There is a brutal sequence in Chukat that is easy to miss because the story moves so quickly. And since June is men’s mental health awareness month, we should pause and read the story closely.

Miriam dies. The people have no water. They complain to Moses and Aaron. Moses goes before God. God tells him to take the staff, gather the people, and speak to the rock so that it will give water. But Moses does not speak to the rock. He speaks harshly to the people: “Listen, you rebels.” Then he strikes the rock twice.

Water comes out. But Moses loses the future. God tells him that because he failed to sanctify God before the people, he will not lead them into the land (Numbers 20:1-12). 

The usual question is why the punishment is so severe. Moses has endured decades of complaint, rebellion, fear, and ingratitude. One moment of anger, and he loses the Promised Land? But perhaps the Torah is less interested in punishment than in diagnosis.

Miriam dies, and nobody seems to mourn. The Torah gives her death one sentence. It’s literally just a record of her death, “Miriam died there and was buried there.” (Numbers 20:1)  No eulogy. No weeping. No pause. Immediately, the people are thirsty. The community moves from........

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