יען לא האמנתם בי להקדישני לעיני בני ישראל לכן לא תביאו את הקהל הזה אל הארץ אשר נתתי להם
The error of mei merivah, waters of strife, cost Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen the opportunity to enter Eretz Yisrael. The various commentators are troubled with coming to grips with this definitive error. How did Moshe make such a mistake? Hashem instructed him to speak to the rock – not hit it. Rashi explains that had Moshe spoken to the stone, he would have magnified the miracle of water flowing from a stone. While this may be true, it does not explain what Moshe, Hashem’s eved neeman, true servant – who would never do anything on his own – did….
