The Keli Yakar has an interesting explanation as to why in the beginning of the forty year journey in the desert, Moshe was asked to hit the rock, while at the end of the forty years, the commandment was to speak to the rock. He explained that the generation that left Egypt were toughened by their conditions. They needed to overcome the hardships, humiliations, and beatings of their Egyptian taskmasters.

It was not difficult for them to understand that Moshe’s hitting the rock would bring results. They could........

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