Parashat Chukat centers on the episode of “Mei Merivah” – when Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God had commanded. According to Rashi, this act caused a Chilul Hashem. But other commentators, including the Ramban, Ibn Ezra, and the Ohr HaChaim, argue that the true failure lay in Moses’ harsh words: “Listen, you rebels.”
Rabbi Yeshayahu Pinto teaches that every word spoken by a person carries immense spiritual weight. “That which comes out of your mouth – observe and fulfill,” the Torah commands. In Numbers 30:3, it states, “He shall not break his word; according to whatever comes out of his mouth, he shall do.” Words spoken aloud activate spiritual processes that are not easily reversed.
The rabbi recounts a story from the time of the Baal Shem Tov. A man once uttered a negative remark about another during a moment of anger. In Heaven, that statement was recorded and sealed, and a decree of death was issued against the one he spoke of. The Baal Shem Tov warned that this was not merely a sin—it was a spiritual act of judgment.
Moses, standing before the people and the rock, held two options. If he spoke, it would be a sign that the nation had merit – that they deserved water through speech alone. If he struck the rock, it would mean they lacked merit, and only a miracle beyond nature could deliver the water. When Moses opened with “Listen, you rebels,” he downgraded their spiritual standing. From that moment, the water could no longer come through merit but only through force.
The staff Moses used was no ordinary object. According to tradition, it was the staff passed down from Adam to the Patriarchs, used to perform the Ten Plagues and split the Red Sea. It was a tool for supernatural intervention in moments when the people had no merit. In the absence of Miriam, whose merit had previously sustained the water supply, the people needed either their own worthiness – or another miracle.
God’s anger was not over the mechanics of the miracle but over the message it sent. The people could have received water through speech, affirming their dignity. Instead, Moses’ choice of words closed that gate. “You shall decree a word – and it will be established for you,” says Job 22:28. The decree had already gone forth from Moses’ own lips.
This article was originall culled from The Jerusalem Post and written in cooperation with Shuva Israel
