The Short Vort
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The Short Vort- -“ What did Moshe do wrong?” (6/18/10)
The Short Vort
Good Morning!
Today is Friday the 6th of Tammuz 5770 and June 18, 2010
Parshas Chukas;
Candle Lighting:
- Jerusalem, Israel: 7:07 pm
- Passaic, NJ: 8:12 pm
- Reykjavik, Iceland: 11:44 pm (Shabbos Ends here at 1:29 am!!!)
What did Moshe do wrong?
“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them.”
(Bamidbar 20:12)
Wow, those are fighting words. What did Moshe do so wrong that Hashem laces into him by saying: "Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel…”???
What exactly was the terrible sin Moshe committed to have Hashem declare: “therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them.”?
As we know, the sin -which has something to do with hitting a rock as opposed to talking to a rock- was miniscule. Meaning, although there are more suggestions offered by the commentators in their attempt to identify what exactly the sin was than there are words in a Short Vort; all are in agreement that the sin was minor in comparison to what you and I do in the course of our average day. Nevertheless, we still have to figure out, ‘what did Moshe do so wrong’?
The answer which touches me to the core and has always resonated with me is the answer offered by one of the greats of the greats, namely the Rambam.
The Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) writes (Shmoneh Perakim; end of Chapter Four) that the sin of Moshe is found in the following words which Moshe spoke to the people:
Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock and he said to them, "Now listen, you rebels, can we draw water for you from this rock?" (20:10)
The Rambam writes that the sin of Moshe is all of four words; “Now listen, you rebels…”
The Rambam writes that these four words were uttered with Kaas, anger.
The Rambam writes that for a person such as Moshe to display anger publicly was an unforgivable offense which costs Moshe his job and his ability to enter the Promised Land.
Why? Why is anger so severe a crime that Hashem declares: "Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them.”?
What is so terrible about Moshe displaying a bit of anger?
The answer of course is obvious.
As the Rambam himself informs us, usually life is about treading in the middle of the road; not too far to the right and not too far to the left.
Not so with anger.
Anger is so destructive and so harmful that one must be disciplined and distance themselves to the extreme with regard to anger.
“When one becomes angry, even the divine presence (Shechina) has no importance for him.” (Nedarim 22: b)
“Whoever becomes angry is as if they are worshipping idols”!
Why is this?
Because when you become angry, you are no longer in control and Hashem is no longer your Higher Authority and you are a ‘loose canon’!
Anger; remove it from your personality resume.
You will never regret it.