Standing Between the Rock and a Hard Place (The Three Weeks - Part II)

Last week we began reviewing the commentary of the Ohev Yisrael – the Apter Rebbe, Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel – in observance of the Three Weeks of mourning for the Beit HaMikdash, which was destroyed because of baseless hatred. The themes of moral corruption, spiritual depravity, and the deaths of the righteous are prevalent in the Torah readings for these three weeks, and with the Ohev Yisrael, we are examining the lessons we learn from these episodes and how we can do better in the future, so that, G-d willing, in the merit of our unconditional love for one another, the Beit HaMikdash will be rebuilt.

In keeping with this approach, the Apter Rebbe examines Moshe’s attitude toward his own role as the tzaddik of his generation in a manner consistent with what we already know of Moshe’s character. With this, he concludes his discussion of the error of judgment at the “Waters of Dispute” (Mei Meriva) which brought about the deaths of Moshe and Aharon. 

Hashem instructs Moshe and Aharon to gather the people of Israel at the rock from which water was to be extracted, as we saw last week. But when this assembly actually happens, right before Moshe and Aharon accuse Israel of being rebellious (“morim”), we are told that they were gathered “before the face of the rock” (Bamidbar 20:10). The message that Hashem intended to convey here – the reason Moshe was to speak to the rock – is that the intent of the righteous is sufficient to strip away the superficialities of the material world and elicit the inner truths they conceal.

The Rebbe explains how each of the letters of the word for rock, sela – samech-lamed-ayin –can itself be broken up into letters that spell the name of the letter (a common technique in the study of Divine Names in medieval Jewish mysticism). Once the first and last letters of each triad have been broken away (corresponding to the two strikes of the staff in the Biblical narrative), what remain are the Hebrew letters of the word for water – mayim. From this he determines that in truth, the essence of water is already present, latent within the form of the rock; all that remains is for the righteous individual to strip away the form of the rock – that which is apparent to those who only see with the eyes of their physical senses.

Hashem wanted to glorify both Moshe and Aharon, who would, through the power of their speech, reveal the hidden power within the material world. At the same time, He wanted to highlight His own Creation of a world of true essences locked within the symbolic framework of the physical universe. The power of the tzaddik, in this context, should be sufficient with nothing but his words to deconstruct this framework and to reveal the secrets of Creation, both to edify and to sustain the people of Israel who are thirsting – both literally and figuratively.

But, the Ohev Yisrael explains, Moshe didn’t see himself as uniquely elevated and capable, and it was frustrating to him that he should have to demonstrate this principle. He hoped and believed (as we already saw previously with the episode of Eldad and Meidad, the unwitting prophets) that all of Israel should and would be capable of prophecy. His hope in approaching the rock was to induce all of Israel to transcend their physical sensibilities and, through the power of their own prayer and intentionality, to extract the water that he knew to be entombed within it. Moshe didn’t want to be the Divine Agent in performing this miracle – he wanted Israel to begin living miraculously and intentionally on their own behalf so that they would not be dependent on any tzaddik or leader. Unfortunately, as we see, Israel had not yet achieved this level of awareness. In a sense, Moshe had failed in his mission to bring about that change. But more to the point, as Hashem castigates him and Aharon, he failed to glorify Hashem before Israel by performing the role designated for him as the leader and prophet. 

This tension between the ideal and the actual – between the spiritual state prescribed by the Torah and the reality that we experience collectively on Earth – is naturally a conspicuous driver of the tragedy of the Destruction and the Exile that we are still navigating. Unfortunately, we as a nation are still struggling to achieve the state of awareness and of enlightenment that Moshe envisioned for us, and we are still paying the price for this deficiency. The Ohev Yisrael relates to this idea in some of his teachings at the end of his commentary on Pinchas and subsequent portions, which correspond to the Three Weeks. G-d willing, next week we will conclude our discussion of this material.