Photo courtesy of Chabad.org
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY
We read a lot in the news about Israel. About issues that go on there and not all of them pleasant. Sure, there are those who are more critical and some who are more forgiving but somehow it always makes it to the top of the news feed. Something in this week’s Parsha (Chukat) made me think of this phenomenon.
In this Parsha we have the story of Moses and the rock. Moses is commanded to speak to the rock and from it water will come forth (the Jewish people were tremendously thirsty in the desert and complained for drink). Moses misunderstands and proceeds to hit the rock, but the result is the same and water is provided for them. As a result of the misunderstanding, Moses is told by G-d that he would not be permitted to enter the Land of Israel as “punishment” for hitting rather than speaking to the rock. There are many explanations on this monumental event but we’re going to take it at face value—and it’s not easy to understand. Moses took the Jews out of Egypt with the goal of getting to the Land of Israel and everything is derailed because he hit… a rock?! Ok, hurting a person, perhaps an animal, and some environmentalists may even take offense at hurting plant life, but a rock? Nothing short of a dormant object that doesn’t feel a thing!
The answer is that we cannot fathom the person that is Moses. Sure, if this were me or you there would be no ramifications whatsoever, but we’re talking about Moses. Moses spoke to G-d and was therefore on a completely different wavelength. He was held to an altogether different standard than that of your average person. And perhaps this same standard could be applied to Israel where Moses was headed and where his teachings should, ideally, still be carried out. As they say, there’s a little Moses in all of us. Yes, there are people who are unbelievably critical of Jews and Israel and we need to be cautious in knowing how to differentiate rational from irrational criticism, but we should celebrate and take pride in our being held to a higher standard. That which goes in another country (corruption, scandal, violence, crime, etc.) should not be as acceptable in Israel. Perhaps it’s not on the level of Moses but more, better, should be expected of the Jewish nation. And so it is with each and every one of us individually. We can set our own bars – how much charity to give, how much good to do – but realize that, like Moses, more and better can be expected of us. We cannot let ourselves be bogged down because “everybody does it,” or because “no one else is doing it.” The world needs us to be our best selves—now! Good Shabbos!