Chukas – Moshe Rabbenu Provides Water to the Jews.

Why the first time Moshe Rabbenu was commanded to hit the rock and over here to speak to it? The Daroshes Haran explains it is like teaching a child proper behavior. The first time you force it by hitting him with a belt but the second time you can talk to him just by threatening through holding the belt.
The Rav Malbim, as his custom, differentiates words עדה and קהל where the first is an organized group respecting the elder the second is anarchy, everyone wants to be first. There it says צור which has no inherent water in it, a cliff. So it must be hit to turn it to water. However סלע has water, so if hit, no miracle to get water. So Moshe Rabbenu had to talk to it first to get all the water out and then hit it. That is why he had to take the stick along. So aveira was the hitting it first. The Rambam says that he became angry. Some say that he used an expression which gave an impression that Moshe Rabbenu does it on his own rather Hashem did it. The Ramban says that he used a derogatory language. Maybe they are related, Since he got angry, he did not watch what he was saying. Some say hitting it twice but the first time no water came. What was Aharon’s sin? the Rav Abarbanel explains that through the eigel the Jews’ emunah weakened so he had to restore the emunah, not being able to do that, the original misdeed did not get corrected.