Translation
וְלֹא הָיָה מַיִם לָעֵדָה וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ עַל מֹשֶׁה וְעַל אַהֲרֹן
And there was no water for the congregation and they gathered against Moshe and Aharon
Is it obvious from the pesukim what exactly Moshe did wrong?
No. It is clear that Moshe made a mistake, but it is not clear what that mistake was.
What is Moshe's mistake?
That he hit the rock and didn't speak to the rock
What is Moshe's mistake?
He lost his temper and got angry at the people
Which term is used by Hashem to refer to the people and which term is used by Moshe?
By Hashem the term עדה is used and by Moshe the term קהל is used.
וַיָּרֶם מֹשֶׁה אֶת יָדו וַיַּךְ אֶת הַסֶּלַע בְּמַטֵּהוּ פַּעֲמָיִם
What are 2 ways that Moshe deviates from what Hashem told him to do?
a) Hashem says speak to the rock and Moshe hits it
b) Moshe says "listen rebels" and Hashem doesn't tell him to say that
What are the words in the pasuk that capture Moshe's mistake?
ויך את הסלע במטהו
What words in the pasuk capture Moshe's mistake?
What is meant by קהל? What is meant by עדה?
עדה = regular people, the multitudes
יַעַן לֹא הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי לְהַקְדִּישֵׁנִי לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel
Does Moshe know which rock he is supposed to take water out of? Why not?
No because it was mixed up with other rocks.
Why did Moshe think it was okay to hit the rock?
Because he spoke and nothing happened, and because the first time around when he took water out of a rock he did in fact hit the rock
What is one reason why this is such a terrible mistake?
Because the people learn from Moshe how to behave and they will now emulate this behavior which is not virtuous.
What was Moshe's first mistake?
He gathered the wrong group of people. Hashem commanded him to gather the עדה but Moshe in actuality gathered the קהל.
וְדִבַּרְתֶּם אֶל הַסֶּלַע לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְנָתַן מֵימָיו וְהוֹצֵאתָ לָהֶם מַיִם מִן הַסֶּלַע ְוהִשְׁקִיתָ אֶת הָעֵדָה וְאֶת בְּעִירָם
And you shall speak to the rock before their eyes and it will give water and you shall take out water for them from the rock and give drink to the congregation and to their flock.
Moshe attempts to get water out of the rock 3x times. What happened each time?
a) he spoke to the rock, but nothing came out because it wasn't the correct rock
b) he hit the rock and some water came out because it was the correct rock
c) he hit the rock a 2nd time and a lot of water came out
Was Moshe justified in calling the Jewish people מורים?
Yes, because they remarked "why not just take water out of any rock," to which Moshe responded, "you rebels! I can't take water out of just any rock, only out of the specific rock which Hashem commanded!"
What is another reason why this is such a terrible mistake?
The people thought that whatever comes through Moshe ultimately comes from Hashem. So if Moshe is angry that must mean that Hashem is angry with them. However, this was not in fact the case. Thus Moshe getting angry gave the people a false impression about how G-d felt about them.
What was Moshe's second mistake?
Because he gathered the regular people he didn't think them to be worthy of a supernatural miracle of transforming the rock into water. So instead, Moshe performed a miracle that made it appear more natural as the water emerging from beneath the rock.
וְלָמָה הֶעֱלִיתֻנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם לְהָבִיא אֹתָנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הָרָע הַזֶּה לֹא מְקוֹם זֶרַע וּתְאֵנָה וְגֶפֶן וְרִמּוֹן וּמַיִם אַיִן לִשְׁתּוֹת
And why have you brought us up from Mitzrayim to this bad place? It is not a fertile place, neither figs, nor grapes, nor pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.