In Parashas Chukas, we read of the passing of two beloved leaders of the Jewish people, Miriam and Aharon. Both served as parent figures, guiding the Jews during their travels and travails through the midbar. Their deaths marked a period of vulnerability for the people.
We learn about Miriam’s death first. “The Bnei Yisrael arrived at the wilderness of Zin… Miriam died there and was buried there.” And then, immediately, “The community was without water.”1
As long as Miriam was alive, she was a source of water and a source of life as her well provided essential water. With her passing, the well dried up, leaving the people vulnerable and threatened by thirst.
The Torah notes Miriam's death with a peculiar redundancy: "She died there and was buried there." This contrasts with the deaths of her brothers, Moshe and Aharon, which were shrouded in mystery, and it was presumably harder to accept, as we will see later. Miriam’s death was witnessed and her burial known.
Immediately after her death,…
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