“All the Waters in the World are Miriam’s Well”

CHIDUSHIM ON PARASHAT CHUKAT FROM MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A

“AND PUT UPON IT SPRING WATER IN A VESSEL”

“Migdal Eder” alludes to the heifer, which is Reisha Dela Ityada [lit. “the head which is not known,” the highest of the three heads of the Divine persona of Arich Anpin, “the long face”], because the entire matter of the red heifer is Reisha Dela Ityada. This had to be understood, because the heifer of Moshe sufficed for 890 years.  In the Second Temple, there were another six heifers; Ezra and Shimon HaTzaddik together [prepared] six heifers.  The Second Temple was 420 years.  About every seventy years there was a heifer, every hundred years.  The heifer of Moshe needed to suffice from the time the Tabernacles stood, when the second year arrived, which is to say forty years of the desert and another 840 years.  Together, this is 880.  However, in the Second Temple, they prepared one heifer for 101 years.  How could it be?  They would take giant barrels of water and sprinkle a drop of ash.  This was a miraculous phenomenon which could suffice for 800 people.   All the days of the Tabernacle in Shiloh – the Tabernacle of Shiloh was 390 years, in Nov and Givon, and afterwards, 410 years of the First Temple.  Every time they would ascend for the festival, they would be purified.   The Levites would do this every day.  Anyone who came to the Temple needed to be sprinkled upon.  Every day, they would be sprinkled upon at the entrance of the Temple.  There was a giant tower, and people would sit under the tower, and they would be sprinkling all the time, every day sprinkling.

It is enough for one drop to touch, but it needs to be on the neck, the hairs, the nail.  Soon we will read this halachah in chapter 12 in Hilchot Parah Adumah.  The Rambam writes that any drop that touches a person is enough.  However, if it is a festival, millions come, billions.  According to the calculation of the Midrash Rabbah, there were billions before the churban (destruction).

The red heifer is the Reisha Dela Ityada, which is the Tzaddik, that we should receive a drop from the Tzaddik.  Migdal Eder (עדר), which is “Woe to the arod (ערוד) [a type of dangerous creature].”  We said that the arod is Amalek.  The king of Arad (ערד) is Amalek.  “Woe to the man who encounters the arod, and woe to the arod that Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa encounters.”  Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa defeated the arod.  The Gemara says in Chullin 137 that I saw a snake coiled around a turtle, and a snake-arod emerged from between them, which is to say that the arod is a hybrid.  It is a hybrid animal.  It is a monster, something monstrous, such a terrifying animal.

And this is the whole secret of the red heifer.  Who can purify with the ashes of the red heifer?  Only the Tzaddik, who is burned every second, and every second they are burning him.  His ash suffices for 890 years.  This is not at all simple.  In the second year, the Tabernacle was erected; on the second of Nisan, they burned the heifer.  Aharon did not take part, only his son Elazar.  Korach says, “For sure, he doesn’t take part; behold, his sons were burnt – Nadav and Avihu – and not because Hashem specifically commanded Elazar to do it.  Moshe is playing favoritism here, and really Aharon is not fitting for the priesthood.  And here the proof is that now his sons were burnt, and therefore, he doesn’t burn the red heifer, because he is afraid that now also he will be burned.  Moshe says, ‘No, now Aharon won’t take part in the burning; otherwise, he’ll also be burnt up on us.’”  Korach “understands” why Aharon cannot burn the heifer, but the Zohar says, God forbid, for Aharon is holy of holies, and anyone who prepares the heifer is made impure, and it is forbidden for Aharon to become impure, even for a thousandth of a second, even impurity [that is possible to be purified of by] the evening is forbidden.  This is something else completely, not what Korach understood.

In any case, the burning of the heifer was on the second of Nisan.  There remains 39 years that they were in the desert, and another 850 years until the churban, because 440 years after Israel entered the Land, the First Temple, which stood 410 years, was built.  This is almost 890 years that one heifer sufficed, [in which] every day hundreds of thousands of people are passing, coming to the Temple.  On the festivals, billions arrive, millions, and even billions, and everyone needs to be sprinkled on.  So how much already is it possible to sprinkle?  I have the commentary of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky here.  He says that the main thing is that it touches the nail.  A person can walk without shoes and it touches his toenail.  Everyone there is crowded in.  A person doesn’t know where the sprinkling will touch him.  Someone stands on some balcony or roof and sprinkles and sprinkles.  You need a giant container to suffice for a hundred thousand people, a million people.  It is enough that one drop touches.  If even one drop touches him from the Tzaddik, if a person merits for even a single drop to touch him from the Tzaddik, he can be purified from Avi Avot HaTumah [lit. father of fathers of impurity, the impurity of a corpse], from the greatest impurities in the world, and through this, may we merit to a complete redemption speedily in our days, Amen.

