Miracles are not just events.
They are also reflections of what people are able to feel. – Based on a Midrash.
What does awe have to do with feeling safe?
A relationship with the Creator begins with awe.
Awe is a blend of sadness, fear, and wonder. It is the feeling that something greater than you is real, present, and involved in your life. But awe is not felt the same way by everyone.
It depends on how safe your inner world feels.
Your curiosity can only go as far as your sense of safety allows.
When someone is still in survival, their nervous system looks for something strong, clear, and external.
Something they can see and rely on. But when someone feels more safe inside, they can relate in a quieter way.
They can listen.
They can receive.
They can connect.
When awe is limited, the miracle comes through force. When awe deepens, the miracle comes through relationship (also depends on the state of the world).
Why did the Creator tell Moses to speak to the rock?
That is why, when the Creator told Moses to speak to the rock instead of strike it, it was not just about obedience. It was about what kind of people the Jews were becoming.
When the Jews first left Egypt, they were a people coming out of slavery, fear, and survival.
Their curiosity could only go as far as their sense of safety allowed.
They were not yet ready to explore life inwardly.
They needed structure.
They needed visible strength.
They needed to see that life could hold them.
So when Moses struck the rock the first time, as the Creator commanded, it matched the kind of nervous system they had then: a people still learning stability through force, action, and external structure.
What changed forty years later?
But forty years later, a new generation stood ready to enter the Land of Israel.
Now they were meant to rise into a different kind of strength.
Not just survival.
Not just endurance.
But relationship and responsibility.
That is why this time the Creator told Moses to speak to the rock. Speaking represents a more inward kind of life.
Less bracing.
More listening.
Less force.
More receptivity.
Less survival.
More relationship.
Why did Moses hit the rock again?
But Moses hit the rock again.
Based on a talk of the Rebbe, one way to understand this is that Moses did not want the earlier generation to feel small in front of the later one.
Moses did not want those who came out of Egypt to feel ashamed that their children were now being called to a more revealed kind of emotional and spiritual openness. The Rebbe explains something even deeper. Moses not entering the Land was not just a consequence. It was an even deeper expression of love, it was his reward.
If Moses had entered while that earlier generation remained behind, they would have felt left behind, distant, and ashamed.
So Moses stayed with them. Not because he failed, but because his love refused to move on without them.
The earlier generation had greatness.
They knew awe which is a blend of sadness, fear and wonder.
They knew sacrifice.
They knew endurance.
They knew how to keep going through pain.
But that does not mean they had finished the inner work. And the later generation also had work to do.
Just a different kind. That matters now too.
Can both older and younger generations be emotionally immature?
In this century, older generations and younger generations can both be emotionally immature. But often in different ways.
Older generations may know how to survive, but not how to speak openly, name pain, receive comfort, or believe their inner world matters too.
They may love through work, through sacrifice, through staying steady, but struggle to love through openness.
Younger generations may be more comfortable talking about feelings,but still struggle with discipline,responsibility,restraint, and turning insight into real change.
They may know how to express pain, but not yet how to carry responsibility without collapsing. So emotional maturity is not “young” or “old.” It is not about which generation is better. It is about seeing where your strength became incomplete.
How can you see where your strength became incomplete?
Ask yourself:
Do I call suppression strength?
Do I stay calm by disconnecting?
Do I work hard for people instead of opening emotionally to them?
Do I believe my needs do not matter?
Do I talk about feelings but resist responsibility?
Do I want understanding without discipline?
Do I confuse expression with growth?
Do I avoid inner work by staying busy, numb, controlling, or people pleasing?
Emotional immaturity does not always look childish.
Sometimes it looks highly functional.
Sometimes it looks respected.
Sometimes it looks like being the strong one.
Sometimes it looks like always pushing forward.
Sometimes it looks like never slowing down enough to feel what is true.
Who is the Moses of every generation?
There is an extension of Moses in every generation. – based on a teaching of the Alter Rebbe.
A leader whose role is not just to explain the Creator, but to make that truth real enough to change how people think, act, and live.
Not just ideas.
Real awareness.
Real relationship.
That is what Moses did.And that is what the Lubavitcher Rebbe did for our generationthrough his 70k+ pages of original teachings and his global work. We still call Moses a leadernot because he is physically here,but because his 5 books continue to guide how people live.
That is what real leadership is. Redemption means more than survival. It means noticing how survival still runs your life.
When you feel the need to control everything through perfectionism or aggression so “nothing goes wrong.”
When you stay busy so you don’t have to feel what is there.
When you go numb because feeling feels too overwhelming or not having words.
When you please others because conflict doesn’t feel safe.
Those are not random habits.
They are ways your body learned to protect you.
They once made sense.
How does growth begin when survival runs your life?
Your curiosity can only go as far as your sense of safety allows. But growth begins when you can start to see them without judging yourself.
To pause instead of react.
To notice what you feel without shutting it down.
To let yourself need something without feeling weak.
That is where endurance becomes awareness.
Where responsibility becomes vulnerability.
Where faith (noticing the Creator is good) becomes healing.
Where strength becomes relationship.
That is when love is no longer hidden behind survival. That is when awareness stops feeling dangerous and starts becoming your strength.
Questions people ask
Why did Moses hit the rock instead of speaking to it?
Based on a talk of the Rebbe, one way to understand it is that Moses did not want the earlier generation to feel small in front of the later one. He did not want those who came out of Egypt to feel ashamed that their children were called to a more open way of relating.
What is the difference between striking the rock and speaking to it?
Striking matched the nervous system of a people coming out of slavery: still learning stability through force, action, and external structure. Speaking represents a more inward kind of life: less bracing, more listening, less force, more receptivity. When awe is limited, the miracle comes through force. When awe deepens, the miracle comes through relationship.
Why did Moses not enter the Land of Israel?
The Rebbe explains that Moses not entering the Land was not just a consequence. It was an even deeper expression of love: it was his reward. If Moses had entered while the earlier generation remained behind, they would have felt left behind, distant, and ashamed. So Moses stayed with them.
What does awe mean in this teaching?
Awe is a blend of sadness, fear, and wonder. It is the feeling that something greater than you is real, present, and involved in your life. But awe is not felt the same way by everyone. It depends on how safe your inner world feels.
“Your curiosity can only go as far as your sense of safety allows. Moses protected their safety, The Rebbe revealed their potential.”
Explore the NextSelf Blog. Start with this post explaining the world of souls. And my Youtube. Content is published to this facebook first and a few days later, to the blog.
The blog lists all the difference patterns to study, understanding patterns is how one can develop 'Daas' [felt knowing].
Update: As awe, trust, and love deepen, they can allow greater openness and intimacy with the Creator. That intimacy can include sadness when you notice how much more of His goodness can be revealed.