Even Moses was not allowed to improvise

Chukat-Balak Numbers 19:1-25:9

In Parshat Chukat in Bamidbar- Numbers, Chap. 20, the Jewish people complain bitterly to Moses and Aaron that they and their flocks have nothing to drink. This takes place immediately after the righteous prophetess Miriam died and the miraculous water source of the Jews in the desert dried up. Moses and Aaron approach G-d with hope and prayers for assistance and a solution to the drought.

In verse seven, G-d instructs Moses and Aaron to take the staff/rod, gather the people and "Speak To The Rock" and it will then miraculously spring forth water and the people and their flocks will drink as much as they like.

We all know what happens next: For some reason Moses goes ahead and hits the rock twice instead of speaking to it. Despite Moses not fulfilling the commandment with exactitude, water still flows from the rock and quenches the thirst of the nation. But Moses and Aaron are punished for not sanctifying G-d's name correctly, and they are forbidden to ultimately enter the land of Israel in their lifetimes.

This episode in the Torah requires further clarification:

Why does Moses hit the rock if G-d specifically states to speak to the rock? We see that hitting the rock must not have been such a bad choice if the water came forth, so why are Moses and Aaron punished so severely?

Rabbi Yosef Yovel Hurvitz (1848-1919), the Alter of Navardok, explains that Moses understood exactly what G-d wanted but chose to hit the rock anyway because he believed that it would be a greater sanctification of G-d's name by hitting it (because if people saw him speaking they would attribute the water to Egyptian style magic…). Although Moses had the greatest of intentions, since he transgressed an explicit commandment of G-d he forfeited the opportunity to enter the Land of Milk and Honey—the Land of our Commandments.

There is a great lesson here for all of us to consider. The Torah is filled with laws and commandments that teach us how to live our lives. Throughout history, there have been those who believed they had a better way, a more modern and/or contemporary approach than the teachings of the Torah. It is not so. No one was more knowledgeable than Moses, and even he could not improvise and fine-tune a commandment successfully. Certainly we, 3,321 years later, are not better informed than the great Moses, therefore we are compelled to adhere to the mitzvoth with care and precision.

The word "mitzvah" does not mean "good deed." Rather, it means "commandment." It is also related to the word "tzav," which means, "to bind." This teaches that the function of a mitzvah is to bind together G-d to mankind. Therefore, the more mitzvoth we fulfill, the closer we are to our Creator.

We need to look no further then the heritage of our ancestors. "It is a tree of life for those that grasp onto it." May we merit to grow in Torah knowledge, mitzvoth and thereby spirituality.

Shabbat Shalom!  rabbiepstein@sonsisrael.com