Ramban on Numbers 20:13

וַיִּקָּדֵשׁ בָּם – שֶׁמֵּתוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן עַל יָדָם, כְּשֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עוֹשֶׂה דִּין בִּמְקֻדָּשָׁיו הוּא מִתְיָרֵא וּמִתְקַדֵּשׁ עַל הַבְּרִיּוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״בִּקְרֹבַי אֶקָּדֵשׁ״ (ויקרא י׳ ג׳), וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר: ״נוֹרָא אֱלֹהִים מִמִּקְדָּשֶׁיךָ״ (תהלים ס״ח ל״ו), לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ״י (רש״י על במדבר כ׳:י״ג). גַּם כֵּן פֵּרֵשׁ ר״א (אבן עזרא על במדבר כ׳:י״ג). וְאֵינֶנּוּ נִרְאֶה בְּעֵינַי, כִּי עֲדַיִן לֹא מֵתוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן, וְאֵינֶנּוּ מִתְפַּרְסֵם לַבְּרִיּוֹת שֶׁיָּמוּתוּ בַּחֵטְא הַזֶּה שֶׁיִּתְיָרֵא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל יְדֵי כָּךְ כַּאֲשֶׁר הָיָה בְּנָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא וּבְפֶרֶץ עֻזָּא (ו׳ ח׳). וְעוֹד כִּי הַכָּתוּב אָמַר ״אֲשֶׁר רָבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת ה׳ וַיִּקָּדֵשׁ בָּם״, כִּי בַּמְּרִיבִים נִתְקַדֵּשׁ, מִלְּשׁוֹן ״בִּקְרֹבַי אֶקָּדֵשׁ״, וְרָאוּי הָיָה לְדִבְרֵיהֶם שֶׁיֹּאמַר "וַיִּכָּבֵד עַל פְּנֵיהֶם". וְהַנָּכוֹן בְּעֵינַי כִּי מַעֲשֵׂה הַצּוּר הָרִאשׁוֹן הָיָה לְעֵינֵי זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּלְבַד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁמְּפֹרָשׁ שָׁם (שמות י״ז ו׳-ז׳), וּבָזֶה אָמַר ״וַיַּקְהִילוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן אֶת הַקָּהָל" וְגוֹ'. עַל כֵּן אָמַר הַכָּתוּב כִּי מֵי מְרִיבָה הָאֵלֶּה שֶׁנִּגְזְרָה בָּהֶם הַגְּזֵרָה עַל מֹשֶׁה וְעַל אַהֲרֹן, הֵמָּה אוֹתָם מֵי מְרִיבָה אֲשֶׁר רָבוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַשֵּׁם וַיִּקָּדֵשׁ בָּם לְעֵינֵי כֻּלָּם, כְּעִנְיָן שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וְקִבַּצְתִּי אֹתָם מֵאַרְצוֹת אֹיְבֵיהֶם וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בָם לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם רַבִּים״ (יחזקאל ל״ט כ״ז). וְדַע כִּי בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה הָיְתָה לָהֶם מְרִיבָה עִם מֹשֶׁה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר: ״וַיָּרֶב הָעָם עִם מֹשֶׁה״ (שמות י״ז ב׳), וְכֵן אָמַר: ״עוֹד מְעַט וּסְקָלֻנִי״ (שם פסוק ד׳), וְהָיוּ מְנַסִּים אֶת הַשֵּׁם ״הֲיֵשׁ ה׳ בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ״ (שם פסוק ז׳). אֲבָל בְּכָאן הָיוּ מְרִיבִים כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה וְלֹא הָיָה בְּכָאן נִסָּיוֹן, וְעַל כֵּן אָמַר כִּי אֵלֶּה מֵי מְרִיבָה שֶׁנִּגְזְרָה בָּהֶם הַגְּזֵרָה הַזֹּאת, הֵמָּה מֵי מְרִיבָה אֲשֶׁר רָבוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת ה׳ וַיִּקָּדֵשׁ בָּם לְעֵינֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָרִאשׁוֹנִים אֲשֶׁר נִסּוּ אֶת הַשֵּׁם וְלֹא נִתְקַדֵּשׁ רַק לְעֵינֵי זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. וּבַעֲבוּר הֱיוֹת עִנְיַן הַסֶּלַע שְׁנֵי פְּעָמִים, הֻצְרַךְ לְבָאֵר עַל אֵיזֶה מֵהֶם נֶעֶנְשׁוּ הַצַּדִּיקִים: AND HE WAS SANCTIFIED IN THEM — “in that Moses and Aaron died on account of them [i.e., the waters of Meribah]. When the Holy One, blessed be He, executes judgment upon those who are holy [i.e., near] to Him, He becomes revered and sanctified in people’s eyes, as it is said, In them that are nigh unto Me I will be sanctified,¹⁸⁶Leviticus 10:3. and similarly it is stated, Revered is G-d ‘mimikdashecha’ (out of Thy holy places).”¹⁸⁷Psalms 68:36. “Read not mimikdashecha (‘out of Thy holy places’) but mim’kudashecha [‘out of Thy sanctified ones’ — out of those who are holy to His Name, upon whom He executes judgment]” (Rashi, Leviticus 10:3). This is Rashi’s language, and it is also Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s interpretation. But it does not appear to me to be correct, for Moses and Aaron had not yet died and it was not commonly known amongst people that they were to die on account of this sin, so that G-d would become revered as a result of it, as happened with Nadab and Abihu,¹⁸⁸Leviticus 10:1-2. and at Perez-uzzah.¹⁸⁹II Samuel 6:8. Besides, Scripture states, These are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the Eternal, and He was sanctified ‘by them,’ meaning to say that He was sanctified by those who did the striving [and not through the punishment of Moses and Aaron, as Rashi and Ibn Ezra said], this being related to the expression ‘In them’ that are nigh unto Me I will be sanctified.¹⁸⁶Leviticus 10:3. And according to their explanation [i.e., that of Rashi and Ibn Ezra], it should have said, [These are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the Eternal] “and He became honored in front of them” [the children of Israel].
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the incident with the first rock took place in the sight of the elders of Israel¹⁹⁰Exodus 17:6. alone, as it is expressly stated there. But here [in Verse 10] it is said, And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together etc. Therefore Scripture states that these waters of Meribah [Strife] which brought about the Divine decree against Moses and Aaron [that they would not enter the Land], were the same waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the Eternal and He was sanctified in them in the presence of all of them, similar to that which is written, and I shall gather them out of their enemies’ lands, and will be sanctified in them in the sight of many nations.¹⁹¹Ezekiel 39:27.
Know that at the first [incident with the rock] the people quarrelled with Moses — as it is said, And the people strove with Moses,¹⁹²Exodus 17:2. and so also did Moses say, They are almost ready to stone me¹⁹³Ibid., Verse 4. — and they [also] tried G-d, saying, Is the Eternal among us, or not?¹⁹⁴Ibid., Verse 7. But here they strove with Him Who is on high, but they did riot test Him. Therefore [Scripture] says that these waters of Meribah [Strife] which were the cause of this decree [against Moses and Aaron] are the same waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the Eternal, and He was sanctified in them in their presence, and they were not the first [waters of the rock in Horeb],¹²⁴Exodus 17:6. where they tried the Eternal, and He was sanctified only in the sight of the elders of Israel.¹⁹⁰Exodus 17:6. And since there were two incidents with a rock, Scripture had to explain for which one [of these two events] these righteous men [Moses and Aaron] were punished.