Parshas Chukas - The song of the well

The passuk in this week’s sedrah says (21:17)

אָז יָשִׁיר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת עֲלִי בְאֵר עֱנוּ לָהּ. בְּאֵר חֲפָרוּהָ שָׂרִים כָּרוּהָ נְדִיבֵי הָעָם בִּמְחֹקֵק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָם וּמִמִּדְבָּר מַתָּנָה

Then the benei yisrael sang this song, “Spring up, O well — sing to it — The well which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people started with their own staffs...

Rashi explains

במחקק - ע"פ משה שנקרא מחוקק שנאמר (דברים ל"ג) כי שם חלקת מחוקק ספון ולמה לא נזכר משה בשירה זו לפי שלקה ע"י הבאר וכיון שלא נזכר שמו של משה לא נזכר שמו של הקב"ה משל למלך שהיו מזמנין אותו לסעודה אמר אם אוהבי שם אני שם ואם לאו איני הולך

The word מחוקק refers to Moshe as the passuk says כי שם חלקת מחוקק ספון – “For there is the portion of the great scribe hidden.” And why is Moshe not mentioned in this song? Because he was punished through the well. And since the name of Moshe was not mentioned the name of Hashem is also not mentioned. A parable to a king who was invited to a feast, he said, “If my friend is there I will be there, and if not, I will not attend.”

• Why is the allusion to Moshe made specifically by means of the passuk which refers to Moshe as a scribe?  

• In the passuk in Vezos Ha’ebrachah of כי שם חלקת מחוקק ספון, why is Moshe referred to as a scribe? In other words, what is the association between the hiddenness of Moshe’s קבר - וְלֹא יָדַע אִישׁ אֶת קְבֻרָתוֹ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה – and the fact that he is referred to as the great scribe of the benei yisrael?

Earlier in the sedrah, the Torah says (20:7 – 12)

וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר. קַח אֶת הַמַּטֶּה וְהַקְהֵל אֶת הָעֵדָה אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ וְדִבַּרְתֶּם אֶל הַסֶּלַע לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְנָתַן מֵימָיו וְהוֹצֵאתָ לָהֶם מַיִם מִן הַסֶּלַע וְהִשְׁקִיתָ אֶת הָעֵדָה וְאֶת בְּעִירָם. וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת הַמַּטֶּה מִלִּפְנֵי ה' כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ. וַיַּקְהִלוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן אֶת הַקָּהָל אֶל פְּנֵי הַסָּלַע וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם שִׁמְעוּ נָא הַמֹּרִים הֲמִן הַסֶּלַע הַזֶּה נוֹצִיא לָכֶם מָיִם. וַיָּרֶם מֹשֶׁה אֶת יָדוֹ וַיַּךְ אֶת הַסֶּלַע בְּמַטֵּהוּ פַּעֲמָיִם וַיֵּצְאוּ מַיִם רַבִּים וַתֵּשְׁתְּ הָעֵדָה וּבְעִירָם. וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן יַעַן לֹא הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי לְהַקְדִּישֵׁנִי לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָכֵן לֹא תָבִיאוּ אֶת הַקָּהָל הַזֶּה אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָהֶם.

And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying. “Take the staff and gather the congregation, you and Aharon your brother and you should speak to the rock before them and it shall give its waters and you shall extract water from the rock and you should water the congregation and their animals.”

And Moshe took the staff from before Hashem as He had commanded him.

And Moshe and Aharon gathered the congregation before  the rock and he said to them, “Listen you rebellious people, from this rock shall we extract water for you?”

And Moshe raised his hand and he smote the rock twice with his staff and plentiful water came out and the congregation and their animals drank.

And Hashem said to Moshe and Aharon, “Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me before the benei yisrael therefore you shall not bring this congregation to the land that I have given to them.”

