Abarbanel's Survey of Moshe's Sin, pt v

Abarbanel continues his survey of opinions on the identity Moshe's sin by Mei Merivah. (See previous segment here.)

10) This is one he saw from a contemporary chacham. This position is that Moshe did not sin. And if you find pesukim that seem to indicate his sin, other pesukim as well are found which seem to indicate that the punishment was not for a sin Moshe committed. These pesukim are:

{Devarim 3:26}

כו וַיִּתְעַבֵּר יְהוָה בִּי לְמַעַנְכֶם, וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֵלָי; וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלַי, רַב-לָךְ--אַל-תּוֹסֶף דַּבֵּר אֵלַי עוֹד, בַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה.

26 But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and hearkened not unto me; and the LORD said unto me: 'Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto Me of this matter.

and also in Tehillim 106:32-33:

לב וַיַּקְצִיפוּ, עַל-מֵי מְרִיבָה; וַיֵּרַע לְמֹשֶׁה, בַּעֲבוּרָם.	32 They angered Him also at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses because of them;
לג כִּי-הִמְרוּ אֶת-רוּחוֹ; וַיְבַטֵּא, בִּשְׂפָתָיו.	33 For they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips.

{though he only cites pasuk 32, not 33}.

And the intellect admits that a complete man such as Moshe would not, forfend, sin. And thus it is fitting to explain the verses which {appear to} inform about his sin, for so is the way of verses which {apparently} contradict one another. And we can say that when the verse says maaltem, meritem, lo heemantem, lo kidashtem, it would be of the same type as what was stated by Achan {in Yehoshua 7}

יא חָטָא, יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְגַם עָבְרוּ אֶת-בְּרִיתִי, אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִי אוֹתָם; וְגַם לָקְחוּ, מִן-הַחֵרֶם, וְגַם גָּנְבוּ וְגַם כִּחֲשׁוּ, וְגַם שָׂמוּ בִכְלֵיהֶם.

11 Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing; and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have even put it among their own stuff.

while it was only Achan who sinned, yet the nation is grouped in this. And certainly it is not difficult that when Israel is sinning and rebelling that Moshe and Aharon would be grouped among them, even though they did not sin. And indeed, the pasuk {in Bemidbar 20} says

יג הֵמָּה מֵי מְרִיבָה, אֲשֶׁר-רָבוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-ה; וַיִּקָּדֵשׁ, בָּם. {ס}

13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and He was sanctified in them. {S}

Thus, they strove with his Creator, and it is attributed to Moshe since he was among them, even though he did not sin. And so do you find by the manna {which people improperly went out to collect on Shabbat}, that Hashem said to Moshe {Shemot 16:28}:

כח וַיֹּאמֶר ה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה: עַד-אָנָה, מֵאַנְתֶּם, לִשְׁמֹר מִצְו‍ֹתַי, וְתוֹרֹתָי.

28 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?

and He included Moshe and Aharon in that statement even though they did not sin against Him, for this is they way of speaking. And yet, the punishment of Moshe, and his death, were for the sin of his generation, that they were not fit to enter the land, and therefore it states
לָכֵן, לֹא תָבִיאוּ אֶת-הַקָּהָל הַזֶּה, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-נָתַתִּי לָהֶם -- "therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them" and it says לֹא תָבִיאוּ, you shall not bring, and not lo tavou, you sall not enter. For this punishment was for Israel, and not for Moshe and Aharon. And it states vayekadesh bam {in the next pasuk in Bemidbar 20

יג הֵמָּה מֵי מְרִיבָה, אֲשֶׁר-רָבוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-ה; וַיִּקָּדֵשׁ, בָּם. {ס}

13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and He was sanctified in them. {S}

}

as it is stated {Tehillim 68}

לו נוֹרָא אֱלֹהִים, מִמִּקְדָּשֶׁיךָ: אֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל-- הוּא נֹתֵן עֹז וְתַעֲצֻמוֹת לָעָם; בָּרוּךְ אֱלֹהִים.

36 Awful is God out of thy holy places; {N} the God of Israel, He giveth strength and power unto the people; {N} blessed be God. {P}

{through His holy ones}
for it is clear that if Israel had entered the land via Moshe and Aharon, they would not have been so lazy in the conquest and land distribution, and they would not have left their enemies in the land.

{Though Abarbanel does not explicitly cite these pesukim, this channels the pesukim in Tehillim 106, when goes on from Moshe's punishment to being lazy in conquest:

לב וַיַּקְצִיפוּ, עַל-מֵי מְרִיבָה; וַיֵּרַע לְמֹשֶׁה, בַּעֲבוּרָם.	32 They angered Him also at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses because of them;
לג כִּי-הִמְרוּ אֶת-רוּחוֹ; וַיְבַטֵּא, בִּשְׂפָתָיו.	33 For they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips.
לד לֹא-הִשְׁמִידוּ, אֶת-הָעַמִּים-- אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהוָה לָהֶם.	34 They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them;
לה וַיִּתְעָרְבוּ בַגּוֹיִם; וַיִּלְמְדוּ, מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם.	35 But mingled themselves with the nations, and learned their works;
לו וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֶת-עֲצַבֵּיהֶם; וַיִּהְיוּ לָהֶם לְמוֹקֵשׁ.	36 And they served their idols, which became a snare unto them;

}

And it is already found within Chazal words which support this position. They say in masechet Shabbos, perek bameh beheimah: The ministering angels asked Hashem, "why did you impose the fine of death upon the First Man. Hashem said: I commanded him a light commandment and he was unable to keep it. They said: If so, Moshe and Aharon who kept the entire Torah, why didyou impose death upon them? He said to them {Kohelet 9:2}: "It is the same happening to a righteous man and to a wicked man."

And this informs that Moshe our master did not sin, but rather that he was complete and his Torah was complete.

And this position is also not correct, for it contradicts the verses in this sidra {of Chukat} in the death of Aharon, and in the sidra of Pinchas. And at the end of the sidra of Haazina, the Torah informs that Moshe and Aharon did not enter the land because of what they sinned at Mei Merivat Kadesh, and that this was not a punishment to Israel, but rather to them.

{However, I think one might salvage some portion of this, by having certain pesukim talking about Israel's rebellion. I might add that after 40 years, Moshe and Aharon should have instilled in the Bnei Yisrael the proper attitude, and this lack on Israel's part was therefore their leaders' fault. Lo Heemantam (rather than tem) Bi, velo kidashtem et shemi. Such that the people had this reaction.}