I feel drawn once again to the idea of not forcing, to the power and the effectiveness and the fundamental truth of not forcing. To hit the rock as Moshe did, not once, but twice (Numbers 20:11), in order to obtain water, is to use force, aggression, to assert one’s will, to coerce the rock into submission, to say – I know what you need to do and I am going to make you do it.
This is not God’s way. Or maybe it is better to say, this is not God’s preferred way. Certainly the rock does give water this way; we can bend people and ourselves into submission and it will produce results, at least for a time.
But this is not the way of peace and harmony. This is not the way of alignment and flow. God tells Moshe to speak to the rock and “it will give its waters,” venatan meimav (20:8). It will give its waters of its own volition. You just have to ask gently, without anger or harshness or judgment.
What is true of a rock is true of our own rock-like inner parts. Yes, we can (and do) coerce them into submission; we can live a life of judgment and harshness and “shoulds.” hit ourselves into submission, call ourselves names like Moshe called the people, “ you awful rebels,” force ourselves to do what we should, and turn harshly on ourselves when we struggle, continually striking again and again until we get into shape and do what is expected So yes, we can do this and sometimes it even sort of works.
But God’s vision is of a water that flows on its own, that comes out of a place of natural generosity and alignment and the gentle connected space created by deep listening and conversation. It is in such a space that our true waters will come forward on their own. We can hold that space for ourselves and for each other, remembering that gentleness and allowing and patience bear fruit in a more aligned way, trusting in what wants to unfold, trusting the process, not forcing and not rushing, but allowing the water to flow in its own good time.
This way of being is often not the way of the world we live in. It is the way of Shabbat, and it is the way of the world that is coming (olam haba), each day a little closer.
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