jenbrdsly Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 My son and I have just finished reading A Child's Garden of Torah. We are Protestant/Methodists, so it has been interesting reading from a Jewish point of view. Something that really stood out to me was the chapter called "Moses Hits the Rock". I believe it is taken from Numbers 20. To recap, Miriam dies, the people are hungry and want water, Moses hits the rock, water comes out, and then God says Moses can't go into the Promised Land. The commentary for adults at the back of the book said that rabbinic teaching says that this is a story of Moses being sad that Miriam died, and then acting out. The people of Israel were hungry and thirsty and acted out too. But it is also a story of consequences, because even if there are extenuating circumstances influencing your bad behavior, youo still have to face the consequences of your actions. This made me think of the acronym HALT which we have been discussing on the Accelerated Learner board here. HALT stands for Hungry-Angry-Lonely- Tired, and is remembered as a precursor to tantrums and bad behavior. Do you see the connection? Moses was sad/lonely, and the people of Israel were angry. As a Christian, I have never heard about the explanation of grief over Miriam being a super important part of the Moses hits to rock story before, but it makes a lot of sense. Is this just something that is in my kiddie version of Torah, or is this a real teaching from Judaism? I would really like to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Bumping for you. I'm married to a non-religious Jew. I probably know more about the Torah than he does, because I actually listen when I go to temple with the kids! :lol: I have no idea about this story, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micheller1 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 i'm not uber-religious BUT my dad is and we learn together occasionally and we have spoken about this story... and yes it is taught that way - acting out = consequences but I'd rather not speak further on it as I'm not as educated in Torah commentary as someone like Esther Marie might be.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 That is not the way I was taught the story. I was taught that he was denied entrance to the promised land because he did not ask the rock for water first as instructed by G-d. Not being able to enter the promised land was the consequence of his action. Hopefully someone with more Torah knowledge than I will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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