A True Captain Never Bans Ship

B”H

The small town of Chelm was always known for its genuine goodness and sincere qualities. In order to inspire the youth to go on to higher education, the entire town would come to the elementary school graduation event.

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Each student from the graduating class would proudly walk up to the stage and receive his/her diploma and smile at the cameras as the town cheered them on. After all the students were called, it became apparent that a sixteen-year-old farmer boy named Sol, once again did not pass the required exams to move on.

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?Everyone in town was upset seeing poor Sol sit there amongst all the other graduates and not be given a diploma. Suddenly the Dean of Students became very anxious as the crowd started chanting, “GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE!” “GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE!”

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Under pressure, the Principal quickly called a staff meeting on the side of the podium to discuss Sol`s predicament. After a few minutes of loud chanting, the crowd fell silent as the Dean came to the microphone to address the town:

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“After further discussion with our educational staff, we have decided to give young Sol another chance. The crowd erupted in celebration. We are going to have Sol solve one mathematical problem. If he gets the answer correct, he will graduate today if he does not he will need to stay on.” The town once again erupted in cheer.

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The Dean then asked Sol to please come forward and he beckoned him to the chair next to the desk and handed him a pencil, and a pad of paper to use to work out the mathematical equation.

The head of the mathematics department stood up looked at young Sol and said In order for you to survive in the world it is imperative for you to know basic math! How much is 4+4?

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Young Sol worked at the problem for quite a few minutes, every once in a while writing something then down, crossing it out and moving on to another sheet of paper. He finally stood up in front of the crowd and read his answer shyly into the microphone.” Sir, I believe the answer to be 8.”

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Suddenly the entire town of Chelm erupted into louder chanting, “GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE! GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE!”

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In this week's Parsha read in Israel Chukas Moshe is asked by Hashem to speak to the rock so that the water will come out and quench the thirst of the angry Jewish people. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moshe hits the rock twice and suddenly the water starts gushing forward. Hashem punishes Moshe for this action of hitting the rock instead of speaking to it by not allowing him to enter the Holy Land with the Jewish nation. Instead, he will be buried in the desert.

One who reads the magnitude of this punishment should find himself chanting GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE! Moshe has been loyal his entire life. G-d himself writes that there will be no other that will serve him better than Moshe. So why is Hashem being so tough with Moshe? The sages teach us that Moshe already agreed not to enter the Holy Land alive, however he begged Hashem to at least let my body be buried in the Holy Land and this request was also denied. Hashem knew instinctively that by hitting the rock instead of speaking to it that Moshe possessed the mentality of the previous generation. And this was the dawn of a new era, and that approach no longer worked. But this entire episode begs for a more basic understanding.

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I would like to answer the question with a short story about Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman Z``TL.

Who spent seventeen months in the United States towards the end of 1937. As the head of the Yeshiva Ohel Torah in Baronovichy, Belarus under the Russian Empire, he raised tens of thousands of dollars. During this time many Jews in the USA tried convincing the Rosh Yeshiva to stay in the USA because of all the impending war in Europe.

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Rabbi Wasserman explained that a captain of a ship stays with his shipmates eventhough the ship might sink. His followers are in Europe waiting for his return and a leader does not leave in order to protect himself.

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According to Chasidus, this is the silent message Hashem was telling Moshe. The people that you led out of Egypt did not make it into the Holy Land. The people entering are a new generation. Your people died in the desert. In the end of times I will send Mashiach ( The Messiah in Judaism eschatology; the part of theology concerned with death, judgment and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind, is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jewish people) so that the Jewish people will look for your remains in order to resurrect you from the grave, The Midresh (an expansive Jewish Biblical study using a rabbinic mode of interpretation prominent in the Talmud) explains that when they come looking for your remains they will also find their remains. Just as you were their leader in life so you must continue to lead them in your death.

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Chasidus also explains that each and every Jew has a piece of Moshe’s soul buried deep inside of them. Since Moshe is synonymous with Torah, each time a Jewish person is engaging in Torah, he is communicating through the special spark of Moshe inside of them.

This is why his burial spot is unknown since he is buried amongst each and every one of us.

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Have a wonderful Shabbos.

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Yitzchok Friedman?