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July 14, 2000/11 Tammuz 5760, Vol. 52, No.44
There's more than one kind of magic
Torah Study
RABBI HARRY K. DANZIGER
Chukat-Balak/Numbers 19:1-25:9
I do "magic" for preschoolers at our Kabbalat Shabbat. I make a Kiddush cup drink the wine. I fill a blank coloring book with colored pictures. I make a light bulb glow in my hand.
In Parashat Chukat, Moses also performs "magic." When the people cry out that they are without water in the desert, God tells Moses to speak to a rock. But Moses does not speak to it, he strikes it: "And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank." (Numbers 20:11)
God then tells Moses that because he struck the rock, he will not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. Why such a dire consequence for so small an incident? The p'shat, or simple answer, is in the text: "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." (Numbers 20:12)
God punishes Moses because Moses tried to make the "trick" his instead of God's. The point was to increase trust in God, not awe for Moses.
But there's something more.
Before Moses strikes the rock, he says to the people: "Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?" (Numbers 20:10)
He is angry and frustrated. These people are impossible! When the ten spies reported that the people could never conquer the Promised Land, the people panicked and refused to go farther. Later three of them -Korach, Datham, and Abiram -openly challenged Moses' leadership.
Moses is clearly fed up with this band of ex-slaves.
Perhaps that is precisely the point: Moses cannot lead them into the Land of Israel because he has contempt for them. He no longer respects them. He can give them water but not dignity. He can lead them, but he does not love them.
When performing "magic" tricks, I have two choices: I can try to bewilder the audience and emphasize my own special power or I can have them "say the magic words" or "find" the lost wine or make the light bulb glow.
There are many leadership roles in life. A parent is a leader of his or her children. A husband and wife are the leaders of a household. Employers are leaders, as are teachers and officials and camp counselors.
But no matter how good they are at "making magic," if they treat their "audience" with contempt, they are not fit to lead.
Moses reminds us that even the wisest and most capable leaders can lose their patience and respect for their children, workers, students, or constituents. And when they do, everyone suffers.
Eventually, Moses overcame his frustration, swallowed his disappointment, and did his best for the people until his death. We remember him, we honor him, and we learn from his example, his teachings and his mistakes.
Numbers 20:1-8
The Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin on the first new moon, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there.
The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses, saying, "If only we had perished when our brothers perished at the instance of the Lord! Why have you brought the Lord's congregation into this wilderness for us and our beasts to die there? Why did you make us leave Egypt to bring us to this wretched place, a place with no grain or figs or vines or pomegranates? There is not even water to drink!"
Moses and Aaron came away from the congregation to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their faces. The Presence of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community, and before their very eyes order 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."
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