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Why was Aharon punished equally with Moshe for hitting the rock when he didn't actually hit it? The din of ein toanin limisas (no defense for those who induce sin) applies even when a tzaddik's inaction merely enables another's sin. Aharon's failure to speak to the rock as commanded allowed Moshe's mistake to occur, making him a passive accomplice despite his righteous intentions.
This shiur addresses one of the most perplexing questions about the incident at Mei Merivah: why was Aharon punished equally with Moshe when only Moshe hit the rock? Rabbi Zweig develops a profound analysis connecting this to the halachic principle of ein toanin limisas (we don't allow those who induce others to sin to defend themselves) and Shlomo HaMelech's observation in Koheles about the apparent injustice of tzaddikim being treated like reshaim. The shiur begins by establishing that while the Nachash had some justification for his actions (he could argue that Adam should have listened to Hashem (ה׳) rather than him), Hashem didn't allow him to defend himself. Similarly, Aharon appears to have done nothing wrong, yet he too was denied the right to defend himself. This parallel suggests that Aharon somehow functioned as a meisis (one who induces sin) despite his righteous character.
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Parshas Chukas - Mei Merivah incident
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