Parshat Chukas: Positive Reinforcement

When the Jewish people are exalted and seen in their true spiritual light nature “feels” comfortable and more than willing to acquiesce to their needs. In this way, nature facilitates their dedication to the ideals of Judaism they so strongly identify with and for which everything was created in the first place.

Talk to the Rock!

One of the three major miracles the Jewish nation experienced in the desert had come to an end. The Manna that descended from heaven, our Sages teach us, came in the merit of Moses. The clouds of glory that surrounded and protected the Jewish nation came in the merit of Aaron, and the water supply that emerged from a rock that traveled with them in the desert came in the merit of Miriam.

Now that Miriam had passed on, the rock stopped supplying water to the multitudes. And when they realized they were in a barren and arid desert they complained to Moses, as was their wont. G-d then instructed Moses to take his staff and talk to the rock so that it would provide water once again.

Moses harshly rebuked the people, addressing them with the introductory words: “Listen, you rebels!” Moses then took his staff, struck the rock twice and water gushed forth.

G-d was upset with Moses and strongly reproved him for not doing the right thing. It was for this reason that he was not allowed to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land.

Why was G-d so upset at Moses? What did he do wrong? The Jews demanded water, Moses struck the rock and it miraculously produced water. What’s so terrible about that?

Two Explanations

Commentators who grappled with this question have come up with multiple answers. The two most prominent explanations were given by Rashi and Maimonides, respectively According to Rashi, Moses was faulted for striking the rock instead of speaking to it as G-d had so expressly commanded him. According to Maimonides, Moses was rebuked since he angrily referred to the Jews as rebels in reaction to the way they demanded water.

The great Chassidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, in his classic work Kedushas Levi, sheds light on this narrative and demonstrates that the interpretations of Rashi and Maimonides are interconnected. The following is an adaptation of his commentary:

Two Approaches

There are two ways to influence others to do the right thing. The first approach is to uplift them by telling them how much G-d loves them; the preciousness of the G-dly soul they possess; the beauty of Torah and Mitzvos; and the incredible pleasure their observance brings to G-d. Indeed, the entire cosmos, including the physical universe and all of the spiritual worlds, are uplifted and experience phenomenal delight when a Jew does even one Mitzvah!

This approach is not patronizing or condescending. Even the most sinful individual possesses a G-dly soul. Praise of even the sinful individual allows the person to get in touch with his or her inner holiness.

The other approach is to harshly scold the recalcitrant members of the community for their errant behavior or their slack initiative in doing good. In this approach the focus is on their animal soul’s lowliness. This approach is often accompanied with threats of punishment and warnings of negative consequences. In many situations this approach works well because of the psychological pressure it brings to bear on the individual. Ultimately, this individual will feel “compelled” to comply with G-d’s will.

Although the result appears to be identical—the individual is lead to the Mitzvah or pulled away from the transgression—the effects of the two approaches cannot be further apart.

Mastery over Creation

When one extols the virtue of the Jewish people, the entire universe “bends” to conform to their needs. After all, as Rashi states in his commentary on the very first word of the Torah, Bereishis, “the entire world was created for Torah and Israel (the people).”

The very word Israel can actually be translated as: “Having mastery over the G-dly forces of nature.” That power is a built in part of existence. When nature “sees” the Jewish people’s need to follow the Torah it recognizes that it must conform to those needs.

However, when we fail to promote the greatness of the Jewish people, and instead denigrate them, the world does not feel compelled to accede to their needs. The world looks at the Jewish nation and sees a people like any other. Their weaknesses belie their true G-dly nature. To the rest of creation, these weak individuals appear no different from any other part of the natural order, nay, even inferior to it. And while specific individuals may indeed exhibit animalistic tendencies, the mere focus on it by others casts that individual in a weak position vis-à-vis the rest of nature. This is particularly so for people like Moses, whose word carries weight in all of the physical and spiritual realms.

