Two Minute Torah Podcast

Hukkat 5770 by Bryan Wexler

Shalom, my name is Bryan Wexler, and I am the Community Educator and Youth Director at Temple Aliyah in Needham, MA. Welcome to KOACH's Two Minutes of Torah. I would like to share some thoughts with you about this week’s parsha, parshat Hukkat, that I learned with and from a student of mine as I was helping her to prepare for her Bat Mitzvah.

In parshat Hukkat, the Israelites complain to Moses that they have no water and that Moses brought them to die in the desert. God then commands Moses to take his rod and speak to the rock, ordering it to bring forth water. Instead of listening to God, Moses strikes the rock twice with his rod, and out pours water for the Israelites and their animals to drink. God then tells Moses that because he did not listen to His command, Moses may not lead his congregation into Israel.

Why was Moses punished for this one transgression, even though he was such an important leader of the Israelites and a loyal and obedient servant to God?

The Rambam believes that God punished Moses because of his anger and outrage towards the Israelites. Instead of remaining calm, Moses calls the Israelites, “hamorim”, or "the rebels," a very negative and insulting name. Maimonides thinks that Moses should have been a better role model for the Israelites, by staying calm.

Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev interpretation expresses that Moses was punished for how he spoke to and criticized the Israelites for their behavior. He further explains that instead of giving the Israelites constructive criticism, to help them improve their behavior, and to help bring them closer to God, Moses uses harsh and insulting words. As their leader, Moses should have been more understanding of the Israelites' difficult situation and he should have led by example, showing patience and compassion.

It seems that we can learn two lessons from this episode. The first lesson is that expectations and responsibilities come with leadership. And the second lesson is that sometimes, leaders have to listen to their own leaders. In this case, Moses, the leader of the Israelites, failed to listen to his leader- God.

How does this apply to college life? Leadership is a huge part of college, and as this school year draws to a close, and we look towards next year, we look to who our leaders were, and to who our leaders will be. Everyone has various leadership strengths and weaknesses, but let us all learn from parshat Hukkat that leadership comes with great responsibilities and that even as leaders, sometimes we need to answer to others and to our superiors.

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