Seeing Stars

Parshas Chukas contains one of the most difficult to understand sections of the Torah: the story of the Mei Meriva, in which Moshe Rabbeinu commits an action that in some way renders him unfit to enter Eretz Yisroel. We know that the actions of each person are viewed by Hakadosh Baruch Hu according to their own Madreigah, and because we can only begin to imagine the lofty level that Moshe Rabbeinu was on, we cannot really fathom the nature of an Aveira for which he would be held responsible. This being the case, any discussion of the Mei Meriva is fraught with the danger of passing judgment upon Moshe Rabbeinu based on our own notions, quite a serious prospect. There is however one Passuk that concludes the narrative in our Parsha, which may open our eyes to a lesson that can be learned, without treading on dangerous territory.

Immediately after the Passuk tells us that Moshe hit the rock, and water emerged, Hakadosh Baruch Hu informs him of the consequences of his actions: “Ya’an Lo Himantem Bi LiHakdisheni L’Einei Bnei Yisroel Lachen Lo Saviu Es HaKahal Hazeh El HaAretz Asher Nasati Lahem.” Because of their actions, which in some way minimized the opportunity for Kiddush Hashem, Moshe and Aharon would not be allowed to bring Klal Yisroel into Eretz Yisroel. Thus concludes the story of the Mei Meriva and its aftermath, but the Torah adds one more Passuk, summing up in a way the proceeding Parsha: “Hema Mei Meriva Asher Rabu Bnei Yisroel Es Hashem” Here the Torah refers to the waters of the Selah as the Mei Meriva, because they came from a Meriva or quarrel, between Bnei Yisroel and Hashem, Kaviyachol.

The word “Hema” in this Passuk seems to indicate that these waters were alluded about at some point before, and the Torah is now identifying them: “these are the Mei Meriva.” Rashi here explains this word based on Divrei Chazal: The Itztagninei Pharaoh, Pharaoh’s astronomers, saw that the Moshian Shel Yisroel would be Nidan through water, and they therefore recommended the policy of “Kol HaBen Hayulad HaYeorah Tashlichuhu” thinking that this would be his end. The Torah is therefore telling us that the waters they saw were the Mei Meriva which were indeed the source of the Din of Moshe Rabbeinu, some one-hundred-and-twenty years later.

This Rashi is based on a Medrash that appears in the Gemarah in both Sota and Sanhedrin, but there is an important question to be asked. Why does the Torah find it necessary to allude to the mistake of the Itztagninei Pharaoh at this time? How does this historical reference help us understand the matter at hand? This is especially questionable if we take into account the next words in the Torah.

The Passuk ends with the words: “Vayekadesh Bam.” These words seem to imply that Hashem was made Kadosh through the Mei Meriva, which is, at least on the face of it, somewhat counterintuitive. Rashi explains that because Moshe and Aharon were ultimately punished as a result of their part in the Mei Meirva, there was indeed a Kiddush Shem Shamayim. This follows the rubric of “Bekrovei Ekadesh”, explains Rashi, for when Hashem applies his Din to those close to him, His name is sanctified.

How do the first and second parts of the Passuk connect to one another? First the Torah is telling us that these were the waters that were the Din of Moshe Rabbeinu, which the Itztagninei Pharoah saw all those years before, and then it adds the fact that the Shem Shamayim was Mekudash through the punishment of Moshe and Ahron. Why do these two statements belong in the same Passuk?

By way of explaining this Passuk, and Shitas Rashi, let us examine the mistake that the Itztagninei Pharoah made.

In general, the idea of Itztagninus, or astrology is somewhat difficult to understand. In almost every case that we learn about someone making a determination based on their study of the stars, and their perception of what the future may hold, they are in fact wrong. For example, the Medrash tells us that Eshes Potifar saw in the astrological signs that she was destined to have offspring from Yosef Hatzadik, and she therefore began to accost him. In reality, however, her adopted daughter, Osnas, was to be the wife of Yosef, and that was how the signs were correct.

It seems then that the message held in the Itztagninus itself is accurate, the fault comes in the interpretation thereof. This is bolstered by the way the Gemarah in Sotah, one of the sources for our Rashi, speaks about the Itztagninei Pharoah: “Tzofin Veinam Yodin Mah Tzofin.” They do indeed see something, but they cannot really understand what they see. In Sanhedrin as well, the Gemarah refers to the story of the Itztagninim in a discussion of people who drew false conclusions from things that they saw.

Although we cannot presume to understand how Itztagninus works, it is curious that there are people that have the gift of seeing the future that is held in the stars, but are so often mistaken in how they interpret it. We would assume that someone who posses this Chachma would know how to use it—that is, they would be able to identify the proper means to reach the end that is shown in the stars. This, however, does not seem to be the case. Time and again we learn about individuals who knew what the stars held, so to speak, and yet they made severe miscalculations as to their next steps.

Perhaps the reason that this is so lies in a word that often follows the term Itztagninus. In many, if not most cases, the word “Shelo”, his, accompanies the predictions of astrologers, as in “Ra’ah B’Itztagninus Shelo”, he saw in his astrology. Those making predictions based on the stars are often swayed by their own biases and preconceptions, and that colors their predictions. They see what will in fact happen, but the way that it the future will unfold is left to their own devices. Eshes Potifar saw that she would have offspring from Yosef and assumed that she would be the one to bear them—her Negius did not allow her to consider that her adopted daughter might be the source of those progeny.

