From: H.J. Erner in Lake Worth, FL

Dear Rabbi,

If Moses was unable to realize his dream of entering Israel because of one so-called transgression, how are we who are nowhere near what he was, to aspire to our dreams? I find it hard to believe that he should be judged by a higher standard because of who he was.

Dear H. J. Erner,

You say Moses was held to a higher standard. Higher is obviously relative. True, Moses was held to a higher standard than others. However, Moses wasn’t held to a higher standard than Moses. That is, the standard of conduct expected of Moses was a standard of conduct befitting him. Each person is judged only according to his or her potential. Regarding this, only G‑d is the perfect Judge.

The problem is, we are so distant from the high level of righteousness achieved by Moses that we can barely understand what it was that he did ‘wrong’. But to say that all people should be judged by the same yardstick is to deny the difference between individuals. Clearly, a person with limited talent or intelligence who puts everything he’s got into achieving something mediocre is much more praiseworthy than an intelligent, talented person who puts little into achieving something above average. In fact, while the one is lauded, the other may be held accountable. Even though he’s attained quantitatively more, relative to his potential he’s attained quantitatively and qualitatively much less.

Furthermore, a leader must consider not only the propriety of an action, but also how others will perceive the action. People look to a Torah leader as an example of uprightness, and therefore his actions have greater ramifications. Someone as influential and exemplary as Moses is expected to be all the more careful, refined and correct in his words and deeds. Since Moses missed an opportunity as the leader to bring the People to greater heights of spiritual awareness, even though his actual ‘mistake’ was quite subtle, he lost the privilege of being the leader by eventually being buried outside the land.

There’s another reason Moses was denied entrance into the Promised Land. Moses symbolizes eternity, as the Torah he passed on is eternal. If he would have brought the People of Israel into the Land of Israel, their physical connection would have been eternal such that they could never be extirpated from it. While this is a desirable condition when the Jewish People are fulfilling G‑d’s will, it would preclude exile as punishment for wrongdoing. If so, when Israel sinned they would have been destroyed, G‑d forbid, instead of being dispersed among the nations. Once the People’s physical connection was not irrevocable but rather depended on their merit and G‑d’s grace, when it was necessary to correct His wayward children, G‑d directed His ‘wrath’ against the wood and stone of the Land rather than against the flesh and blood of His children. Rather than destroying His People, He sent them into exile.

“Return us to You, O L-rd, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old” (Eicha 5:21).