spies itself. Rather, the results
of the sin caused God's decree to affect Moshe, as well: "Because of you the
Lord was incensed with me, too, and He said: You shall not enter it, either" (Devarim
1:37). How did the incident of spies impact upon Moshe? Why would the decree
include him if he himself did not sin with the rest of the nation?
The answer is
provided in an adjacent verse describing the punishment issued for the sin of
the scouts: "The Lord heard the sound of your words and was angry. He vowed: Not
one of these men, THIS EVIL GENERATION, shall see the good land that I swore to
give to your fathers" (Devarim 1:34-35). The verse implies that the
decree was not issued against each individual, prohibiting him from entering the
land as a result of his personal sin in the incident of the spies. Rather, God
decreed that the generation will not enter.
It was
therefore decreed that Moshe and Aharon, too, will be denied the right to enter
the land, for the generation that they lead and to which they belong may not
enter. Moshe and Aharon did not sin in the incident of the spies, and God
expresses no anger regarding their actions during this episode. Nevertheless,
the punishment resulting from the spies leads to the denial of their right of
entry, given their membership in this generation. Moshe thus claims that the
Almighty was incensed with him, too, as a result of the sin of the spies.
IV. Each
Generation and Its Leaders
As discussed
above, the incident of Mei Meriva demonstrated that Moshe could no longer serve
as Benei Yisrael's leader due to the generation gap between them. Not the sin,
but rather the rift seals the fate of Moshe and Aharon and denies them the
privilege of leading the armies of
In light of
this, we can explain how Aharon's barred entry into the land relates to the
episode of Mei Meriva. If the sin of Mei Meriva had been the decisive factor,
then since he played a minor role in this affair, he would not have been
punished so severely. However, once the chain of events at Mei Meriva determines
that they are no longer successful as leaders, they cannot enter the land as
leaders of the younger generation. Regarding this point, no distinction exists
between Moshe and Aharon.
The anger
expressed at Mei Meriva is not a one-time expression of frustration, but rather
a consistent phenomenon that accompanies Moshe's relationship with the second
generation. The anger and bitterness that bursts forth with the declaration,
"Listen, you rebels!" do not result from a momentary, tragic loss of control,
but are rather a symptom of the rift and lack of communication between Moshe and
the people. It becomes clear that Moshe cannot lead the nation for much longer,
and if he does lead he will be unable to sanctify God's Name as he did in the
past, given the abyss that has grown between him and the generation that will
enter the land. Consequently, Moshe cannot proceed into the land as leader, and
must therefore die in the wilderness as did the other members of the generation
to whom God's decree of death applied.
In truth,
Chazal already noted that Moshe's prohibited entry into the land involved
his role as national leader, not his personal status. Moreover, according to the
Midrash (Devarim Rabba 9:9), Moshe indeed could have entered the
land as a private citizen had he so desired; no decree was ever issued against
him in this regard:
[Moshe] said
before Him: Master of the world, let Yehoshua assume my title, and I will live.
The Almighty
said: Do for him what he does for you.
Moshe
immediately arose and went to Yehoshua's home. Yehoshua was frightened and said,
"Moshe, my rabbi, come next to me." They left to go, and Moshe walked on
Yehoshua's left. They entered the Tent of Meeting, and the pillar of cloud
descended and stood in between them.
When the
pillar of cloud left, Moshe went to Yehoshua and said: What did God say to you?
Yehoshua said
to him: When He would speak with you, did I know what He said to you?
At that
moment Moshe cried and said: One hundred deaths are preferable to a single
feeling of envy!…
Once he
accepted death, the Almighty began comforting him. He said to him: I swear, in
this world you led My children, so in the future, too, I will lead them through
you.
The midrash
indicates that God did not issue a decree against Moshe son of Amram as a
private person; rather, he was denied permission to enter the land as the
nation's leader. He was permitted to enter as a private citizen, but he would
then have to submit his title and leadership to someone of the next generation
to lead them in the land. However, after forty years during which his entire
being was devoted to caring for the nation and their many needs, he can no
longer live without full involvement in the national leadership. He therefore
prefers leaving this world. The Almighty's words of consolation, promising him
the leadership over Israel in the future, exemplifies the extent to which
Moshe's identity is bound together with his role as Benei Yisrael's leader, and
how far removed he has come from the days when the young lad fled to Midyan in
order to be excused from the involvement in his nation's needs.