The Vilna Gaon comments on these pessukim as follows:

דלוחות הראשונות ניתנו לו מעץ חיים, וכיון שחטאו בעגל - נשברו, ואתיהיב לון בסטרא דעץ הדעת טוב ורע, ... ובתחלה שהיו ערב רב בישראל שעשו העגל - גרמו להשבר הלוחות, ואתייהיב ליה מעץ הדעת טוב ורע, וכן בסלע - שותפות דערב רב בישראל גרם ליה לבוא לידי טעות, וכן העונש שלא בא לארץ ישראל ולישא ארוסתו - הכל הוא בישראל, שלא זכו ללמוד התורה מעץ חיים, והכל בשביל שותפות הערב רב, שהם רע וישראל טוב, והם עץ הדעת טוב ורע, ולכן לא יגלה עץ החיים עד לעתיד לבוא שיהיה (דברים לג כח) בדד עי"ן יעקב - שבעים נפש דיעקב

The first luchos were given to Moshe from the perspective of the עץ החיים, and once the benei yisrael sinned at the עגל הזהב they were broken and the second luchos were given to us from the perspective of the עץ הדעת.

The ערב רב who influenced the benei yisrael to make the עגל הזהב caused the first luchos to be broken, and so too at the rock, the mingling of the ערב רב with the benei yisrael caused Moshe to make a mistake, and Moshe’s punishment that he did not enter Eretz Yisrael reflects the diminished stature of the benei yisrael that they did not merit to the learn the Torah of the first luchos which came from the עץ החיים.

And this is all because of the partnering of the ערב רב, who are רע, with the benei yisrael, who are טוב, which leads to the perspective of the עץ הדעת which joins רע and טוב. Therefore the light of the עץ החיים will not be revealed until mashiach comes, when the benei yisrael will be separated from the ערב רב, as is alluded to in the passuk which says בדד עין יעקב – When Yaakov dwells alone – where the word עין is a mnemonic for ע' נפש יעקב – the 70 souls of Yaakov (who came down to Mitzraim).

The Vilna Gaon explains further

והענין  כי סוד משה הוא תורתו הלכה למשה מסיני שהוא הסוד והוא גנוז ברמז והן הגדות שהן בש"ס כמו המעשים דרבב"ח  וסנחריב  שהן לפי הנראה ח"ו  דברים בטלים ובהן גנוז כל האורה והתורה תורת משה כל רזין דאורייתא. וזה שבקש משה שלא יגנז הסוד באלו הדברים ולא ניתן לו. וזהו 'מחולל מפשעינו'  שנעשה חול, דברים של חול, והוא בפשעינו כמ"ש  'ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם',  וזהו 'נבזה ולא תאר לו' כו'.  ולעתיד יתגלה הסוד שבתוכו וזהו התורה חדשה שיתגלה לעתיד.

The secret of Moshe is that Torah which he personally received at Har Sinai. This is the hidden part of the Torah and this part of the Torah is concealed in the רמזים of the Torah. This is the aggadata which you find in ש"ס such as the stories of Rabbah bar bar Channah which appear to be odd stories but in which are hidden all the secrets of Moshe’s Torah and the light of the hidden part of the Torah. Moshe asked Hashem that the secrets of the Torah should not be concealed in these stories, but this was not granted to him… Which is what Moshe meant when he said ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם – “And Hashem became angry with me for your sake.” When mashiach comes the secrets which are hidden in the aggadata will be revealed and this is the new Torah that will be revealed when mashiach comes.

Based on this commentary of the Vilna Gaon, the Pachad Yitzchak explains as follows:

The passuk says concerning Yishmael (Bereishis 21:20)

 וַיְהִי אֱלֹקִים אֶת הַנַּעַר וַיִּגְדָּל וַיֵּשֶׁב בַּמִּדְבָּר וַיְהִי רֹבֶה קַשָּׁת

And Hashem was with the lad and he grew up and he dwelt in the desert and he became an archer.