This was perhaps true of the Itztagninei Pharoah as well. The Gemarah in Sota continues the story of the Itztagninei Pharoah telling us that when Moshe was placed in the Teivas Gomeh and set afloat on the river, the astrologers told Pharoah that they no longer saw the Siman that told them of the Moshian Shel Yisroel who would be Nidon by water, and so they assumed that their plans were successful and they suspended the Gezeirah of “Kol HaBen Hayulad HaYeorah Tashlichuhu.” We know, however, that the Gezeirah of the astrologers was in fact unsuccessful, and Moshe was placed in the water but saved—his Din did not come about through the water at that time. We must therefore assume that the Simanim, whatever they could see in the stars, did somehow change, and their interpretation of that reality was that they were successful.

It is at this point that the Mei MEriva are mentioned, as he Gemarah then concludes: “V’Hem Ainan Yodin SheAl Mei Miriva Hu Lokeh”, they were unaware that Moshe would in fact be Nidon Al Yidei Mayim through the Mei Meriva. Why is this mentioned at this point? The mistake was in their original interpretation of the Simanim that spoke of the fate of the Moshian Shel Yisroel, why are the Mei Meriva mentioned now, after those Simanim were somehow changed?

Perhaps the answer is that not only were the Itztagninei Pharoah unaware of the Mei Meriva, but they were in fact a contributing factor.

R’ Chaim Firedlander, in Sifsei Chaim on Purim, writes that one of the “Ikur Yesodos” of the Darchei Hashem is that the Ratzon Haborei is carried out through the actions of Reshaim as well. He shows how throughout the story of Purim all the things that Haman did to try and destroy the Yidden were part of his undoing. For example, he recommended that Vashti be killed because he intended to install his own daughter as queen in order to further his goal: the annihilation of Klal Yisroel. In the end, however, this instead led to the appointment of Esther as queen, which allowed the Jews to save themselves. This pattern repeats itself throughout the Megillah: it was Haman’s own actions which led to further Giluy Kvod Shamayim.

R’ Chaim extends this approach to Pharoah as well. He thought he could destroy the Moshian Shel Yisroel before he came to power by decreeing that all young boys be thrown in the river. In the end, it was that Gezeirah that led to Moshe being placed in the river and saved by Bas Pharoah. As a result, he grew up in the house of Pharoah and gained the leadership skills necessary to be the leader of Klal Yisroel and take them from Mitzrayim. Thus, it was Pharaoh’s own actions that brought about the Giluy Kvod Shamayim of Yetzias Mitzrayim.

This is a most important lesson: the Ratzon Hashem is paramount, and it is fulfilled even, or perhaps especially, when someone thinks that they are acting to counteract that exact Ratzon. In fact, these people are often cogs in the process of fulfilling the Razton Hashem they seek to avoid.

This is true not only of Pharaoh himself, but of his Itztagninim as well. By misinterpreting, based on their own Negius, the various signs that referred to Moshe Rabbeinu and his fate, not only did they miss the opportunity to bring about his demise, they enabled his rise.

It emerges, then, that through their actions, the Itztagninei Pharoah, had a hand in the Kiddush Shem Shamayim of the Mei Meriva. Because they made the mistake of thinking they could preempt the Ratzon Haborei, and bring about the Din through Mayim on their own, Moshe ended up in Bais Pharoah, and rose to the level that he did. Therefore, when he made a slight error at the time of the Mei Meriva, and was punished for it, the Shem Shamayim was Miskadesh, as Rashi explained. It was only because Moshe Rabbeinu reached the level of B’Krovei Ekadesh that the Mei Meriva created Kiddush Shem Shamayim, and this only happened because of the Itztagninei Pharoah. When they concluded that they had been successful, they were unaware of the gravity of their mistake: “V’Hem Ainan Yodin SheAl Mei Miriva Hu Lokeh.” They didn’t realize that they had in fact paved the way for a Moshian Shel Yisroel who was so effective that even when he was eventually Nidon Al Yidei Mayim, it was in Kiddush Shem Shamayim through the concept of B’Krovei Ekadesh.

With this approach we can well understand why the words Hema Mei Meriva, referring to the mistake of the Iztagninim are used, and how the two halves of the Passuk are related. The Passuk wishes to show us that the mistake of the Itztagninim eventually led to Kiddush Shem Shamayim to teach us how resolute the Ratzon Haborei is, and to display how even in moments of darkness Giluy K’Vod Shamayim is at hand. Moshe’s punishment led to Kiddush Shem Shamayim, as did the mistake of the Iztagninim many years before—the Ratzon Haborei prevails, and Hashem’s name is made glorious in all cases and at all times.

This is such an important lesson to keep in mind as we witness geopolitical turmoil: there is a Ratzon Hashem that will be fulfilled and often it is those that seek to destroy who play an unwitting role in building. This is true in our personal lives as well—one never knows what the future holds, or how to get there, ours is to focus on Ribuy Kvod Shamayim so that we may be instruments of Kiddush Hashem as His Ratzon is revealed.