<b>Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb (Exod. 17:6).</b> The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Wherever you find the imprint of a man’s foot, there I stand before you. <i>And thou shalt smite within the rock</i>. It does not say “upon the rock (<i>al ha-tsur</i>),” but <i>within the rock</i> (<i>batsur</i>). <i>And there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink … and the name of the place was called Massah</i>. R. Joshua stated: Moses named it Massah, as it is said: <i>And he called the name of the place Massah</i>. R. Eleazar of Modi’im said: And the Omnipresent called it Massah and Meribah. Because of this the Great Court is called <i>the place</i>.<sup class="footnote-marker">15</sup><i class="footnote"><i>Massah and Meribah</i> means “trial and strife,” and the since Great Court was a place of <i>massah</i> and <i>meribah</i>, it is that which is referred to here. It is also called the <i>place</i> in Deut. 17:8.</i> <i>And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying: “What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me”</i> (Exod. 17:4). Moses cried to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the world, I shall be slain, for I am trapped between you and them. You commanded me not to be angry at them, when you said to me: <i>Carry them in thy bosom</i> (Num. 11:12), but now they wish to stone me. In this instance the Holy One, blessed be He, had suppressed His anger, while Moses increased his, but elsewhere the Holy One, blessed be He, increased (his anger), while Moses suppressed his, as is said: <i>Now therefore, let Me alone that My anger may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them; and Moses besought the Lord</i> (Exod. 32:10–11). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: You said <i>They are almost ready to stone me</i>, now <i>Pass on before the people</i> (ibid. 17:5), and let Me see who will stone you. He began to walk before them, and all the Israelites arose and treated him with honor and deference. The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Many times I commanded you not to lose patience with them, but to lead them as a shepherd does his flock. It was for their sake that I elevated you, and it was because of them that you found grace, life, and honor in My sight.