Rashi comments on this passuk

היה יושב במדבר ומלסטם את העוברים הוא שנאמר ידו בכל וגו'

He dwelt in the desert and would rob passers by, this is what the passuk means when it says that his hand would be against everyone else and everyone else would be against him.

We see from this passuk that the fact that someone receives a berachah does not automatically mean that they will turn out well. For example, Yishmael used the berachah that Hashem gave him to become a successful highway robber.

Similarly, the gemara says (Shabbos 146a)

שבשעה שבא נחש על חוה הטיל בה זוהמא ישראל שעמדו על הר סיני פסקה זוהמתן

[When Adam did the חטא of the עץ הדעת, the yetzer hara which had hithertofore been external to him, entered inside him and so there was a joining of טוב and רע within him.] When the benei yisrael stood at Har Sinai, the yetzer hara was removed from within their hearts [and they achieved once again the מדרגה of Adam ha’Rishon before the חטא of the עץ הדעת.]

Only when the benei yisrael were on this madregah, would it have been possible for them to receive the Torah from the perspective of the עץ החיים. This is because the Torah as given from the perspective of the עץ החיים directly gives life to everything that is within a person’s heart. Since the hearts of the benei yisrael knew only טוב at that time, they would have only grown from receiving the Torah in this way.

However, after the ערב רב caused the benei yisrael to worship the עגל הזהב, the yetzer hara was able to enter their hearts once more. At this junction it was no longer possible for them to receive the Torah from the perspective of the עץ החיים, because then the Torah given in such a way would have not only given life to the כח הטוב that was within their hearts, but also to the כח הרע that had once again become mixed with the כח הטוב.

Instead the benei yisrael were given the Torah from the perspective of the עץ הדעת טוב ורע. This is the Torah as we know it, where exactly the toil that is needed to understand the Torah is that toil which drives the yetzer hara away from that כח החיים that we derive from learning the Torah. Moshe, however, who did not participate in the חטא of the עגל הזהב, remained on the madregah of אדם הראשון קודם החטא and he was still attached to the Torah that was given from the perspective of the עץ החיים.

In order to prevent misuse of the light of the hidden Torah that Moshe handed over to the benei yisrael, this level of the Torah was hidden in such a way that someone learning it would have to understand it of their own accord without it ever having been taught to them, as the gemara says in Chagigah  13a

איכא דאמרי עד וארא מסרינן ראשי פרקים מכאן ואילך אם הוא חכם מבין מדעתו אין אי לא לא

There are those who say: Until “And I saw,” we transmit the outlines; from this point forward, if he is wise and can understand of his own accord, yes, we teach him. If not, we do not teach him even the outlines.

Similarly, the hidden Torah of Moshe is concealed in aggadata in a way that if that part of the Torah resonates within the heart of the person who learns the aggadata, then they will find that they are able to understand this hidden Torah despite their being no revealed key at all to its actual meaning.

This concealment is alluded to by the fact that no-one knows where Moshe’s קבר is. Since the level of חיים itself that Moshe merited, having received the Torah from the perspective of the עץ החיים, was entirely different to that of the rest of the benei yisrael who received the Torah which is given from the perspective of the עץ הדעת טוב ורע, therefore even his קבר is concealed and separated from the experience of all other people who are unable to comprehend the level of life itself which Moshe attained.

Moshe is described as the great scribe in that passuk which says that his קבר is hidden since although we cannot learn Moshe’s hidden Torah directly, he did nevertheless transcribe and hand over his Torah in a concealed and indirect manner, in aggadata, where at least a glimmer of the light of this hidden Torah can be perceived.

Since the event which caused Moshe not to enter Eretz Yisrael and to be able to directly pass on his hidden Torah to the benei yisrael  occurred at the מי מריבה, therefore it is exactly in the שירה that relates to the באר that Moshe is alluded to as the מחקק, because from now on he would not pass on the Torah of the עץ החיים directly, but only through a written hint.