And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron: "Because you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me before the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assemblage into the land which I have given to them." (Numbers 20:12)

What a harsh punishment for so seemingly mild an infraction. God had instructed the brothers to take a staff and speak to the rock, after which water would come forth for the thirsty Israelites. Moses instead struck the rock. Is it more miraculous for water to emerge from the rock after it is spoken to, rather than struck? After all, God previously had instructed Moses to take a staff and strike it in order to bring forth water. Why deprive Moses of his life's goal because he used the very staff that God had before ordered him to use to strike the rock instead of merely speaking to it?

I believe the answer is found in the most profound message our Bible teaches: the overwhelming power of love. Let us begin with the most egregious transgression of the desert: the sin of the scouts. How could God have commanded a reconnaissance mission if the outcome could have been so dangerous as to dissuade the nation from setting out to conquer the Promised Land? The answer, according to my revered teacher Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik, is that God did not command a reconnaissance mission. The Bible uses not the usual "vayeraglu," but "vayaturu," rooted in "to look at with love-lust."

God wants the Jewish people to love the Land and Torah of Israel the way a bride and groom love each other. That is why both Torah and the Land of Israel are biblically called "Morasha," linked to the word "m'orasa," meaning engaged, affianced. Just as the powerful love between bride and groom will enable them to overcome the necessary challenges and problems of family life, so must love-lust for land and Torah enable the Israelites to overcome the hardships involved in the acquisition of both these treasures. Just as our sages teach us that bride and groom must get to know each other before marriage so they may fulfill the biblical command of "loving your life's partner as yourself," so did God expect that the scouts would bring back the kind of inspiring and exciting picture of Israel that would imbue the Israelites with love-lust for the land.

But the antithesis occurs because the scouts never understood the divine purpose of their mission. The Israelites are doomed to die in the desert, the exalted vision of the Exodus fallen upon rocks of despair, and rebellious disputation breaks out against Moses' leadership. It's fascinating, however, that our sages do not denigrate the disagreements: Argumentation for the sake of heaven will ultimately continue (and lead to eventual peace); argument not for the sake of heaven will not ultimately continue (and will not lead to eventual peace). Argument not for the sake of heaven is like the argument between Korah and his cohort: grounded in Korah's hatred of Moses and therefore destructive. (Mishna Avot 5, 20) Argument for the sake of heaven is like the argument between Hillel and Shammai — grounded in their search for truth and the desire to serve God and therefore leading to greater wisdom and even love between the disputants.

A married couple are called "beloved and loving friends"; friends often engage in dispute. Hence we often find that the academy of Hillel gives in to the academy of Shammai or vice versa; the goal of their disputes was always truth and peace, understanding and love.

The biblical subject just prior to Moses' striking of the rock is the red heifer, a ritual commandment seemingly not rooted in logic. Indeed, the 613 biblical commandments are usually divided between mishpatim and hokim, the former based upon reason, the latter upon faith that leads us to accept from God even that which we do not understand and that demonstrates the special love the Israelites have for God.

The language of power is the language of the staff that strikes; the language of love is the language of the tongue that speaks. What makes us specifically human is our ability to speak and communicate — especially in a loving fashion. Indeed, the Abarbanel interprets the name Chava (Eve), as coming from the Hebrew word that means to express in words. Adam found satisfaction not with the animals, but with Chava, his life's partner, with whom he could speak. And there is a profound connection between Chava and ahava (love). Enemies are struck at, just as Moses struck and smote the Egyptian taskmaster who was enslaving the Hebrews; that same Moses communicated the loving commandments of God with the words of the Ten Commandments (dibrot, rooted in dibur, "speech"). Those whom we love and wish to nurture must be related to with words, not strikes.

God did not punish Moses when the great prophet struck the hard rock (a metaphor for the stiff-necked Israelites), only when he demonstrated that he no longer loved his people and therefore could not lead them.