ר"ע תיתד תונויצל ינויערה גוחה ,םולשו זוע
And Moshe raised his hand and struck the boulder with his staff, twice,
so that abundant water came out; and the community and their cattle drank.
(Bemidbar 20:11)
The Striking of the Boulder –Response Out Of
Desperation or Fulfillment of God’s Command?
Have
we the right to investigate the feelings of Moshe our teacher at that moment?
What was in the heart of ‘the servant of God’ – about whom God himself
testified “in all my house, trusted is he?” What had distracted him from
properly discharging his mission?
We
might offer the following suggestion: Moshe took the staff from the tabernacle
where it had stood for almost forty years. He took the staff in his hand as God
had commanded, and, holding this symbol of his divine mission, he proceeded to
gather the people. Here he stands
once again – after forty years – with the staff of God in his hand. At the beginning of his mission forty
years earlier, he needed the staff in order to publicly certify his
appointment. Now he is pained by the thought that in all those forty years,
despite all he had done for them,
he had not succeeded in winning the people’s trust. In the bitterness of this emotion, he
forgot his mission, and instead of talking softly to the boulder, he spoke
harsh words of admonition. In the storm of his feelings, he struck the boulder.
(From the
commentary of Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch on Bemidbar 20:11)
The
sin of Moshe and Aharon is not publicized in Scripture. Rashi explained that
they were ordered to “speak to the boulder”— He did not command “Strike it.” These are words of aggada. But they are not clear,
for after He commanded “Take the staff” the implication was that he strike with it; if it was His
intention that Moshe only speak, why the staff in his hand? When the plagues were brought upon
Egypt, God commanded, “and the staff which turned into a serpent, take in
your hand” – and the purpose was to strike with it. A number of times He
said “stretch forth your hand”, meaning to strike with the staff, for
Scripture tends to economy with words, and, furthermore, speaking is no greater
a miracle than striking, because for the rock, both are equal. (Ramban, Bemidbar 20:8)
***
Our Sages, in
Tractate Taanit, read, in the proximity of the two narratives – the death of
Miriam and the Waters of Meriba – an indication that during her life, the
Israelites were accompanied on their journeys by a miraculous well which
quenched their thirst. With Miriam’s demise, the well ceased its activity. Only
the merit of Moshe and Aharon reactivated the well – at the price of the Waters
of Meriba incident. “When Miriam died, the well disappeared, as is written:
“Miriam died there” and further on, “The community was without water”
and it returned thanks to the merits of both [Moshe and Aharon]” .
Rashi, in explaining these words of our Sages, describes that miraculous well,
identifies the cause of its disappearance, and explains why the well ‘refused’
to supply water after Miriam’s death: “A rock, from which water flowed, and
which rolled along with the Israelite nation, and this was the rock which Moshe
struck when it refused to provide its waters for him before Miriam died.”
With Israel’s entry into the Land, all the
distinctive signs of supernatural supervision which typified their life in the
desert, came to an end: Miriam’s Well, the Clouds of Glory, and the Manna.
Early Eretz Yisrael traditions express wonder as to the final disposition of
that supernatural well. In those sources, the well becomes more than just a
source of water. In the Midrash Tanhuma, on our sidra, the following
story is told: A blind man suffering from tzaraat [or boils] went down
into a cave to immerse himself in water. Miriam’s Well appeared to him, he
immersed himself, and was cured.” (Tanhuma, Parashat Hukkat,
1)
The
Biblical account of Miriam’s life is the story of ‘water’ related to supervision over the other; but tzaraat, too, fulfills an important function. It was Miriam who stood to watch from a
distance to see what would happen to her baby brother who lay in a basket
floating on the Nile. But it was
also Miriam who was afflicted by tzaraat (Bemidbar 12:16-16) because of her sin of slander – “And
Miriam and Aharon spoke about the Cushite woman which he had taken, because he
had taken a Cushite woman.” Her words touched upon the sensitive subject of
husband-wife relations. Her cure was made possible following Aharon’s plea and
Moshe’s prayer. It would seem that this element of Miriam’s biography was at
the root of the assignment of miraculous and healing qualities to her and to
the well associated with her name. Even though it was hidden, Miriam’s Well
continued to return and to appear in the national consciousness. We find
mention of its existence in both the Talmud and in the midrashim, and even in
Middle Ages sources. In the midrash Vayikra Rabba, the location of Miriam’s
Well is identified as being “in the Sea of Tiberius” and mention is made of
it’s capacity for curing boils. This may be an echo of the fact that already in
the Roman period the Hot Springs of Tiberius and Gader functioned as sites for
healing various illnesses, including skin afflictions.
