Why wasn't Moses allowed in to the promised land?

Poor Moses. After all he did. Forty years of putting up with the Israelites kvetching and of having to go, kipa in hand, before God to ask him to give them a break and what does he get in return? He doesn't get to go into the Promised Land. It's like at the end of Vacation when the Griswald's finally make it to Wally World after enduring nearly every travel nightmare imaginable and find it closed. Now, Moses is a clearly a more ethical and sophisticated character than Clark Griswald and seems to accept his fate (as opposed to Clark who buys a BB gun and abducts a security guard). But, what an odd ending to the Torah. After all, the Torah is all about the rules and responsibilities we have to repair the world, and yet the one guy who is the ultimate symbol of those very things doesn't get the prize. Seems like a tough way to market your program.

So, what's the story? I've heard different explanations as to why Moses does not get to go into the promised land. Here are the two that come up the most. First the old stand-by, "We are incapable of understanding everything that God does". While true, I always find this to be a cop out. It's the "Because I said so" of theology. The second one ties back to the book of Numbers. The Israelites are complaining (as usual) to Moses that they would have been better off in Egypt. They are unable to find water and believe that they and their animals will die of thirst. Moses and Aaron take this issue up with God, the rest is history:

8“You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community, and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water. Thus you shall produce water for them from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their beasts.” 9Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He had commanded him. 10Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock; and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?” 11And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank. 12But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them." (Numbers 20:8-12)

Well, OK. I guess that is pretty black and white. If God tells you to speak to a rock, you probably should follow directions. Duh. But, c'mon, it's not like he built a golden calf or something. And, who wouldn't whack a rock after having to deal all those years with those snively little Israelites in the desert. Sheesh. Give the guy a break. On Yom Kipur God forgives us for all of the sins we've committed against him/her/it. So, why hold a grudge for smacking the rock?

Well, maybe there is something to that. I've also read that it wasn't actually hitting the rock that was the issue. The issue was that God didn't want the Israelites to confuse Moses as being their redeemer. By striking the rock, it would appear that Moses caused the water to come forth and thus was the one who produced it. Now, I can sort of buy this although I think it gives the Israelites much more credit than they deserve. If Moses spoke instead of hitting the rock, I still think they'd believe that he had something to do with it. But, the idea of Moses not being seen as the redeemer is an interesting idea.

Moses led them out of Egypt. If he took them into the promise land, he would be their redeemer. By stopping him short, it set up the possibility that it was something beyond Moses that was actually delivering them.

That could work. I've also heard that one of the reasons that no one knew of Moses burial place was that so it wouldn't become a shrine or a holy place. Moses served a purpose, albeit an important one. But he was the messenger and channel for the redeemer, he wasn't the redeemer. He was an important player, but he was one of many. He wasn't divine.

So, that's one thought.

But then again I've also read a lot of explanations of why the Israelites spend 40 years wandering the desert which might shed some light on this issue. Of course, the two most common are punch lines:

Moses was a typical man and wouldn't ask for directions

Moses dropped a quarter and couldn't find it

But, there are some others that have resonated with me. In particular, one writer (I think it was Joseph Tellushkin) points to the whininess of the Israelites. He argues that these people were born into slavery and while they could be removed from it physically, they couldn't be removed from it psychologically. That's why despite miracle after miracle they keep telling Moses that they would have been better off in Egypt. Therefore, the Israelites wandered for forty years so that the generation that would be entering Egypt would be a generation born into freedom.

That makes a certain amount of sense. It got me thinking that perhaps this "purging" of the slavery mindset was necessary for the Israelites to become a nation in their new land. Therefore, the last remnant and symbol of that slavery was Moses, the very person who helped deliver them from it. Perhaps it is that that simple.

Of course, it could just be that there are something things that God does that we can't understand like punishing people for hitting a rock.

Wha does it mean to say Kaddish for someone?

For as long as I can remember, I've always heard the experssion "say kaddish for ..." a person. I had always interpreted the "for" as meaning that the person was the recipient of the action. I thought of it in the same way as you would use "for" in the sentence, "Say a prayer for him".

However, it recently occurred to me that perhaps I've been misinterpreted the meaning of "for". The Kaddish is It's about God's greatness. It is a prayer FOR God. So what does it mean to say Kaddish "for" someone?

I think I finally figured it out (perhaps I'm the last one to do so). When I say Kaddish "for" someone I am saying it on their behalf. I am praising God for them since they no longer can. That makes more sense. It is part of the Mitzvah of keeping someone's name alive. By saying Kaddish for them, you are perpetuating their presence in the world. That's a powerful Jewish idea.

More importantly, taking on that practice will help me think of other ways to keep those people alive. It will remind me of what they stood for, what they cared about, and what they did. Maybe it will even drive me to continue repairing the world on their behalf.