Dear Talmidot, Parents and Friends –

1)         Faculty Dvar Torah – Mrs. Leora Bednarsh

2)         Mazal Tov

3)         Mi SheBerach

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A New Generation

Mrs. Leora Bednarsh

In this week’s parsha, Moshe and Aharon are punished for their response to the nations cry for water in Mei Meriva with the harsh punishment of not being allowed to see their long years of leadership of Bnei Yisrael in the Midbar brought to its ultimate realization.  They are told that they are not to enter the land of Israel, and in fact Aharon dies in this parsha.

What was so terrible about their actions in Mei Meriva that warranted this punishment?  After all, the complaint of Bnei Yisrael seems to follow a whole list of complaints, in which the complaint was treated as a sin and the nation was punished as a result.  In the past few weeks we read about the sin of the meraglim, the sin of Korach v’Adato, and the sin of Bnei Yisrael after the death of Korach v’Adato.  In each, the nation complains, Moshe and Aharon approach Ohel Moed for Hashem’s reaction to the complaint, and then the nation is punished.  It seems that Mei Meriva follows the same pattern: the nation complains, Moshe and Aharon approach Ohel Moed for Hashem’s response, but in this case, Hashem’s response is the opposite of what is to be expected.  We would expect that after so many miracles and seeing how Hashem took care of their every need in the desert, the nation would have faith that He would continue to look after them, yet they dare complain!  Surprisingly, though, Hashem’s response is kind and gentle and understanding, and he instructs Moshe to speak to the rock and to give the people to drink. 

This story of Mei Meriva is very similar to the story that appears in Sefer Shemot when Bnei Yisrael complain of a lack of water right after Yetziat Mizrayim.  There, the nation complained and demanded water, accusing Moshe of taking them out of Mitzrayim to kill them in the desert.  Hashem responds to that complaint by instructing Moshe to hit the rock, and let the nation drink, “v’hikita ba’tzur… v’shata ha’am”.  In our episode, Hashem’s response, as mentioned before, is much softer: “v’dibarta el hasela l’einehem v’natan meimav… v’hishkita et ha’eda…”  However, Moshe’s response here is more in line with what was expected of him, and what he did, in Sefer Shemot: he chastises the nation, calls them names, he hits the rock and then stands by as the people drink themselves.

Why does Moshe not follow Hashem’s command and treat the people kindly after their complaint?  Rav Elchanan Samet explains that this can be understood once we recognize that the generation that complained about the water, and for that matter sinned with the Meraglim and Korach, is not the same generation that is standing before Moshe and complaining about water now.  This is the generation that will enter the land, and is in fact standing in Midbar Zin, very close to the land, waiting to enter momentarily.  If only the king of Edom would have allowed them, they could have entered in a matter of days! (The transition to the next generation is alluded to by the mitzvah of Parah Adumah, a mitzvah connected to the impurity of death, which is the way in which the Torah tells the story of the 40 years in which the generation that left Mizrayim died in the Midbar.)  If we look closely at the complaint of the people we see that they are bemoaning the fact that they are still suffering the ills of the midbar, and not yet in the place of “zera v’teena v’gefen v’rimon” – the paradigmatic description of Eretz Yisrael!  In this way, what lies behind their complaint about lack of water, a legitimate complaint in and of itself, is very different than that which plagued their fathers 40 years earlier.  Their fathers were expressing their fear of the future and their insecurity about having left Mizrayim, while this generation is expressing anxiousness to fulfill their destiny and enter the land!

It seems from Moshe’s response that he heard in their complaints echoes of the complaints and lack of faith of their fathers.  Therefore Moshe rebuked them, and responded in anger.  He was not able to see that those standing before him were a new generation.  He heard only the surface complaint, and did not look at what stood behind it, at the desire of this new generation to leave the desert life behind them and enter the land.  And so Moshe responded inappropriately, and did not show the nation Hashem’s kindness and chessed in how He wanted to give them the water.  This meant that Moshe could not be the one to lead the people into the land.  If he could not see them for who they are, and if he is weighed down by the behavior of their fathers and holds them responsible for it, then perhaps the era of his leadership must come to an end, and a new generation requires a new leadership to lead them into the promised land.

Shabbat Shalom

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Mazel Tov!               

Birth

Malka (Faculty) and Shlomo Hubscher  on the birth of a baby girl.     

Yhi ratzon shetizku lgadla llChupa ulMa'asim tovim     

Bar Mitzvah

Mazal Tov to Rabbi Yitzchak (Faculty) and Michelle Lerner on the occasion of their son Pinny's Bar Mitzvah. 

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Mi SheBerach List

We have started a new list. Please email midmoriah@gmail.com if there is a name you would like to add.  

Names added this week:

Yehoshua ben Zahava

For complete 5772 list, please go to: http://midreshetmoriah.com/alumnae/?id=464