Chukat | The Decree Against Moshe Revisited

KMTT - the Torah Podcast · Jun 22, 2023 · 31m

Chukat | The Decree Against Moshe Revisited, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

The story of Moshe's striking the rock and the subsequent Divine decree, relieving him of his role as the leader, is a challenging one, both as far as the nature of the violation as well as the severity of the punishment relative to a seemingly "trivial" violation. We explore the unusual wording, repeated 3+1 time (thrice in command, once in fulfillment) of Moshe's death and propose a reevaluation of the commands and narrative of the "Meraglim" episode in Bamidbar 13. In comparing Hashem's command to Moshe, his directive to…