Dvar Torah - Chukas 5784

This week’s parsha tells us (Bamidbar 20:1) “The Children of Israel, the whole assembly, arrived at the wilderness of Zin in the first month and the people settled in Kadesh.”  Rashi explains that the old generation had passed away, and the Jewish people were “whole” and therefore the new generation was ready to proceed onto the land of Israel. However, before that could take place, Miriam died in Kadesh and the well of water dried up. After the people complained about the need for water, Moshe and Aharon were commanded to “speak to the rock before their eyes and it shall give its waters.” (Bamidbar 20:8). Unfortunately, Moshe and Aharon failed to carry out Hashem’s command properly, leading to Hashem’s irrevocable ban on Moshe and Aharon entering the land of Israel.

Immediately after this incident the Torah says that (Bamidbar 20:14) “Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh to the King of Edom” requesting permission to cross their land on the way to the land of Israel. Why does the Torah mention Kadesh in this pasuk? The Torah told us that the Jewish people settled in Kadesh (20:1). They were still in Kadesh when the tragic incident of the rock took place. Why does the Torah need to tell us that Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh?

Nechama Leibowitz suggests that the Torah wants to connect the messengers sent from Kadesh to Edom back to the arrival of the new generation in Kadesh. Even though the new generation’s journey from Kadesh to the land of Israel was interrupted by the incident with the Rock, and even though Moshe now knew that he could never enter Israel, Moshe was determined to push forward from Kadesh and continue his mission.

This is puzzling. Moshe just suffered the greatest disappointment of his life. The behavior of the Jewish people and his reaction caused him to forfeit his 40-year dream of leading the Jewish people into Israel. Why didn’t Moshe simply resign from his position or complain to Hashem about his fate? What enabled Moshe to immediately resume the process of proceeding forward to the land of Israel?

Rav Hirsch points out that Moshe would not let his personal disappointment and failure deter him from attempting to finish his mission. Moshe was “undaunted, not disconcerted by the fate that hung over him.” We can learn from Moshe an important lesson. One may suffer failures and disappointments in life. However, when one suffers a setback, one should not blame others or allow feelings of failure and self-pity to stop one from moving forward. When a professional boxer is knocked down to the canvas, he does not quit. Instead, he strives to get up and resume his fight. Likewise, we may not be able to realize all of our dreams and may experience failures. But just as Moshe was not deterred from his mission and immediately sent messengers to Edom, we should strive to rebound from our failures and resume our efforts. As the Mishnah states in Avos (2:21): “It is not upon you to complete the task, but you are not free to desist from it.”