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Parshat Chukkat
1997
"And Moshe and Aharon gathered the assembly before the rock and he (Moshe) said to them: 'Hear now, you rebels' " (Num. 20:10). God punished Moshe for this statement in which he characterized the Israelites categorically as "rebels." God told Moshe, "Therefore, you shall not bring the assembly into the land which I have given them." But what was his mistake exactly?
The Rabbis of the Midrash teach that all leaders of the Jewish people must be very careful when addressing and characterizing the community. To stereotype or to describe one's fellow Jews unfairly, judgmentally and uncharitably is behavior that contravenes the Jewish value of Shalom Bayit (Peace in one's home), and the Tanach (Torah-Prophets-Writings) is replete with proofs of this value.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah 5:5): "I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." God punished Isaiah for making such a personal, judgmental statement concerning the Children of Israel.
I Kings 18:10, as explicated in Yalkut Shimoni 764: Eliyahu (Elijah) said to God, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the Children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant" Elijah, too, was punished for this harsh characterization of the People Israel.
All Jews -- but particularly Jewish leaders, rabbis, and even Hillel directors, program directors and others staff members -- must be very careful when making categorical statements or judgments about the Jewish people or any of its segments. In the light of recent pronouncements made by some elements of our community which mischaracterize their fellow Jews and express gross disrespect toward these other segments of the Jewish community, Parashat Chukkat presents us challenge to which we must pay attention.
Again and again, our tradition emphasizes how important it is to pay attention to the name the Holy One has for things. Both rabbinic and folk Judaism share a deep respect for the power of names and the act of naming. We human beings name things according to their taxonomy, for example, the number of legs an animal has, or some other external criterion. But the Holy One names things according to what is inside them. And when it comes to our fellow human beings, no one knows our names truly until our last breath.
Prepared by Rabbi Kerry Baker, University of Texas-Austin Hillel
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