Keep Your Mouth Open!

Misplaced humility that minimizes our ability to generate positive energy is a denial of G-d’s power. Never underestimate the power of positive speech and the power to correct the past when the power of speech was abused.

What did Moses do Wrong?

One of the most enigmatic narratives in the Torah is the one that appears in this week’s parsha concerning Moses’ attempt at producing water from a rock. When Miriam his sister dies, the miraculous well that traveled with them in the desert disappeared and their water supply cut off. When the Jews complained, Moses was told by G-d to take his staff and speak to the stone and it will produce water. Moses then strikes the rock with his staff and the water gushes forth. Everything seems fine until we read of how G-d reprimands Moses for doing something wrong and thereby not sanctifying G-d’s name.

The question as to what it was that Moses did wrong for which he was punished so severely—he would not live to enter the Promised Land—has occupied the minds of the greatest Jewish scholars.

According to Rashi, Moses’ error was that he struck the rock, when it did not initially produce the desired result, instead of speaking to it as he was commanded by G-d.

According to Maimonides, Moses’ error lies in the manner with which he responded to the Jewish people’s complaint. Moses got angry at them and berated them, and for that he was punished.

However, both of these interpretations do not appear to fit in with G-d’s words to Moses that he did not sanctify his name. What does not speaking to a stone or getting angry have to do with not sanctifying G-d’s name?

A Chassidic Approach

There is a Chassidic/mystical approach to this narrative that will help resolve these difficulties.

The author of the work Bat Ayin cites a Talmudic analysis of the Hebrew Alphabet. When it comes to the letter pei, which comes in two forms—a closed pei and an open one (that parallel the English letters of p and f)—it states: Peh sasum (a sealed mouth) and peh pasuach (an open mouth).

In order for one’s mouth should be open to elicit all of the positive energies through one’s power of speech, the mouth must first be closed so that nothing forbidden comes in to the body through the mouth and nothing unsavory leaves the person via his mouth.

The Power of Speech

To elaborate: The power of speech is what makes a human being unique. Our ability to communicate in an intelligent fashion is a distinct human trait. But what is even more unique about our power of speech is that it can change the world for the good. A directive that issues from a righteous person or an inspirational talk can inspire and influence countless others to do good. The ripple effect of this influence cannot be quantified.

Even where nobody hears the spoken word, human speech possesses powerful spiritual energy that can have an impact on the entire world; bringing blessing in its wake.

Thus G-d says to Moses, speak to the rock; recognize that your power of speech is sufficient to transform an inanimate rock into an endless source of refreshing water. Your words will make a difference!

Moses was about to comply with G-d’s instruction to him to speak to the rock when the scene of rebellious Jews provoked him and led him to utter the sharp words of reprimand suffused with indignant anger.

The Conventional Approach

When Moses realized what he had done—that his mouth that should have been closed and should not have been opened to utter those angry words—he felt that he no longer possessed the power to “open his mouth” to extract water from the rock. In Moses’ mind, his speech was no longer endowed with the capacity to generate the positive energy that would translate into refreshing water for the entire nation.

Moses thus decided that in the absence of his ability to produce water from a rock through his power of speech he would have to revert to the more direct and “conventional” method of striking the rock.

It might be suggested that Moses remembered how G-d told him to strike the rock to produce water close to forty years earlier when the Jews first left Egypt and complained about the lack of water. Moses might have wondered why G-d told him them to strike the rock and now he asked him to speak to it and he came up with the following analysis:

Before the Torah was given Moses had as serious speech impediment. Although it was a physical disability, it was a reflection that Moses’ power of speech was not yet sufficiently potent to generate the positive energy to extract water from a rock.

When Moses served as the conduit for transmitting the Torah to the Jewish people, our Sages tell us, he was healed. He now had neither the physical or spiritual speech impediment. Thus Moses reasoned that the power he possessed to generate blessing for others was intimately related to his use of speech to transmit Torah values. When he got angry, Moses felt—incorrectly—that he no longer had this power since his mouth that should have remained silent was not. In his mind he had no other choice; he had to extract the water employing the same pre-Sinai method that succeeded in the past.

Where did Moses go Wrong?

According to the analysis of Bas Ayin, Moses’ mistake— that was a product of his humility—was to deny the possibility that he had redeemed himself by acknowledging that he erred by uttering angry words at the people. Had Moses demonstrated that despite his misuse of his power of speech he had reversed that by doing Teshuvah (repentance, or return to the proper path of behavior) it would have demonstrated G-d’s greatness that He gives everyone the opportunity to redeem themselves.

And while it is certainly true that Moses’ miscalculation about the efficacy of his speech was a product of his humility, it was not accepted by G-d as a legitimate defense. To be humble is certainly a virtue. But to be humble at someone else’s expense is not. Had Moses given his power of speech more credibility that would have demonstrated how G-d was “great enough,” as it were, to forgive Moses’ angry outburst and restore his power of speech to do good.

Thus, Rashi’s and Maimonides’ explanations are complementary. Moses’ misuse—or perceived misuse—of speech—to vent his anger—led him to the erroneous conclusion that he could no longer use his power of speech to do good by commanding the rock to produce water. He therefore hit the rock instead of speaking to it and the lesson of G-d’s forbearance and power of forgiveness was lost on the people.

The Lessons

The lessons we learn from this narrative are many:

First, one must not sully G-d’s great gift to humanity; its ability to speak and communicate.

Second, the power and efficacy of our positive speech is tied to the measure of refinement of our speech.

Third, even if we do corrupt our power of speech, this does not mean we have lost our ability to produce water (literally, or metaphorically). By recognizing our mistake we restore the power of positive speech to its rightful place.

Fourth, we should never allow ourselves to deny our G-d given power of doing good. Misplaced humility that minimizes our ability to generate positive energy is a denial of G-d’s power. Never underestimate the power of positive speech and the power to correct the past when the power of speech was abused.

Why so much Negative Speech Lately?

There is also a special lesson we can learn from this episode with respect to the unique times we are in: on the very cusp of the Messianic Age.

Never before in history have we been inundated with all sorts of negative expressions of speech through all the modern media. The mouth that should have been sealed was and still is open to express the most vile, hateful and immoral words.

To counter abusive speech and the general abuse of speech, we must increase the use of our mouths for positive ends. Our mouths must be opened for prayer, Torah study and speaking well of others (while not shying away from criticizing immoral and illegal behavior). In particular, our power of speech should be used to implore G-d and demand of Him to bring an end to this exile and all its attendant miseries and bring us Moshiach, now!

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Chukas by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.