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After the death of Miriam, Moses' older sister, the Jewish people lost their miraculous traveling well; due to Miriam's great righteousness, the well satisfied Israel's daily water needs for nearly 40 years in the desert, after the Exodus (see Rashi, Numbers 20:2). Without water, Israel quarreled with Moses (Numbers 20:4).

God commanded Moses and Aaron to take the staff and gather all the Children of Israel in front of a rock and declare that God would bring forth water from the rock. Moses and Aaron gathered the Jewish people and Moses hit the rock twice; an abundance of water came forth.

Subsequently, God punished Moses and Aaron by forbidding them passage to Israel alive because they did not "sanctify My (God's) name in the eyes of the Jewish people" (Numbers 20:12).

The exact error of Moses and Aaron is up for debate amongst the commentaries. The Tosafist Rabeinu Chananel (990-1053) explains (see Nahmanides 1194-1270; Numbers 20:8) that Moses proclaimed, "From this rock can we bring forth water?" Moses did not extend God sufficient credit for the miracle. Moses should have said, "From this rock God will bring forth water." This episode became known as the "quarrelsome waters."

However, the Medrash Rabba (30-200 CE; Devarim Rabba 2:8) asks: Why wasn't Moses at least buried in Israel just like Joseph, his brothers, and their father Jacob?

During the Jewish bondage in Egypt, Moses killed an Egyptian officer in defense of his fellow Jew who was being harshly beaten. He fled Pharaoh's palace and became a fugitive, wandering the outskirts of Midian. There, Moses rescued Jethro's daughters, who were being abused by other shepherds as they tried to give water to their flock (Bereishit Rabba 70:9).

When Jethro's daughters told their father what had transpired, they said, "an Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds, and he even drew water for us and watered our herd" (Exodus 2:19).

Jethro's daughters identified Moses as an Egyptian.

By contrast, when Joseph was framed for acting promiscuously with his master's wife, she said, "Look, he brought us a Hebrew man to mock us, he came to lay with me, but I called out in a loud voice" (Genesis 39:14). Joseph was identified as a Hebrew.

Joseph was ultimately buried in Israel. Moses, who neglected to correct Jethro's daughters, was denied the honor of being buried in the Holy Land.

Moses taught us the Torah, led us through the desert, spoke with God face-to-face, and always prayed for us. Is the Medrash actually telling us that Moses wasn't buried in Israel because he neglected to correct Jethro's daughters, who mistook him for an Egyptian? Apparently so. Jewish identity is that sacred.

Rabbi Chaim Lobel is spiritual leader of Young Israel of Aberdeen.
www.yiaberdeen.com