Reflections on leadership and mistakes: analysis of Parshat Pinchas

(12) The LORD said to Moses, “Ascend these heights of Abarim and view the land that I have given to the Israelite people. (13) When you have seen it, you too shall be gathered to your kin, just as your brother Aaron was. (14) For, in the wilderness of Zin, when the community was contentious, you disobeyed My command to uphold My sanctity in their sight by means of the water.” Those are the Waters of Meribath-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin. (15) Moses spoke to the LORD, saying,

And the Lord said to Mosheh, Go up to this mount, of Abaraee, and survey the land which I have given to the children of Israel.

עלה אל הר העברים, “ascend Mount Avarim, etc.” Nachmanides writes that the true name of the mountain was Nebo, as has been spelled out in Deut. 32,49 and elsewhere. The reason it has been referred to here by a different name, one that reflects its precise location, is that it is near the place where the river Jordan would be crossed by the Israelites. It is approximately directly opposite the ancient city of Jericho. The word עלה!, an imperative, was not meant to be complied with immediately, otherwise how could Moses have waited until after the 12000 men engaged in the punitive expedition against Midian had returned from there before ascending that mountain?. The reason why this command is reported here is that the Torah wanted to tell us that when Moses would ascend that mountain he would be shown the various locations where the different tribes would settle, and he would, at least, have the satisfaction of having seen all this with his own eyes.

Why is this placed here. Meaning that Mount Avarim is Mount Nevo, and when Moshe went up to Mount Nevo he did not come down. [Rather] he died there immediately, as is written in Parshas Vezos Haberachah (Devarim 32:49). Thus, “Why was this placed here…”

. עלה אל הר העברים הזה, “ascend this mountain of Avarim.” The reason this paragraph is appended to the legislation about inheritance is that Moses wanted to know who would inherit his status (Ibn Ezra).

עלה אל הר העברים, “ascend the Mount Avarim!;” what is missing before this verse is that Moses had prayed to cross the Jordan, even as a private in order to see the Holy and, and that G-d had told him that he would see it only from afar, i.e. from the top of Mount Avarim. [Compare Deuteronomy 3,23, Ed.]

עלה אל הר העברים GO UP INTO [THIS] MOUNT ABARIM — Why does this follow immediately here? Because when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, (v. 17) “Thou shalt surely give them an inheritance in the land” he (Moses) said, “It is me that the Omnipresent has commanded to apportion the inheritance. Perhaps then the decree that I must die in the wilderness is annulled and I shall enter the Promised Land!” Whereupon God said to him, “My decree remains exactly as it was” (Midrash Tanchuma, Pinchas 9). — Another explanation: As soon as Moses entered into the territory of the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben (the eastern side of the Jordan, which, having been assigned to these tribes, might be regarded as part of the Promised Land), he rejoiced, saying, “It seems to me that the vow regarding me has been annulled in my favour”. God, therefore, said to him, My decree remains exactly as it was. A parable! It may be compared to the case of a king who decreed against his son that he should not enter the door of his palace. He (the king) entered within the gate, and he (the son) went after him (without the father raising any objection); to the audience chamber, and he after him. But as soon as he was about to enter his sleeping-chamber (his private room) he said to him, “My son, from here and further on you may not go” (Sifrei Bamidbar 134:4).

(Bamidbar 27:13) "Then you will see it (Eretz Yisrael), and you will be gathered to your people — you, too — as Aaron your brother was gathered" — whence we are apprised that Moses lusted after such a death.

And thou shalt see it, but thou thyself self shalt be gathered to thy people, as Aharon thy brother hath been gathered:

Another interpretation: You are no better than he. That is to say, that just as he died because of this sin, so too will you die. [One might ask why] Rashi brings the other interpretation here? He does not [mention it] later in Parshas Haazinu (Devarim 32:50) where he only explains “that he yearned.” Similarly, [why he did not bring it] above in Parshas Chukas (Bamidbar 20:26)? It appears that usually the Torah writes, “As was gathered … על אשר מריתם ["because you disobeyed"]" but here it writes, “As was gathered … כאשר מריתם [lit. "like you (pl.) disobeyed"]” which implies that the reason why he would be gathered in like Aharon was because he sinned like him. Therefore Rashi also explains the other interpretation that “You are no better than he.” R. Yaakov Triosh.

וראיתה אתה "and when you have seen it, etc." G'd did not limit Himself to the previous words וראה את הארץ, "and view the land, etc," in verse 12. The Torah wanted to indicate that Moses was enabled to see the land by means of a miracle, i.e. his power of vision was expanded. What Moses beheld could not be seen by ordinary man who is equipped to see only with the help of sunlight; rather it was required that G'd put at Moses' disposal the light which G'd had hidden after Adam had sinned, the light created on the first day of creation (compare Sifri volume 1 item 136). This is also the light G'd put at Moses' disposal in Deut. 34,1. where He showed him the whole of the land of Israel.

גם אתה כאשר נאסף אהרון, "also you, just as Aaron was gathered in, etc." This is best explained by reference to Yalkut Shimoni at the beginning of Parshat Massay. We are told there that when Aaron was about to die he told Moses that had he known death was something so pleasant he would have wanted to die even sooner. The Torah wrote גם אתה "also you" immediately next to the word ונאספת, "you will die," in order for Moses to understand that his own death would be just as pleasant as that of his brother Aaron had been. When Moses would realise the nature of his death he too would wish that he had died even sooner. An additional meaning of these words is that G'd wanted Moses to do what all righteous people are supposed to do before they die, namely to acknowledge that G'd's justice as applied to them was fair. The person who is about to die should welcome G'd's decision that he die at that time. By saying: "also you will be gathered up to your people," G'd hinted that Moses should acknowledge the justice of G'd's decree in letting him die at this time and at this place. The classic example for this type of attitude is King David in Psalms 31,6 where he said: "I place my spirit in Your hand."

