Miriam's well -- or not?

The Hanassi Blog asked ChatGpT if there was any possible connection between Miriam and the singing well. This is the answer we received.

This issue touches on a fascinating area of Jewish tradition and interpretation—specifically, the Well of Miriam (Be'er Miriam) and its continuity in the biblical narrative and midrashic imagination.

Biblical Narrative

1. Miriam dies (Numbers 20:1).
2. The water ceases – This is inferred from the immediate complaint of the people about lack of water (20:2), which leads to:
3. Moses striking the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:7–12). This results in God's decree that Moses and Aaron will not enter the Promised Land.
4. Later, in Numbers 21:16–18, there is a poetic reference to a well:

"From there they went to Beer; that is the well where the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather the people together and I will give them water.’ Then Israel sang this song: ‘Spring up, O well! Sing to it…’”

Rabbinic and Midrashic Tradition

In rabbinic literature—especially Midrash and the Talmud—there is a strong tradition that Miriam’s Well was a miraculous, portable source of water that accompanied the Israelites in the desert by her merit. This well dried up upon her death (see Taanit 9a).

However, the Talmud and Midrashim also teach that the well returned after being lost—this time in the merit of Moses, or (in other versions) due to both Moses and Aaron. So there is a concept that the same miraculous water source returned but was no longer sustained by Miriam’s merit.

Specific linkage to Numbers 21:

The poetic reference in Numbers 21:16–18, “Spring up, O well!” (Az yashir Yisrael, ‘Ali Be’er), is indeed understood by many Midrashim and commentators to refer to the same miraculous well—i.e., the Well of Miriam. For example:

• Bamidbar Rabbah 1:2 and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan both identify this “Beer” (well) as Miriam’s well.
• Rashi, on Numbers 21:17, connects this poetic song with a miraculous event and implies continuity with the well that previously sustained them.

Mystical and Later Sources

Later Jewish mystical and folkloric sources go even further:

• The Zohar (a foundational Kabbalistic text) associates Miriam’s well with divine feminine waters and spiritual nourishment.
• Jewish legend holds that Miriam’s well still exists, hidden underground, and resurfaces at certain times—some say it is the well that appears in the Sea of Galilee or at the foot of the Temple Mount.
• According to some traditions, it reappears for the righteous or will return in messianic times.

Summary

Yes—there is indeed a traditional and midrashic linkage between:

• The Well of Miriam that dried up upon her death (Numbers 20),
• The water from the rock that Moses was commanded to bring forth (Numbers 20:8–11), and
• The poetic well in Numbers 21:16–18.

Many rabbinic sources interpret these all as referring to the same miraculous source of water, which reappears in different ways and under different merits. So the later well is often considered a renewed manifestation of Miriam's well, sustained this time not by her merit but by others.