The Torah section for this week is Deuteronomy 3:23 through 7:11, and is called "Va'Etchanan," which means "I pleaded."

Judaism teaches that things happen on four levels at once, starting with the most basic, or literal, meaning, and progressing to the most spiritually advanced. To this effect, we are going to look the fourfold reasoning as to why Moses was not permitted to cross the Jordan River with the Israelites.

Appropriately, the section opens with Moses narrating, "Then I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 'O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what God is there in heaven or earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon."

On the first level, Moses is lamenting what happened at Kadesh, where he struck a rock in anger in response to complaints about the lack of water. He had disobeyed God, plain and simple, and believed he was being punished for that.

Let's look at this incident closer. Moses had actually been quite patient, all things considered, up to this point, but had been under extreme duress recently, and so being only human, he snapped. Understandable, right?

God said no. Numbers 20:7-12 reads: "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. SPEAK to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, 'Hear now, you rebels! Must WE bring water for you out of this rock?' Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.'"

A long time ago, someone said, "Let not many of you become teachers, for we receive a stricter judgment." Here is the second level of interpretation: God expected more from Moses than He did from the Israelites. It was up to Moses to set the proper public example. If he did not obey the Lord, neither would they. This was particularly important since the faith of the Israelites had been precarious all along, and now it might be even harder for them to keep faith with God.

Disobedience has its price, and Moses had to be punished for hitting the rock instead of speaking to it. God keeps His word, and no one is exempt. However, I prefer to think that Moses realized the error of his ways and atoned immediately, and was forgiven in the same way. This is the face of MY God. There is a good moral lesson to be learned here, but nothing is ever one or two-dimensional�.so let us continue.

The third level of interpretation says that Moses was the spiritual father of the children of Israel, whom he had led out of bondage in Egypt, and he did his best to raise them according to the Law which was given to him on Mount Sinai.

We are commanded to teach our children after Moses' example. We have seen some parents who raise their children well and then are able to cut the apron strings, releasing their children into the world. Then we see others who can never cut those apron strings, and the result is very unhealthy. The Lord places a premium on laying a proper foundation, and then knowing when to let go, which Moses eventually did.

Moses was also 120 years old when he died. It was time to let the next generation take over. This is where humility of a leader comes into play. Moses had sacrificed a great deal for the Israelites and had worked very hard to bring them to this point. We would think that the proper reward would be to let Moses see the fruits of his labor before he died. It would seem wrong to leave a job unfinished.

The fourth and final interpretation asks a question: For whom did Moses perform this work, himself or the Lord? We don't see the "big picture" the way God does. Therefore, when the Lord says "Jump!," we're supposed to jump, and when He says stop, we stop. He has a purpose for each one of us according to HIS plan, not ours. Moses was the perfect leader for the wilderness experience, but Joshua was a warrior, and these qualities would be needed for the next phase.

Therefore, even though Moses initially sinned, in my opinion, he was not ultimately punished. As a matter of fact, the people whom he addressed in Deuteronomy were not the ones who were at Kadesh, but their descendants. God had caused that first generation to die off because they were incapable of evolving. They would forever be slaves of Egypt no matter where they were. So, not only did God understand, He gave Moses a whole new generation to teach, to make them worthy of their inheritance.

So we see that in the end, Moses was rewarded for a job well done. He didn't need to cross the Jordan River. His work was completed and now his legacy would live on in the hearts and minds of the Jewish nation.

And so, God said, "Enough! Speak no more to me of this matter!" It was time to rest now.

I hope that when it's my time, I will have accomplished God's will for my own life, despite my flaws and moments of weakness.

Thomas Jefferson understood what it meant to be part of the continuum. To quote from a recent article in the Dayton Daily News: "He was a great statesman, inventor, architect, but his heart was in his gardening. Two months before his death on July 4, 1826, he was still designing treescapes - an arboretum for the University of Virginia - although, at 83, he knew he would never see their tall spires. While in retirement at Monticello, he wrote: 'Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for posterity.' He added a poignancy which is both timeless and endearing: 'Though an old man, I am a young gardener.'"