Shabbat Greetings
Rabbi Malinger is currently on sabbatical until Monday, August 18, 2025. Even though he is taking the time to restore his spiritual wellness and taking a course to strengthen professional skills, he wanted to share different perspectives of the weekly Torah portion from his fellow rabbinic colleagues in the Reform Movement – please enjoy.
Rabbi Amy Schneiderman of Columbia, Maryland,shares: The incident of the Waters of Meribah (20:1–13) in this week’s Torah portion, Chukat (Numbers 19:1-22:1) has inspired numerous and conflicting interpretations. Rashi, echoing Midrash Tanchuma (interpretations of the Torah written as mini-sermons), says that Moses and Aaron’s sin was in striking the rock twice.
Had Moses and Aaron only spoken, the people would have said: “If this rock, which neither hears nor speaks, nonetheless obeys the Holy Blessed One, how much more so should we!” Had Moses not struck the rock, his words would thus have sanctified God before all Israel. Ramban asks: If Rashi is correct, why does God instruct Moses and Aaron to take the rod (v. 8), implying Moses should use the rod, as in Exodus 7:15–17. And if their sin was failing to speak to the rock, verse 8 affirms that the rock “heard” the words they spoke to the Israelites. Rather, their sin was in asking, “Can we draw water from the rock for you?” thereby implying that they performed the miracle, not God. Similarly, Rabbeinu Chananel says (v. 12) refers not to Moses and Aaron, but rather to the Israelites.
In striking the rock twice, Moses and Aaron were engaged in self-aggrandizement, making it appear that they, not God, brought forth water. In this way, they failed to teach the Israelites to trust in God. Rambam argues that Moses’s failure was in his outburst of anger; as Israel’s leader and role model, Moses’s behavior profaned God’s name. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks ask whether, in the shadow of the death of Miriam, after thirty-nine long years leading the Israelites, Moses felt alone and burned out. The story holds up a mirror to us.
This Shabbat, as we celebrate our nation’s 249th year of independence, the story of Moses striking the rock invites us to pause and reflect on the weight of leadership, the cost of frustration, and the subtle temptation to place ourselves at the center of a story that is ultimately larger than us. “How?” becomes a powerful and complex question:
How do we sustain faith and integrity in leadership when weariness sets in? Moses, after decades of burden and sacrifice, breaks in a moment of anger—perhaps grief-stricken over Miriam, disillusioned, or simply exhausted. In our own time, we too witness leaders under pressure, tempted to substitute showmanship for humility, or rhetoric for accountability. The call to lead with calm, clarity, and reverence is never easy—but it remains vital.
How do we ensure our national strength does not become a story of self-reliance but of shared values and divine purpose? Just as Moses and Aaron’s misstep was to shift the focus from God to themselves, we must guard against the illusion that freedom and prosperity are achievements of human power alone. Independence is not the absence of responsibility—it is its deepening.
How do we, as individuals and as a nation, respond to moments of frustration or fear—with trust or with anger? The Israelites cried out for water; Moses responded with words of reproach and a blow to the rock. Do we, in our civic discourse and community life, lash out when demands grow loud, or can we find a way to respond with dignity and faith?
Rabbi Sacks’s insight—that Moses may have felt alone—echoes deeply in a time when many feel isolated in the face of division, complexity, and change. The Torah doesn’t simply criticize Moses; it reveals his humanity. In doing so, it holds up that mirror to us: How do we respond when we’re tired, challenged, or grieving? What kind of legacy do we shape—not only in moments of strength but in our moments of struggle?
As we mark 249 years of American independence, may we be reminded that true freedom is not the power to do whatever we want—but the wisdom to choose what is right. May we honor our past, confront our present with honesty, and shape a future of hope, humility, and shared responsibility.
SHABBAT SHALOM