Welcome back! Today, I'm going to introduce my opinion of Moshe and Aharon's sin. Let us begin.
In the episode of the Meraglim, Hashem swears that only Kalev and Yehoshua will enter the land. Neither of those people are named Moshe or Aharon.
(כג) וַיִּיטַ֥ב בְּעֵינַ֖י הַדָּבָ֑ר וָאֶקַּ֤ח מִכֶּם֙ שְׁנֵ֣ים עָשָׂ֣ר אֲנָשִׁ֔ים אִ֥ישׁ אֶחָ֖ד לַשָּֽׁבֶט׃ (כד) וַיִּפְנוּ֙ וַיַּעֲל֣וּ הָהָ֔רָה וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ עַד־נַ֣חַל אֶשְׁכֹּ֑ל וַֽיְרַגְּל֖וּ אֹתָֽהּ׃ ... (כו) וְלֹ֥א אֲבִיתֶ֖ם לַעֲלֹ֑ת וַתַּמְר֕וּ אֶת־פִּ֥י יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ ... (לז) גַּם־בִּי֙ הִתְאַנַּ֣ף יְהוָ֔ה בִּגְלַלְכֶ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר גַּם־אַתָּ֖ה לֹא־תָבֹ֥א שָֽׁם׃
(23) And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe; (24) and they turned and went up into the mountains, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out... (26) Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God... (37) Also the LORD was angry with me because of you, saying: Thou also shalt not go in thither;
Indeed, this analysis is backed by Moshe's words in Devarim. He states that he was blocked from entering the land because of the Meraglim, not Mei Merivah.
So if Moshe and Aharon sinned during the Meraglim story, what did they do wrong?
The Torah leaves us a hint by telling us about two people who didn't mess up- Kalev and Yehoshua. Let's compare their actions to those of Moshe and Aharon.
(ה) וַיִּפֹּ֥ל מֹשֶׁ֛ה וְאַהֲרֹ֖ן עַל־פְּנֵיהֶ֑ם לִפְנֵ֕י כָּל־קְהַ֥ל עֲדַ֖ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ו) וִיהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ בִּן־נ֗וּן וְכָלֵב֙ בֶּן־יְפֻנֶּ֔ה מִן־הַתָּרִ֖ים אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ קָרְע֖וּ בִּגְדֵיהֶֽם׃ (ז) וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַ֥ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָבַ֤רְנוּ בָהּ֙ לָת֣וּר אֹתָ֔הּ טוֹבָ֥ה הָאָ֖רֶץ מְאֹ֥ד מְאֹֽד׃ (ח) אִם־חָפֵ֥ץ בָּ֙נוּ֙ יְהוָ֔ה וְהֵבִ֤יא אֹתָ֙נוּ֙ אֶל־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את וּנְתָנָ֖הּ לָ֑נוּ אֶ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־הִ֛וא זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃ (ט) אַ֣ךְ בַּֽיהוָה֮ אַל־תִּמְרֹדוּ֒ וְאַתֶּ֗ם אַל־תִּֽירְאוּ֙ אֶת־עַ֣ם הָאָ֔רֶץ כִּ֥י לַחְמֵ֖נוּ הֵ֑ם סָ֣ר צִלָּ֧ם מֵעֲלֵיהֶ֛ם וַֽיהוָ֥ה אִתָּ֖נוּ אַל־תִּירָאֻֽם׃
(5) Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. (6) And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of them that spied out the land, rent their clothes. (7) And they spoke unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ‘The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land. (8) If the LORD delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it unto us—a land which floweth with milk and honey. (9) Only rebel not against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us; their defence is removed from over them, and the LORD is with us; fear them not.’
Moshe and Aharon don't stand up to Bnei Yisrael; they simply fall on their faces, seemingly in prayer. Kalev and Yehoshua, however, have the courage to go against the tide and take action. They try to convince Bnei Yisrael to believe in Hashem, to continue on their to Eretz Yisrael, while Moshe and Aharon do nothing to stop the people.
But wait, you might ask, isn't it necessary to pray to Hashem in a desperate situation? Why are Moshe and Aharon's actions viewed negatively?
On the banks of the Red Sea, with the Egyptians closing in on them, Moshe and Bnei Yisrael pray to Hashem. His response? Stop praying, start doing. This attitude is summed up in the maxim, "אין סומכין על הנס", "We do not rely on miracles [but instead we must do as much as we humanly can, and ask that G-d helps us from there]."
Thus, Moshe and Aharon's main sin was that they did not stand up to the people when they rebelled. Particularly when viewed with through the lens of settlement in the Land of Israel, which entailed a lessening of miracles and Divine Intervention, this lack of zeal was a fatal flaw.
For the next installment, I will attempt to reconcile this theory with the story of Mei Merivah.