Parashat Hukat tells the famous story of Moshe’s hitting the rock. To briefly review – Beneh Yisrael found themselves without water in the desert, and they argued with Moshe, demanding water. Hashem commanded Moshe to assemble the people around a rock, and to speak to the rock, whereupon it would miraculously produce water. Moshe gathered the people around the rock, and angrily criticized them, calling them מורים – “rebellious people.” He then struck the rock with his stick, and it produced water for all the people. Hashem was very angry at Moshe, and decreed that he would not enter the Land of Israel. He would instead die before Beneh Yisrael cross into the land. Many different explanations have been given to this story, for why Hashem was so angry at Moshe. What exactly did he do wrong? The most famous approach taken is that of Rashi, who writes that Moshe was commanded to speak to the rock, but he disobeyed Hashem, and struck the rock, instead. For a person on Moshe’s level of greatness, this was considered a grave misdeed, and so he was severely punished. Another famous explanation was given by the Rambam. He writes that Moshe’s sin was not striking the rock, but rather angrily criticizing the people, calling them מורים . The Kedushat Levi offers a beautiful insight, suggesting that in truth, these two explanations are one and the same. When we want to offer criticism – such as to children or students – there are two ways this could be done. One is to emphasize how bad the act was, repeatedly telling them that they did something disgraceful. The other way is to remind the wrongdoer that he is better than this, that he is capable of so much more, that he has such vast potential, that the world needs him, and that we are confident that he will do better in the future. Both responses are equally accurate. They are both factually correct. However, they have opposite effects on the person hearing the criticism. The first response knocks him down, and makes him feel low and worthless. The second lifts him up, and gives him the encouragement to improve. The Kedushat Levi explains that there is actually a much more powerful difference between these two forms of criticism. Remarkably, he writes that the way we criticize someone affects the way the world itself treats the person. The entire world was created for the human being; everything in nature is meant to serve us. But if we knock somebody down, depicting him as terrible because he did something wrong, then the world will not want to serve that person. Conversely, if we lift somebody up, emphasizing his great potential, how much he can achieve, and how much he can contribute to the world, then the world will respond by serving that person so he can make his important contribution. It thus turns out that the way we speak to somebody can determine the way the world treats that person! On this basis, the Kedushat Levi explains Moshe’s sin. In this one instance, Moshe responded to the people’s wrongdoing by knocking them down, instead of lifting them up. On this one occasion, he reacted the wrong way. As a result, the rock did not want to serve them. It did not want to miraculously provide water to מורים , to rebellious people. This is why Moshe needed to strike the rock in order for the water to come. Thus, Rashi’s understanding and the Rambam’s understanding are really the same. Moshe’s mistake was reacting the wrong way, which necessitated striking the rock. We need to be very careful with the way we speak to and deal with other people, especially when they act wrongly. Instead of knocking them down, and reacting angrily, we should do just the opposite, and try to encourage them, to empower them, to build their self-esteem and ambition to achieve. This is how we help people actualize their potential, and enable them to do their share to make our world better.