Serenity Now!

What was so terrible about Moshe hitting the rock?

Miriam dies. Everyone is sad and distressed, but there’s another problem: Now water. Our Sages teach the Jews had water in the merit of Miriam, and now she and the water are gone. The people confront Moshe and Aharon. “Why did you bring us to the desert to die? We should have stayed in Egypt!” Moshe and Aharon are, understandably, flabbergasted. They literally fall on their faces. Imagine, it’s now 40 years after the Exodus. The Jews have seen miracle after miracle, and they STILL would rather be back in Egypt!

Moshe and Aharon turn to God, Who seems to have a little more patience and doesn’t punish the Jews for their impunity.

“You and your brother Aharon take the staff and assemble the community. Before their very eyes speak to the rock to yield its water. Thus, you shall produce water for them from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their beasts.” (Bamidbar 20:8)

Seems easy enough. And yet…

“Moses took the rod from before God, as he had been commanded. Moshe and Aharon assembled the congregation in front of the rock; and he said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?’ And Moshe raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank.” (9-11)

Not EXACTLY as God commanded, but problem solved, right? Wrong.

“But God said to Moshe and Aharon, ‘Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them.’” (12)

Moshe and Aharon are condemned to die in the desert. Why? The verse says it was a lack of trust in God, which minimized the kiddush Hashem, God being sanctified in the eyes of Israel. But the Jews saw water come from a rock! Moshe showed them God could take care of their needs. They were wrong to question God’s support for them. That’s got to count for something!

Obviously not. Moshe and Aharon are being held to a higher standard (than even Hebrew National 😊). God commanded one thing, and they did something else. They’re out!

If we look closely at Moshe’s words, we can find another fatal flaw in how he and Aharon handled the situation. “Shimu na ha-morim – Listen up, you rebels!” Moshe had been disappointed and frustrated by the Jews on previous occasions. He went so far as to as God to kill him in exasperation at these people. But, here, Moshe gets angry.

Anger is destructive and toxic. The Talmud (Shabbat 105b) equates it with idolatry. Are they really the same thing? One who gets angry displays an extremely self-centered worldview in being unable to tolerate the other. It is as if others don’t exist, and the individual worships themselves.

Rambam, in Shemoneh Perakim, explains that Moshe’s hitting of the rock was not the root sin, but rather a symptom of a greater transgression of anger. He notes that Moshe failed to maintain the proper emotional equilibrium required of a Jewish leader and, instead, lost his temper. For this, he was unable to enter Israel.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook elaborates on the nature of this anger. According to Rav Kook, all religious rage, all intolerance for moral failings, is rooted in this display of anger by Moshe. Instead of words of reconciliation, he shouted, "Listen up, you rebels!" Instead of speaking to the hearts of the Jews, he got angry at them. And then, he hit the rock. While righteous indignation can stem from sincere and pure intentions, the highest goals of holiness will only be achieved through calm spirits and mutual respect.

The world around us is loud, brash and full of discord. There is certainly space for legitimate disagreement. We believe in machloket l’sheim shamayim. Frequently, though, we disagree simply to disagree and do so with anger. The argument is destructive and not constructive. We listen to someone with whom we disagree, thinking how we will retort with the “right” comeback. We should listen instead to learn what others think and feel and not worry so much about the need to respond.

We need to try and calm down and not let anger rise within us. I know I do. It is hard. There’s a classic suggestion to count to ten before responding to settle down first. In the end, it is really something to work at. Remaining calm and not getting angry is a beracha.

Next Shabbat, we will read about Pinchas being rewarded for his zealotry with a “brit shalom,” a covenant of peace. What is this? Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin of Volozhin, the Netziv, understands the brit shalom as a calming influence. While we need to try to calm ourselves, it is truly a blessing we hope to receive. I call this the blessing of “Serenity now!”

The phrase is from Seinfeld, Episode 159 . It is a self-help mantra recited aloud to calm down in stressful situations. The plot was inspired by the real-life events of one of the writers, whose father was advised by his doctor to shout “Serenity now!” at the top of his lungs as part of a rage controlling exercise.

Now, Moshe’s sin seems much more about disobedience than anger. It is clear, however, that our tradition (as explained by Rambam and Rav Kook) is reading in between the lines to highlight the corrosive effect of anger, the need for more self-control and de-escalation.

In a loud, hyper-partisan, divided world in which everyone thinks being loudest means winning, we can all use more of the blessing of “Serenity now!”