Chukas

The gemara in Sanhedrin Daf 111A relates a story that רבי אלעזר ברבי יוסי once was in Alexandria in Egypt and an old Mitzri said to him, “come, let me show you what my forefathers did to your forefathers. He showed him places where they drowned them, where they killed them by sword & even places where there were Jewish bones & hair still embedded in the buildings.

The gemara continues saying that it’s because of those atrocities that Moshe Rabbainu was punished. Once Moshe saw what was happening to the Jewish people, he began to question Hashem saying , למה הרעתה לעם הזה why did You do bad to this nation? Since I came to speak to Pharaoh for this nation, things just got worse. Why did You send me?

Hashem says, “Woe to the ones that are lost for I can't find followers like the Avos who never questioned me. The gemara then goes on to list instances where, seemingly, the Avos were mistreated by Hashem yet they never questioned. It ends off with Hashem saying to Moshe, “You will see what I will do to Pharaoh; the war against Pharaoh you will see, but the war against the thirty one kings that will be waged to enter the land you won't see because you will die before the people enter the land.

Our Parsha says יען לא האמנתם בי להקדישני לעיני בני ישראל לכן לא תביאו את הקהל הזה אל הארץ , because you didn't believe in me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you will not bring this congregation into the land. Moshe can't enter the land because he hit the rock instead of speaking to it.

Did he lose the right to go into the land because he questioned Hashem or because he hit the rock?
Also, asks the Midrash why was Aaron also punished? He didn't hit the rock nor did he question Hashem?

Rashi says that the sin of הצאן ובקר ישחט can cattle & flock be slaughtered, was a worse sin since it appeared that Moshe was questioning Hashem’s ability to provide food for the nation. However, there was no punishment because it was done in private. Here, where it was public, Hashem punished him. Maybe that's why, even though Hashem had said that Moshe wouldn't go in because of למה הרעתה לעם הזה ,the Maharsha says he could have still changed the verdict because it was done in private. Once he disobeyed Hashem in front of the entire nation, his fate was sealed. The question, though, remains: why does Aaron deserve punishment?

There's a story told about רבי ישראל מריזין who saw one of his sons getting angry at one of his disciples. When the son saw that his father knew what he did & didn't say anything, he continued to get angry at the disciple. Then רבי ישראל said to his son, “we see by Moshe that he hit the rock twice which was considered a grave sin. One time it’s possible to lose yourself but if you do it again, then you let your anger control you. Moshe, who hit the rock twice, let his anger control him; therefore he was punished.  

Perhaps this is where Aaron’s punishment comes in. Aaron was known to make peace & calm peoples anger. When Moshe questioned Hashem, he could have tried to talk to him & explain that Hashem has a plan. Then, after Moshe hit the rock the first time, too, Aaron should have calmed him down not allowing him to do it again. Because he didn't, he was punished too. It’s not enough just for us not to do the wrong things. If we have the power to stop people around us who are doing the wrong things, we can’t stand idly by; we have to be able to influence & teach them the proper way!