Standing from Afar: Chukat 5786

This piece was first posted on the Hanassi Highlights, Thursday 18 June 2026. Thanks to ChatGPT you can also read it in Hebrew, here.

Parshat Chukat marks a profound turning point in the story of the Jewish people.

Within a single parashah we encounter the deaths of Miriam and Aharon, and the episode of Mei Merivah, after which Moshe is told that he will not lead the nation into the Land of Israel. More than any other parashah, Chukat represents the transition from one generation of leadership to the next.

Moshe, Aharon and Miriam were not merely great leaders. Chazal teach that they were each associated with one of the miraculous gifts that sustained the nation in the wilderness. The Gemara states: “Three good leaders arose for Israel—Moshe, Aharon and Miriam—and through them came three gifts: the manna, the Clouds of Glory, and the well” (Ta'anit 9a). When Miriam died, the well disappeared. When Aharon died, the Clouds of Glory departed. The obvious question is: why was Miriam specifically associated with water?

Rabbeinu Bachaye points us back to an earlier scene. As an infant, Moshe was placed in a basket upon the Nile, and the Torah tells us:

"Vatetatzav achoto merachok"—“His sister stood from afar to know what would become of him” (Shemot 2:4).

In the merit of that act, Miriam was rewarded with the well that accompanied the Jewish people throughout their forty years in the desert. But the connection runs deeper than reward alone. Rav Soloveitchik explains that Miriam was not merely watching a basket floating on a river. She was watching Jewish destiny unfold. Standing “from afar” means seeing beyond the immediate moment, beyond uncertainty and hardship, toward a larger future that has not yet revealed itself.

This quality characterises Miriam throughout her life. She encouraged hope during the darkest years of Egyptian slavery. She anticipated redemption even before it arrived. She possessed the ability to see possibilities where others saw only obstacles.

Yet there is another lesson as well. For forty years the people benefited from Miriam's well, but many may never have realised that the blessing came in her merit. Only when she was gone did they understand what she had provided.

So often the most significant contributions are the least visible. A word of encouragement, a quiet act of kindness, a moment of attention to another person —these rarely attract headlines, yet they shape lives in ways we may never fully know. The greatness of Miriam lay not only in her vision of the future, but in her willingness to perform a seemingly small act whose consequences would be felt generations later.

"Vatetatzav achoto merachok." Miriam stood from afar. She teaches us to look beyond the present moment, to recognise potential where others see uncertainty, and to remember that even the smallest acts can become sources of blessing far greater than we imagine.

Shabbat Shalom!

The Song of Miriam's Well

This coming week’s parashah says different things to different people. Many of us are preoccupied with the mystery of the Red Heifer, but others focus on the death of Miriam and Moses’ punishment for hitting the water-bearing rock instead of speaking to us. But for our member and distinguished composer Max Stern the stand-out feature is a curious song with puzzling words, apparently sung by a well. This episode inspired Max to write a short work, The Song of Miriam's Well, which you can listen to here.

Let Max tell you about it in his own words. He writes:

The Well of Miriam was a sieve-like rock out of which water gushed forth and supplied the Children of Israel with water on their 40-year wanderings in the desert. Legend has it that the Well itself sang while the people responded as a chorus.

This composition recreates the sparkling joy of the Well, and the spirit of universal goodwill that accompanied it.

צִדְקָתְךָ, כְּהַרְרֵי-אֵל

מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, תְּהוֹם רַבָּה

 אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה תוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה

Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Thy judgments are like the great deep; Man and beast Thou preservest, O LORD. (Ps.36:7)

 וְצִדְקָתְךָ אֱלֹהִים, עַד-מָרוֹם

אֲשֶׁר-עָשִׂיתָ גְדֹלוֹת; אֱלֹהִים, מִי כָמוֹךָ

Thy righteousness, O God, reacheth unto high heaven; Thou who hast done great things, O God, who is like unto Thee? (Ps. 71:19)

 צִדְקָתְךָ צֶדֶק לְעוֹלָם; וְתוֹרָתְךָ אֱמֶת

Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is truth. Ps.119:142)

The piece is scored for a two-part choir, two-part speaking chorus, and contrabass. It was recorded and edited by Shalom Kinnory.

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As a footnote, some of you may be thinking there's something wrong here. The Song of the Well in parashat Chukkat comes well after the death of Miriam and the end of her well -- so how can the well in question be Miriam's well?  For an excellent answer, click here.