The Book of Numbers, in the Torah, gives us a powerful story, one unpacked beautifully in Bamidbar Rabbah, a classical midrashic collection (a midrash is an interpretive work drawing out deeper meanings from the sacred text). It explores these very questions through the incident of the bronze serpent.

The story begins with the Israelites grumbling – again! They're complaining about God and Moses, and as a result, God sends venomous snakes among them. Many people die. In desperation, "The people came to Moses and said: We sinned, for we spoke against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, and He will remove the serpent from us. Moses prayed on behalf of the people" (Numbers 21:7).

Now, Bamidbar Rabbah digs deep into this verse. It notes, "The people came to Moses and said: We sinned – they knew that they had spoken against Moses, and they prostrated themselves before him and said: 'Pray to the Lord, and He will remove [the serpent] from us' – it was a single serpent."

But here's the thing: Moses doesn't hesitate. Despite their constant complaining, despite their rebellion, "Moses prayed," the Midrash emphasizes, "to inform you of Moses’s humility; he did not hesitate to plead for mercy on their behalf, and to inform you of the power of repentance. Once they said: 'We sinned,' he was immediately placated before them, as the one from whom forgiveness is asked must not become cruel."

That last phrase really hits home, doesn’t it? "The one from whom forgiveness is asked must not become cruel." We're reminded that forgiveness isn't just a nice thing to do; it's almost a moral imperative. We see this idea echoed elsewhere. The Midrash draws parallels, noting “Likewise it says: 'Abraham prayed to God, and God healed [Avimelekh]' (Genesis 20:17). Likewise it says: 'The Lord restored Job’s loss when he prayed for his friends' (Job 42:10)."

The Midrash then asks a piercing question: "From where is it derived that if one wronged another and he says to him: I sinned, that he is called a sinner if he does not forgive him?" The answer, they suggest, lies in the words of Samuel: “'I too, far be it from me to sin against the Lord, to cease to pray on your behalf' (I Samuel 12:23)." Samuel sees withholding prayer – withholding that act of seeking divine grace – as a sin in itself! This was after the people confessed, "We have sinned because we transgressed the directive of the Lord and your words" (I Samuel 12:19).

Following Moses' prayer, God gives an unusual instruction: "The Lord said to Moses: Craft for yourself a fiery serpent, and place it upon a standard; it will be, that anyone who was bitten, if he will see it he will live" (Numbers 21:8). So, Moses creates a bronze serpent, a nechushtan.

The Midrash expands on this, noting that “'anyone who was bitten' – not only one who was bitten by a serpent, but rather 'anyone who was bitten' – even if he was bitten by a cobra, a scorpion, a wild beast, or a dog." It wasn't just snake bites that could be healed. It was any kind of harm, any kind of venom.

And then, a final, intriguing detail: "Moses crafted a bronze serpent and placed it on the standard [nes]" (Numbers 21:9). The Midrash points out that the word nes can also mean "miracle." So, Moses didn't just place it on a pole; "he cast it into the air and it remained." A literal miracle, suspended for all to see.

What does it all mean? Perhaps the bronze serpent wasn't just a physical cure, but a symbol of something deeper. Maybe it represented the power of repentance, the possibility of healing, and the obligation we have to forgive those who seek it. The image of that serpent, suspended in the air, a visible reminder that even after being "bitten" by life, by mistakes, by the venom of others, there's always a chance for healing, a chance for a miracle, and a chance for forgiveness. And maybe, just maybe, that chance begins with us.