People have limits. There is only so much a mortal is willing to put up with and when the beneficiary of your kindness fails to show appreciation, it’s inevitable that the kindness flow will dry up. G-d works on a different level.
In this week’s parsha we learn of the passing of Miriam, Moshe’s sister. The loss of such a legendary woman was compounded by the fact that the rock that had been miraculously providing water for the millions of Israelites in the desert for forty years suddenly dried up. It was finally revealed that the water miracle had been in her merit and the nation now faced an existential crisis.
After forty years of dedicated and proven leadership you’d think that the people would approach Moshe and Aharon respectfully and inquire how they will procure water. Astonishingly, a violent riot broke out to the point that Moshe and Aharon fled from the mob into the Mishkan and needed to be protected by a divine cloud. G-d instructed Moshe and Aharon to restart the water flow by speaking to the rock. As millions of Jews gathered to witness the miracle, Moshe mistakenly spoke to the wrong rock which did not give forth water. Remembering that forty years previously G-d had instructed him to strike the rock and it gave forth water, he did the same now and, miraculously, water started flowing. The nation breathed a joyous sigh of relief, astounded by the miracle of water once again flowing from the rock through Moshe’s strike, but G-d was displeased. The plan was for the rock to bring forth water as a result of Moshe speaking to it, not by hitting it. Consequently G-d decreed that Moshe and Aharon would pass away in the desert without meriting to enter the Promised Land. There is so much depth to the story and myriads of interpretations and lessons we can learn from it. In 1982 as Israel faced unbearable security challenges in the heat of the First Lebanon War the Rebbe explained that this story illustrates that Jews are worthy of experiencing miracles regardless of their spiritual level. Think about it: the Israelites in the desert were in such a spiritual rut that they attempted to lynch the saintly Moshe and Aharon who had faithfully taken care of their needs for forty years. Nevertheless G-d wanted these lowlives to experience the awesome miracle of a rock giving forth water as a result of being spoken to, and when Moshe and Aharon denied this experience from them unintentionally, they were severely punished. This Shabbat marks 93 years since the Previous Rebbe was released from Soviet captivity. The Soviets had sentenced him to death for keeping Judaism alive behind the Iron Curtain, but through a string of fantastic miracles he was freed on the 12th of Tammuz, within a month of his arrest . (Read more about it here.) As we celebrate our miraculous peoplehood through history may we merit very soon to experience the ultimate miracle - the redemption of the world through Moshiach when goodness and peace will reign for all.