Today we ask the database query: What was Moses' attitude towards prophecies? The query uncovers 5 examples. An examination of these examples justifies the Rashi assertion that Moses had a complaining attitude towards prophecies. This attitude prevented him from leading the Jews into Israel.

The table below presents results of the query along with illustrations of Rashi's comment.

Advanced Rashi: We all know the noble work Moses did for the Jewish people. We also know that God punished him and preventing him from reaching his life goal of leading the Jews into Israel. The natural question is Why?

A variety of answers have been posed. For example one famous answer points to the particular incident which immediately preceeded the pronouncement of the punishment - the incident at the rebellious-waters. God had told Moses to speak to the rock but Moses hit the rock. This answer points to the difference between hit and speak and posits that Moses was punished for this deviation from God's order.

But there is no indication that Moses did not both speak and hit the rock. The reason for the question on Moses punishment was a feeling of ethical inequity. This answer does not remove this feeling. It portrays God as having a different ethical standard in which some petty violation of law results in the contradiction of an entire life of service. If anything, such a perspective intensifies the ethical inequity question: Why should Moses who devoted his entire life to serving God and the Jewish people be deprived of completing this life simply because of a petty violation of a technical requirement. True God has different standards but it still appears unfair. And that - the appearance of unfairness - is in fact the question.

The answer we have provided above addresses the ethical unequity. Moses wasn't punished for one incident, rather he was punished for a trend of incidents of which the last one was one more example. Moses was given numerous times to change his behavior and did not do so.

In my article the Akaydah I further support this argument: Moses on several occasions complained that he couldn't take it, he would be killed, he would prefer death to continutation etc. By contrast Abraham, when asked to sacrifice his only son for whom he prayed many years could easily have said God if you do this to me take my life not his. But Abraham did not complain. He accepted God's will. Moses did complain. By contrasting Moses and Abraham's behavior we support the idea that Moses was not on Abraham's level of prophecy and was incapable of further leadership.