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Paradox in the Parsha - The Paradoxes of Chukas and Judaism

Parshas Chukas contains two of the most baffling questions in the Torah. One spiritual and the other logical. The most famous of these is the spiritual question and it concerns the Para Adumah, the Red Cow. The purification process of the Red Cow lifts tumaa, impurity, off a man who had come in contact with a corpse, but the Kohen who purifies him becomes impure. How can a thing which purifies also cause impurity? This is a question considered utterly baffling and deemed a decree which cannot be understood. The other question is the logical one. Why is Moshe punished in this Parsha and prevented from entering the Land of Israel? What was the nature of his offense? Both questions are really the same question. Moshe, like the Kohen, had labored on behalf of the Jews. They entered the land, he did not. Like the Kohen, he instead became "impure". Indeed G-d's indictment charges that Moshe had failed to make G-d holy in the eyes of the Jews. Lehakdisheni Leyenei Yi...
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Parshas Chukas - The Word and the Stone

Moshe being barred from entering the Land of Israel is a pivotal moment in Jewish history and also one of the more baffling ones. Why is Moshe kept out of the land? What is the real difference between striking a rock and speaking to the rock? Is there a practical difference beyond G-d's command? And why was Aaron, who appears to have little involvement, also dragged into this? To begin with, let's examine the two incidents. First early on, not long after leaving Egypt, Moshe is confronted by a crowd demanding water. G-d tells him to strike the rock. He does it. Water comes out. Second, rather late in the journey, as they approach the Land of Israel, the assembly demands water. G-d tells him to speak to the rock. He strikes it instead. Let's begin by comparing and contrasting the two incidents. Both times Moshe is told to take his staff. But the second time Aaron is included in the command, the first time he is not. The early plagues and miracles were carried out by Aaron us...
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