Among
European Jews in the Middle Ages, the Well was removed from its Galilean
locale, to become universal -- not
only as regards its capabilities, but also in the moral lessons derived from
its miracles. I should like to offer two examples. The first -- Jewish mourning customs in Germany of the
Middle Ages reflected significance attributed to Miriam and her well. The
second is related to laws and customs of Motzei Shabbat which touch upon
matters “between man and his fellow”.
Rabbi Shimon ben Tzadok, a close
disciple of the Maharam of Rotenberg, in the Tashbetz HaKatan, (447),
offers a traditional explanation for the local custom (magical in nature) of
pouring out water found in the home of a newly deceased: “The reason we pour out the water
[is that] when Miriam the prophetess died, the well ceased to function, as is
written: ‘And the community had no water to drink’ for it was in her merit that the well
accompanied them. And we signify that he (the deceased) was a great person, and
worthy of the waters ceasing because of him.” Miriam is presented here as per her image as drawn in the
Talmudic tradition; she was a
righteous woman, and it is proper and desirable to draw an analogy between her
and the deceased.
The next story
is somewhat more complex. It is closely tied to the miraculous nature of
Miriam’s Well. It is found in a number of sources, among them in Sefer
HaNahmani (one of the non-extant Halakhic books by the Tosafists).
From this volume, it made its way to an anthology of responsa of the Maharam of
Rotenberg, and, through it, to us. It seems that Jewish women used draw water immediately upon the
conclusion of the Shabbat, as attested to by the author of the Kol Bo (at
the end of the Laws of Havdala): “And the women used to draw water upon the
conclusion of the Shabbat, immediately upon hearing “Barechu”, for we
find in the aggada that Miriam’s Well is in the Sea of Tiberius, and
every Motzei Shabbat it visits all the springs and all the wells.” The
custom, then, was to go and draw water on Motzei Shabbat in order to receive
the blessings found in the waters thanks to their association with the the name
of Miriam. The Sefer HaNahmani
tells of a woman who was especially diligent in observance of this custom:
The Well of Miriam
is located in the Sea of Tiberius, and every Motzei Shabbat it visits all the
springs and all the wells, and anyone
who is sick and happens upon these waters and drinks thereof, even
though his entire body be covered with boils, he is immediately cured. Once there was a man who was afflicted
with boils. His wife went on Motzei Shabbat to draw water, and she was delayed
an hour or two. A miracle was performed on her behalf; she happened upon the
waters of Miriam’s Well, and she filled her pitcher with those waters. When she
returned to her husband, he was
angry with her, saying, Where were you?!
Because of her excitement,
the pitcher fell from her shoulder and was smashed. A few drops fell
upon his body; every spot touched by those drops was cured. Regarding this did
the Sages say that “The only thing gained by the angry person is his anger.”
Therefore, a person must relate to his wife in a pleasant manner.
This story
illustrates that moderation, rather than impetuosity and quickness to
anger, are values worth adopting,
for their opposite is liable to lead to loss of the blessings found in the
world. Moderation
and waiting are values found
in Miriam’s personality, and are woven through her life’s story. She waited for Moshe when he was on the Nile, but
she was impetuous in her speech, and was therefore punished. But when she was afflicted with tzaraat,
all Israel waited for her until she was cured and returned to the community
– recompense for her having waited for Moshe. Against this background, we can
well understand why it was the Well of Miriam – she who was punished with tzaraat
for laxity in mitzvot between man and his fellow man, especially those between
man and his wife – which possessed the potential for curing and rehabilitating.
This, of course, is conditional
upon mutual respect and strict attention to mitzvot between man and his fellow.
(Efrayim Shoham-Steiner is doctoral candidate
in the Jewish History Department of Hebrew University, and teaches in the
Himmelfarb School in Yerushalayim.
***
Can a serpent kill - can a serpent revive?
