A number of explanations are offered for the sin which Moshe Rabbeinu committed by hitting the stone rather than speaking to it. Horav Mordechai Ilan, zl, approaches the pasuk homiletically. As leader of Am Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu was responsible to handle the scepter of leadership in a pleasant manner. He needed to reach out, encouraging the people to follow in the right path, never admonishing them harshly or using physical force to emphasize a point. True, in their stubbornness, Bnei Yisrael may seem to have had hearts of stone. Their facade, however, could have been more successfully penetrated with verbal communication rather than with physical abuse.
The Shechinah speaks through the medium of Klal Yisrael’s spiritual leadership. When Moshe struck the stone, he indicated that it was necessary for the Shechinah to use force to reprove His people. This was an inappropriate message, for Hashem is an all-merciful G-d, whose every act is a manifestation of His compassion.
