Parashat Chukat
A Tribute to Miriam – The Provider
of the Eternal Well of Emunah
Why do We Appreciate Something or Someone So Much More When They
are Gone?
“You only appreciate something when you lose
it” seems to be a universal principle. How many times has it happened that you held
on to an item – be it a garment or a cooking utensil or whatnot – although you
hadn’t needed it for years? Then after you finally gave or threw the item away,
the very next day you urgently need it! Unfortunately, we also often truly appreciate people
after they are gone. Many great authors like H.C. Andersen, only received their
due credit posthumously. I realize how
much I often appreciate the contribution of certain students especially after
they have left. For example, we have a wonderful, modest student who went abroad
to visit her family for an extended time. As soon as she was gone, the cleanliness
of the midrasha kitchen and Beit Midrash fell apart. None of us had realized
how hard this student worked to take out the compost and garbage, sweep, mop,
clean up the stray mugs from the classroom, do the dishes, organize the books,
and more. She did her work quietly without taking any personal credit. When our
youngest son took a while to get married, it seemed a bit of a nuisance to keep
providing him with room and board for so many years. Only after he got married and
left us empty nesters, did we truly appreciate all his many contributions, and
we still miss his daily presence dearly. I especially recall working at my desk
and hearing my son’s singsong of his Torah learning from his adjacent room. Pesach
preparations this year were also overwhelming without his help, and with no one
to clean ‘his own room.’ At this moment, I’m praying for the return of the internet
or to be able to complete my blog without the internet. I’m counting the hours
that Netfiber has been down which so far amounts to 15, it seems that there is
only one thing more vital for survival than the internet, which we may all take
for granted until it runs out, as we have experienced in our neighborhood at
the most inconvenient occasions. Yes, you guessed it, when the water pipes have
broken down we all cry out “Water, water!”
Miriam Perpetually Answers the Cry for Water
This cry – although less severe – echoes the
cry of our forefathers in the wilderness, after Miriam’s burial:
The Talmud asks why the lack of water is mentioned immediately after Miriam’s death. Rabbi Yossi answers that of the three miraculous gifts in the wilderness, the well was in the merit of Miriam. When Miriam died, the well subsided, as it is written: “Miriam died there.” This is followed by, “Then there was no water for the congregation” (Babylonian Talmud Ta’anit 9a). This is to teach us, that during the entire forty years, the Jewish people were blessed with the well of water in Miriam’s merit (Rashi, Bamidbar 20:2). Only after Miriam’s passing was it discovered that the well was in her merit. For more than 38 years, the Well of Miriam accompanied the Israelites’ desert wandering, without Miriam ever receiving the slightest credit, or gratitude for it from any of the Israelites. The water that the people had enjoyed all these years was due to the merit of Miriam who had stood by watching what would happen to her infant brother when he was in a basket in the reeds at the edge of the river (Shemot 2:4). G-d rewarded her for that act of kindness by making her the water provider for Moshe’s people. The people didn’t appreciate this until the well ceased with Miriam’s death (Rabbeinu Bachaya, Bamidbar 20:2).
Sweetening the Bitterness of Doubt
with Waters of Emunah
The thirst for water caused Israel
to doubt Hashem: “Is Hashem among us or not?” (Shemot 17:7). The
consequence of this heresy appears in the following Torah verse: “Amalek came and fought with Israel in Refidim” (Shemot
17:8). Amalek is the exterior reflection of the piercing doubt in their heart,
as the gematria of עֲמָלֵק/Amalek = סָפֵק/safek – ‘doubt.’ The inner conquest over doubting Hashem happened when the
people drank from Miriam’s well: …Before they drank from the well, what did
they say? “Is Hashem among us or not?” (Shemot 17:7). After they drank,
they said, “All that Hashem spoke we will do and we will hear” (Shemot
24:7); (Midrash (Shocher Tov), Tehillim 5). מִרְיָם /Miriam strengthened the people against doubt and Amalek as the
gematria of both the first part of her name and Amalek is מר/mar – ‘bitter.’ Miriam’s well not only satiated the
Israelites’ thirst but moreover, provided them with the spiritual nutrients of
emunah, which sweetened their spiritual bitterness. After Egypt had imbittered
their lives for so long, the Israelites needed Miriam to soothe their pain.
Sweetening and soothing the pain is exactly the job of Puah to soothe the
crying babies. Puah: This was Miriam, [called Puah] because she cried (פּוֹעָה/poah), talked and cooed to the newborn infant in the
manner of women who soothe a crying infant (Rashi, Shemot 1:15). Miriam
was the spiritual midwife who appeased and soothed the people newborn from the
womb of Egypt.
Where is Miriam’s Well Today?
Parashat Chukat teaches us that Miriam’s well provides faithful
nourishment even to this day.
Although Miriam’s name is not mentioned, our sages explain that the well described here is the well of Miriam. Just as she didn’t receive credit for the well while being alive, so did the Israelites praise Hashem for the well, without mentioning her name. Rather they attributed the well to the princes referring to Moshe and Aharon (Rashi, Bamidbar 12:18 based on the Midrash). Describing the healing properties of Miriam’s well, the following midrash also confirms that the well dug by the princes indeed is the Well of Miriam. It happened that someone who suffered from boils went down to immerse himself in the waters of Tiberias. It was a favorable time, and he saw Miriam’s well, washed in it, and was healed. Where is the well of Miriam? Rabbi Chia bar Abba said, it states, “Look down on the face of Yeshimon” (Bamidbar 21:20). Whoever ascends the mountain of Yeshimon and sees something like a small sieve in the lake of Tiberias, this is the well of Miriam… (Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 22:4). Even in our day and age, “some have a tradition to draw water Motzei Shabbat because Miriam’s well supplies all the wells each Saturday night, and one who does so and drinks will be cured of illness” (Kol Bo, Orach Chaim, 299:10). Miriam’s well is said to feed the waters of Israel’s most important water reserve nowadays, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), while hidden in its depths. Rabbi Chiya said, Miriam’s well is a type of sieve located in the Mediterranean Sea. Rav said, Miriam’s well is mobile and pure (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 35a).
Keeping the Spirit of Israel Alive Through Maintaining
Miriam’s Well
Gratitude Focus
for the Week of Parashat Chukat –
- Work on Valuing Yourself – To genuinely respect and appreciate others, you must first value yourself enough to respect and appreciate who you are. This is because your outer world is a reflection of your inner world. To change your experiences, you must start by changing your personal beliefs and attitudes to align with what you wish to experience.
- Remind Yourself to be Grateful – take just a little bit of time to remind yourself to appreciate all the people and things we may take for granted without valuing them properly. Send them thoughts of appreciation regularly, preferably daily, for example, your health. You definitely appreciate being in good health while you have it. The more you value it the more you will be able to keep it.
- Take an Object (Anything You Choose) – associate it with being grateful for being healthy and place it somewhere you see it every morning.
- Write in Your Gratitude Notebook “I am grateful to be happy” – I recommend at least ten times. In addition, if you have ten things in mind that you are grateful for, perhaps you can write about one of these things each day.
- Make an ‘I am grateful to be happy’ Poster – Post it somewhere you see
it every morning like your mirror, put it on your cellphone or next to it
the night before, and put it on a door you open at the time you want to
exercise your gratitude.
- Set an Alarm on Your Cellphone – with a push-through message – to the time you want to be reminded to pay attention to the people you are grateful for in your life.
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