Hezkiyahu,
King of Judea, did four things, and his thought concurred with of the
Omnipresent: He hid a book of
remedies, and , and his thought concurred with of the Omnipresent; he crushed the copper serpent, , and
his thought concurred with of the Omnipresent . . . (Avot
D’Rabbi Natan, 2:4)
The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said to him: “Make yourself a
burning-snake . . . So Moshe made a viper of copper . . . (Bemidbar
21:8-9) And thus stood the
copper serpent; whenever a person was bitten, he would look upon it and be
healed. Until Hezkiyahu reigned and saw Israel going astray after it. He said;
Now whoever is in need of cure goes to this and ignores The Holy One, Blessed
Be He. He took it away, as is
written “And he crushed the copper serpent etc.” (II
Kings 18:4) People began to
protest: That which Moshe established you demolish? He replied: Whoever is need
of cure, let him look to The Holy One, Blessed Be He, and he will be cured, as is written “Men look to Him and
are radiant; let their faces not be downcast.”
(Midrash
Aggadat Bereishit, Chap 11)
Thus says Scripture: “The fruit of the righteous
is a tree of life; A wise man captivates people.” (Proverbs
11:30)
If one be righteous, even if he be a tzaddik, but does not engage
in Torah, he is empty handed. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life”
– this is Torah, for by being a ben Torah, he learns how to win over souls, as it
written, “A wise man captivates people.” For if he
vows to order souls, he learns from the Torah how to do so. And if he has no
Torah, he has nothing. So you find in the case of Yiftach the Giladi; because
he was not a ben Torah, he lost his daughter. When? When he waged war against the people of Ammon, and
vowed, as is written “And Yiftach made the following vow to the Lord . . .
whatever comes out . . . shall be the Lord’s and shall be offered by me as a
burnt offering.” (Judges 11:30-31) At that time, The Holy One, Blessed Be He, was angry with him. He said: Had there
come out of his house a dog or a pig or a camel, it would sacrifice it
before me? Therefore He arranged that his
daughter come out. What is the
purpose of this? So that all who vow will carefully learn the laws of vows and
oaths, so that they do not err in their vows.
“There
was his daughter coming out to meet him . . . on seeing her, he rent his
clothes and said ‘Alas, daughter . . . for I have uttered a vow to the Lord and
I cannot retract” (Ibid,
34-35) But Pinchas was
present!? Why did he say “I cannot retract”? But Pinchas said: I am a
high priest, how can I go to a boor?
Yiftach said: I am head of the judges of Israel, head of the officers –
I shall go before a commoner?! Between the two of them, the poor girl lost her
life. Both were liable for her blood. Pinchas – the Holy Spirit left him; Yiftach – his bones were
dispersed, as is written: “and he was buried in the towns of Gilead” (Ibid.
12:7)
Because he wanted to sacrifice her, she cried before him. His
daughter said to him, Father, I went out to greet you in joy, and now you
slaughter me? Did The Holy One, Blessed Be He, write in his Torah that Israel should offer up before The
Holy One, Blessed Be He, human
sacrifices? Does it not say in the Torah “When any of you presents an
offering of cattle to the Lord, he shall choose his offering from the herd” – from the herd, not
from humans. He replied: My
daughter, I vowed, “Whatever comes out of the door of my house . . . shall
be offered by me. . .” Can one
who has vowed not fulfill his vow? She said to him, Our father Jacob vowed, “From
all that you will give me I will give a tenth, (Bereishet
28:22)
and The Holy One, Blessed Be He,
give him twelve sons, did he offer up one? . . . All these things she
said to him, but he did not listen to her. When she saw that he was not
listening to her, she said, give me leave and I will go before a Bet Din,
perhaps they will find a way to release you of your vow . . she went before them, but they found no
way to nullify the vow, because of their sin in slaughtering members of the
tribe of Efrayim. . . . for God had concealed the Halacha from them, so
that they do not find a way to release Yiftach of his vow. He went up and slaughtered her. And the
Holy Spirit screams out: Did I want to offer before me that “which I never
commanded, never decreed, and never entered my thoughts”. (Jeremiah
19:5) I did not command
Avraham to slaughter his son, but I told him: “”Do not raise your hand
against the boy” – to notify to all the world of Abraham’s love, who did
not spare his only son from me, to perform the will of his Creator. I did not
tell Yiftach to sacrifice his daughter.
(Tanhuma,
BeHukotai, 5)
Editorial Board: Pinchas Leiser (Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator),
Itzhak Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein
Translation: Kadish Goldberg
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