We are taught that there are ten archetypal songs sung throughout history. One of the songs appears in the Torah portion of Chuchat after God had saved them from an enemy and provided them water: “Then Israel sang this song: Come up O well and announce it! The well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people dug, through a lawgiver, with their staff. A gift from the wilderness” (Numbers 21:17-18). Rashi tells us that the princes are Moses and Aaron and the staff is the one used to draw water. The Talmud teaches that all references to water in the Torah allude to Torah itself (Ta’anit 7a). Therefore the song can be understood on two levels: as praise for receiving water in the desert and as praise for receiving Torah in the desert.
After the song the Torah relates that the people journeyed “[from the place they called a gift] Matana to Nachliel and from Nachliel to Bamot. And from Bamot Hagai, in the field of Moav, at the top of the peak, overlooking the surface of Yishimon.”
Rava, one of the great Talmudic sages, explains that the names of the places mentioned in these verses are all symbolic and impart the following teaching: when a person makes himself like a desert and practices humbleness before all, then Torah is given to him as a gift, a gift (Matana) from the wilderness. When he receives Torah as a gift then it becomes an inheritance from God (Nachliel) and when it becomes an inheritance it raises him to greatness (Bamot). But if a person raises himself in pride then God will lower him down (Bamot Hagai). And not only this but will drive him down to the ground (overlooking the surface of Yishimon) (Nedarim 55b). Rashi explains that the greatness of Bamot was turned to being lowered down because there Moses died and the well then vanished.
The idea that receiving Torah is dependent on humbleness is emphasized in another Midrash which states that the very reason the Torah was given in the desert was to teach this crucial point. We can now understand why the Torah was given by God to the Jewish people through Moses, who the Torah testifies was the most humble man in all the world (Numbers 12:3).
In the beginning of the portion of Chuchat this idea is taken even one step farther in a homiletic explanation of the verse: “This is the Torah regarding a man who would die in a tent” (Numbers 19:14). Although the simple meaning is that the Torah is imparting the laws of purity and impurity regarding death, Raish Lakish expounds the verse as referring to learning Torah. “From where do we know that Torah is only established by one who kills himself over it?” As it says: This is the Torah regarding a man who would die in the tent” (Brachot 43b).
It is obvious that it doesn’t mean to literally die over the Torah, rather it means that understanding Torah in a deep and fundamental way will only be achieved by one who nullifies (“kills”) his ego sufficiently so the true teachings will enter his heart and mind. Again we think of Moses who at one point asks God to wipe him out of the Torah if He will not forgive the people. Moses was ready to give his very being to defend the people.
Yet even Moses was susceptible to pride and anger as we see in the enigmatic incident later in this portion where Moses, instead of talking to the rock, hits it in order to bring forth water. For not listening to the exact word of God, Moses and Aaron are punished by not entering the holy land. Commentators throughout the ages have tried to understand what exactly Moses did wrong. We cannot delve into all the explanations, but relating to our ideas above we see that Rambam states his sin was that he got angry at the people as it says: “Listen now O rebels, shall we bring forth water for you from the rock?” (Numbers 20:10). Rabbi Chananiel and the Ramban explain that they were punished by implying that they, and not God, had the power to bring for the water.
These explanations imply that Moses displayed, no matter how slightly, anger and pride. For someone on Moses level even a small amount of anger or pride proved to be disastrous. Despite our patriarchs, prophets, and sages being on spiritual levels beyond our true comprehension, Judaism is careful to never raise them up to be gods, as has happened in many other religions. In fact, their very humanness and susceptibility to shortcomings makes their tremendous spiritual achievements all the greater. Therefore the written and oral tradition records their greatness as well as their challenges and failures.
The Slonimer Rebbe teaches that in a certain way pride lies at the heart of virtually all sin, as it blinds a person to true reality and gives the false impression that any type of action or behavior is justified to fulfill a persons desire. Pride and ego go hand in hand and feed off each other.
In Kabbalah, ten times a number represents a sense of potential being actualized. The word for pride, ga’avah, equals 15, while the word for anger, ka’as, equals 150. Pride when left to inflate and fester can turn into anger, considered by the Sages one of the worst of all character flaws.
Because Moses had conquered his ego to such an extent God testifies that He spoke to him “face to face,” as no other human being. Moses merited the gift of Torah and transmitted it to Israel as an eternal inheritance. Whether we merit the gift and inheritance of Torah and achieve greatness, or conversely, are brought down, ultimately depends on our own level of humbleness and the ability to conquer ego, pride and anger.
