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DVAR TORAH

From the desk of Rabbi Ackerman

(Hear a “Torah Minute” by Rabbi Becker here.)

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל־אַהֲרֹן יַעַן לֹא־הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי לְהַקְדִּישֵׁנִי לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל... לָכֵן לֹא תָּבִיאוּ אֶת הַקָּהָל (במדבר כ:יב)

And HaShem said to Moshe and to Aharon, “Since you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me before the Jewish people... therefore you will not bring the Jewish people into the land… (Numbers 20:12)

Midrash Tanchuma offers a Mashal (parable) to explain this: two women were sentenced to receive lashes in the court - one had committed adultery and the other had eaten unripe fruits of Shemitah (violating a Rabbinic injunction.) The one who had eaten the forbidden fruit requested,  "Please let everyone know the reason for my punishment, so that people won't say I also committed adultery." Similarly, Moshe asked HaShem, "You decreed that I should die in the desert along with this  generation who angered You - please let everyone know why I'm being punished, so future generations won't say that I am equal to them." In response to this, HaShem wrote in the Torah the reason Moshe could not enter the Land of Israel.

HaShem said about Moshe Rabbeinu, "  בְּכׇל־בֵּיתִי נֶאֱמָן הוּא - He is trusted throughout My House." Moshe was the one who stood up against the Jewish People when they rebelled, and stood up for the Jewish people to  champion their defense when they sinned. How could anyone rationally claim that Moshe was on the same level as everyone else who perished in the desert?

Evidently it is human nature to instinctively assume an association when there appears to be one - even when obvious logic tells us otherwise. We can lose sight of the bigger picture, and classify the great Moshe Rabbeinu as guilty of the same sins as the rest of his contemporaries.

It is also noteworthy that Moshe Rabbeinu was the עָנָו מִכֹּל אָדָם - the humblest of all men. Does such a person care about people’s opinion? Why does it matter what sin people think he was punished for?

This teaches us a powerful lesson in human sensitivity. Moshe Rabbeinu could be hurt if people think badly of him, even if their perception is erroneous and even if he is no longer in this world. How careful we must be in our own interactions with the people around us every day!

May HaShem help us internalize these points of awareness - to view every situation carefully and discern the real truth, and to be extremely careful when it comes to preserving others’ image and reputation.

Special thanks to Avi Mori for editing.