“AND THERE WAS NO WATER FOR THE CONGREGATION”

Now we are learning Parashat Chukat about Miriam’s well, because Miriam’s well provides water to all the water in the world.  All the waters in the world are Miriam’s well.  Therefore, it is written here in Chukat, that when Miriam passed away, as soon as Miriam passed way, the well disappeared.  They are now at the end of forty years, from Korach until Chukat, forty years passed.  Now they are already at the end of forty years, on the day that Miriam passed away on the tenth of Nisan.  Then the well was finished, and there are infants screaming for water.  An older person can still tolerate a little, but month-old infants, two months, three months…  All the infants are screaming for water.  The entire encampment, 600,000, a billion Jews.  There are a billion Jews here.  Each one had twenty, thirty children.  The 600,000 are only the men.  And a billion children are screaming for water.  Suddenly, there is no water in the faucets, no water.  “And there was no water for the congregation” (Bamidbar 20:2).  All the infants are screaming for water, all the infants are screaming for water, “and they gathered against Moshe and Aharon” (ibid.).  Everyone said to Aharon and Moshe, “What have you brought us to after forty years?  For forty years, we have plenty of water.  Suddenly, there is no water.”  They waited another five minutes.  Hashem already cannot punish them another time so they would wait longer to enter the Land.  The spies received a punishment of forty years.  For 38 years more, they waited, which was altogether forty years in the desert; because a year and a half passed already from the exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt until the sending of the spies.  There was no water for the congregation.  Everyone said to Moshe, “Why did we go out?  Why did we leave Egypt?  This wasn’t a good idea at all,” because they made a calculation that they left before the [appointed] time.

Now we return to Parashat Chukat, that the water of Miriam waters the entire world.  Therefore, Moshe looked for the rock, because it is written in Yalkut Shimoni that everyone stood on rocks and laughed at Moshe, because Moshe took two hours to find the rock – two hours!  Rashi says that the rock hid between the rocks – so says Rashi.  Why did the rock hide?  Why does it need to hide?  What did we to do it?  What is it afraid of?  Rather, the rock was Miriam’s rock.  You are not worthy, you spoke against Moshe, you disputed Moshe, you screamed for water.  Even if a person does not have water, he does not need to scream.  He needs to wait patiently.  The Gemara says that Moshe knew that he was destined to be stricken through water.  Even the astrologers said to Pharaoh, “Throw every son that is born into the river” (Shemot 1:22).  Why?  Because they saw that Moshe was destined to be stricken through water.  But Moshe also knew that he was destined to be tested with water.  For forty years, Moshe did not get angry.  Now was the first time that Moshe got angry.  Then he lost everything, all his levels.

The Midrash says that Hashem caused oil to also come out of the rock, also water and also honey.  Because they claimed that under the rock was water.  Why does Moshe search for two hours?  Because he’s searching for a rock that has water underneath it.  Because the Gemara says that Nechunia the well-digger knew how much water was underneath every rock.  Underneath every rock, there is water.  They blow up the rock, but the moment that they blow up the rock, Miriam’s well bursts forth.  The entire desert became a lake of water.  The moment that Moshe touched the rock – so that they would not say that this was sorcery – the entire desert became filled with a lake of water and rivers.  Everyone stood to drown.  Hashem would not forgive them -- “Why are screaming for water?”  Moshe prayed and the water came down, and from then on, we know that all the water in the world comes from Miriam’s rock.  Therefore, Moshe was set on this rock, and they did not understand why he was looking for the rock.  They thought that he was looking for a rock with water underneath it, but this wasn’t true.  This rock waters the entire world, and Moshe revealed it, and there will be the complete redemption.

Therefore, Moshe said, “Shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?” (Bamidbar 20:10).  You think that from this rock we will only bring forth water?  Why do you choose this rock?  Ah, because you know that there is a rock that if you move it a tiny bit, it begins to spray.  They call them geysers.  The water comes from the mountains and it rises to the height of the mountains.  So there are wells which are called geysers which spray a hundred meters, two-hundred meters, three-hundred meters.  They said that Moshe is looking for such a rock – “You will move it and water will spray out.”  Moshe said, “No, the rock which I am looking for is ‘He would suckle him with honey from a stone, and oil from a flinty rock.’”  From this rock, milk will come out.  From this rock, honey will come out.  From this rock, oil will come out, and also fire will come out, so that they will not say that there was an oil reservoir there.

The shiur underwent editing, and if an error occurred, it should be attributed to the writer and not, God forbid, to Moreinu HaRav shlit”a.

Artwork courtesy of R’ Yehoshua Wiseman:

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