The Torah states, “Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Wilderness of Sinai…” The Midrash cites the verse from Yirimiyah, “G’d said to the Jewish people, ‘You are the generation that witnessed the Word of G’d. Have I been a desert to Israel, a land of darkness? Yet you came with a claim against Moshe saying: Why did you take us up out of Egypt to die in the desert?’ Did I treat you as if you were in a desert? If a mortal king were to go out into the desert, does he have the tranquility and comfort of his own palace? Does he have the same amount of food and drink available to him? In the desert, I accommodated you with a setting that is the equivalent of a palace. With Clouds of Glory, I took you out of Egypt where you were slaves to Pharaoh. In addition, I gave you three redeemers who accommodated your needs…In the merit of Moshe, you were provided with the Manna. In the merit of Aaron, you were provided with the Clouds of Glory… In the merit of Miriam, who sang praises at the Sea, you were provided with the wellspring.”

Chazal tell us, “The Torah was given to those who ate of the Manna.” Meaning, the Torah was given to the generation who were sustained through the spiritual nourishment of the Manna. The Gemara in Tractate Yomah tells us that the Manna was heavenly food. It is referred to as “lechem abeirim” The Manna was composed of the spiritual nourishment that sustains the angels in physical form. Through their spiritual nourishment the Jewish people were able to comprehend and internalize the concepts of the Torah on the most profound level. Rabbi Yosef Kalatsky explains: Since Moshe was the individual who was qualified to be the conduit through which the Torah was given to the Jewish people, it is logical to say that the Manna, which is spiritual in its essence, should be given to them in his merit. Chazal do not reveal to us the linkage between the Manna and Moshe. The Clouds of Glory were given to the Jewish people in the merit of Aaron, the High Priest, who was the spiritual equivalent of his brother Moshe. The Clouds of Glory protected the Jewish people in the desert for forty years. What was unique about Miriam that her merit should provide the wellspring on behalf of the Jewish people for forty years? Miriam together with her mother Yocheved were the Jewish midwives who defied the dictate of Pharaoh to kill the newborn Jewish males. The Jewish people thrived in Egypt in the merit of Miriam and Yocheved. They did not heed the command of Pharaoh because “they feared G’d.” It was because of this exceptional level of reverence for G’d that they merited to have “houses.” Regarding Miriam, she merited to have the “house of kingship (malchus).” However, it was not because of this that she merited the gift of the wellspring, but rather the Midrash tells us it was because “she sang praises at the Sea.” Moshe sang the praises of G’d at the time of the splitting of the Sea for the men, but it was Miriam who led the women in song. Why was her expression of song so significant that the Jewish people should merit the wellspring on her on her behalf? Miriam articulated and delineated the praises of G’d in a unique and expressive manner to the women. Because she elucidated the events that transpired at the Sea in song, she brought the women to another level of clarity and appreciation of G’d. In addition, the women’s expression of praise was a public sanctification of G’d’s Name. Through Miriam’s articulation of what had transpired at the splitting of the Sea, she merited that the wellspring come about through her.

Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim

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