In this situation of weakness, nature must be “forced” to comply with the needs of the Jewish people. It requires greater exertion because nature does not feel the need to alter its course to accommodate a lowlier part of existence and thereby facilitate its deviant ways.

The Connection

We can now understand how Moses’ speaking harshly to the Jewish people, calling them rebels, actually forced him to strike the rock instead of just speaking to it about producing water. Moses, the consummate leader of the Jewish people, called them rebels and, in effect, reduced their profile in the eyes of the natural order. Thus, “nature,” i.e., the rock, resisted providing water. Why would the rock yield to mere soft-spoken speech to go against its own G-d given nature? The rock therefore resisted Moses’ attempt at speaking to it softly to give water.

Had Moses extolled the Jewish people and focused on their G-dliness and the beauty of their trust and the faith that they had exhibited in the past, his testimony would have been able to penetrate even a hard rock and it would have enthusiastically gushed its supply of waters. His talking to the rock would have meant addressing nature’s willing subordination to the needs of Israel. By speaking to the rock, Moses would have essentially been saying to it, “You were created to serve the interests of Israel! Now, proceed to give them water! This is your true calling.” And the rock would have given no resistance.

However, when Moses used the harsh rebuke and labeled the Jewish nation as rebels, the rock failed to recognize their preeminent role in this world and refused to alter its own nature. Nature has an innate sense of who is worthy of its service and before whom it must bow.

How Could Moses Have Erred?

An important question still remains. How could it be that Moses, the greatest leader, would so misjudge the situation and use the harsh approach knowing that the soft approach is far more effective?

The answer lies in the historical reality. The Jewish people were in the beginning stage of their journey and had not yet had the opportunity to prove their true inner G-dly spirit. We all know that while praise and positive reinforcement works wonders with some, it has the opposite effect on others. A child whose talents are so covered up cannot be helped by mere praise. A harsher approach might have to be used.

In truth, Moses did not really err. At the time this event transpired, Moses’ actions were indeed the right ones. They were only wrong if used out of context. This is true of all the reported sins of the greatest tzadikim. Although the Torah characterizes some of the actions of the Patriarchs, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Kings David and Solomon as sinful, in truth, Chassidic thought teaches us that they were not really sinful actions, in the literal sense of the word.

The “sins” of tzadikim-the righteous describe a decline from their lofty spiritual heights; not a gesture of independence, rebelliousness, ego, desire, etc., the classical culprits in our world of iniquity. Furthermore, Chassidus explains, the decline of the tzadik is actually orchestrated by G-d to serve two objectives.

The first is that declining from their spiritual heights energizes them to climb even higher. This is the tzadik’s version of the Ba’al Teshuvah, the penitent or returnee, whose actual sins and the remorse for them propel him or her to a more passionate attachment to G-d. Similarly, when the tzadik “falters” he or she is given the opportunity to be catapulted to an even higher level.

The second benefit of the tzadik’s decline is for everyone else to learn an important lesson from it that applies to us in our own spiritual lives.

The Lesson for Our Generation: Love it and Live it!

What Moses did in his generation may have been proper for that period and for those people, but it is not proper for our generation, situated on the crossroads of history— on the threshold of the Messianic Era. Our generation is, paradoxically, both very delicate and very strong.

On the one hand, it is fragile and cannot endure too much negative pressure. We carry the weight and burden of millennia of persecution and pain. Particularly, as the first generation after the Holocaust, we, as a general rule, cannot be spoken to harshly. The only way one can penetrate the darkness in our world is through light.

On the other hand, our generation is the strongest and can best handle positive reinforcement, because all the positive energy we possess is so close to the surface. Thousands of years of cumulative good have left an indelible mark on our collective psyche. We respond well to praise and positive energy.

Our approach today to our fellow Jew is: “We are members of a holy nation and G-d has chosen us to be on the cutting edge of spiritual growth. We are distinguished members of the last generation of exile and the first generation of Redemption! So love it and live it!”

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