כאשר נאסף אהרן אחיך, “just as your brother Aaron has been gathered.” G-d refers to the reason of their dying before entering the Holy Land, not to the manner of their death, seeing that Moses had buried his brother Aaron, whereas no none was present at his own death. Their “premature” death had been due to their having failed to exploit an opportunity to sanctify the Holy Name of Hashem. (Numbers 20,12). This is what Rashi comments on our verse. He adds that this verse is really not at the place where we would have expected it. It really belonged to the portion of Haazinu, where the Torah describes the sin of Moses and Aaron in different terms, i.e. violating a negative commandment not just failing to observe a positive commandment. (Compare Deuteronomy 32,51) According to the commentary in Sifri, the verse is appropriate here as the sin Moses and Aaron had been guilty of occurred in the desert of Tzin, immediately after Miriam had died and been buried, not in the fields of Moav where Moses made his final speech to the nation. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar is on record as saying that both Moses and Aaron died prematurely as a result of failing to sanctify the name of G-d as stated in Numbers 20. It is possible that out of deference to the image of Moses and Aaron, Rashi preferred not to mention the statement of Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar. He only quoted the last item in that comment by Sifri.

כאשר נאסף אהרן אחיך [THOU SHALT BE GATHERED TO THY PEOPLE] AS AARON THY BROTHER WAS GATHERED — From this it is evident that Moses longed for a death similar to that of Aaron (cf. Rashi on Numbers 20:26). — Another explanation: you will die as he died (in the wilderness) because you are no better than he (Midrash Tanchuma, Pinchas 9). — Such indeed is suggested by (Deuteronomy 32:50. 51): “[and die … as Aaron thy brother died …] because you sanctified me not”. Thus it follows, if ye (both of you) had sanctified me your time would not have yet come to depart this life and you would not have died in the wilderness (Sifrei Bamidbar 137:1). In every passage where it writes about their death you will find that it writes about their offence. Because a decree had been made against the generation of the wilderness (those who left Egypt) that they should die in the wilderness on account of the sin that they did not have faith in God, therefore Moses requested that the nature of his offence should be stated in the Torah, so that people might not say, “He, too, was one of those “rebels”. A parable: It may be compared to the case of two women who were punished by the Court; one was an immoral woman and one had merely eaten unripe figs of the sabbatical year’s growth. The latter, therefore, requested that the nature of her offence might be made public, and they did so by proclamation. So, too, here: wherever it mentions their death it mentions also their misdeed, in order to make it known that there was only this single sin in them (Tanchuma 4:6:10 on חקת; Yoma 86b; cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 137:2).

because you were disobedient against My Word in the desert of Zin, in the congregation at the Waters of Strife, to sanctify Me at the waters in their sight: these are the Waters of Strife in the desert of Zin.

(Bamidbar 27:14) "when you flouted My command in the desert of Tzin in the contention of the congregation": R. Shimon b. Elazar says: Moses and Aaron, too, died by kareth ("cutting-off"), as it is written (Devarim 32:51) "because you did not sanctify My name, etc." (the implication being) if you had sanctified Me, your time would not yet have come to die.

They had no other sins. That is to say, that they had only the sin of the waters of dispute, but no other sin. Accordingly, this refers to Moshe and Aharon.

הם מי מריבת קדש, “they are the waters of strife at Kadesh.” This verse demonstrates that neither Moses nor Aaron had been guilty of any other sin. the word הם, “they,” means “these only and none other.”

המה מי מריבת קדש THEY, THE WATERS OF MERIBA IN KADESH — they alone were the cause of their death: there was no other sin in them. — Another explanation is: it was they (the waters) which were the cause of their rebellion at Marah (Exodus 16:23-24), it was they which made them rebel at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:11—12) and yet it was they which made them rebel here in the wilderness of Zin.

Two goodly leaders arose for Israel — Moses and David king of Israel. Moses said to the Holy One Blessed be He: L-rd of the universe, I have transgressed. Let it be written after me, so that men not say: It seems that Moses has fabricated the Torah or that he has written something which he was not commanded to write. An analogy: A king decreed that one who ate unripe figs shevi'ith of (the sabbatical year) be pilloried. She: Please publicize my fault so that people not say: It must be that she was caught in niuf (illicit relations) or in witchcraft. When they see shevi'ith figs strung around my neck, they will know that it is because of this that I am being pilloried. Thus did our teacher Moses say before the Holy One Blessed be He: Let my transgression be written down after me. The Holy One: I will write that it was only because of your lapse at the waters (of Marah), viz. (Bamidbar 27:14) [This, your death, was decreed] "when you flouted My command in the desert of Tzin in the contention of the congregation, etc."

Rabbi Yochanan said: All the days of that tzaddik [Choni HaMaagel] … He said, “Is it possible for someone to sleep seventy years?” Once, while traveling, he noticed a man planting a charuv (carob tree). He said to him, “Since the carob tree does not bear fruit for seventy years, is it so obvious to you that you’ll live seventy years to eat from it?” The man answered him, “I found a world with carob trees. Just as my fathers planted for me, I, too, am planting for my children.” [Choni] sat down to eat a meal. Drowsiness overcame him and he slept. A grotto formed around him and covered him from sight. Thus, he slept for seventy years. When he woke, he noticed a man eating from that carob tree. “Do you know who planted this carob tree?” he asked him. “My grandfather,” answered the man. “Surely I must have slept seventy years,” [Choni] said. He saw his donkey, which had given birth to several generations of mules (Taanit 23a) .

He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it; If you have studied much Torah, you shall be given much reward. Faithful is your employer to pay you the reward of your labor; And know that the grant of reward unto the righteous is in the age to come.