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Why did the Jewish people sing to the well (Be'er) after it revealed Hashem (ה׳)'s miracle at Arnon, but never sang to Miriam's well during forty years? The shiur develops that this well symbolizes nature responding to man when he has proper faith. The lesson emerges from Moshe's sin at Mei Merivah - he provided water instead of teaching that true security comes from relationship with Hashem, not material provision.
Rabbi Zweig analyzes the puzzling episode in Parshas Chukas where the Jewish people sing "Az Yashir Yisrael" to the well (Be'er). He opens with several fundamental questions: Why did they sing to this well when they never sang to Miriam's well during forty years in the desert? Why is the language "Yashir" (future tense) rather than "Sharu" (past tense) as at the splitting of the sea? And why didn't Moshe participate in this song, unlike at the Red Sea? The shiur connects this episode to the miracle at Arnon (Eshed haNachalin), where Hashem (ה׳) caused the mountains of Eretz Yisrael to crush into caves on the Moabite side, killing hidden Amorite ambushers. The well then revealed this miracle by bringing up the gore, showing the Jewish people how close they had come to destruction at the very threshold of entering the Land.
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How does the covenant of Arvot Moav differ from earlier obligations? The shiur develops the yesod that this covenant created a new level of unity — not just working for the same Master, but collectively becoming a reflection of Hashem's presence. When Klal Yisrael embraces yichud Hashem as a shared vision rather than individual service, future generations become bound, teshuvah becomes natural, and mutual responsibility reaches the depth of "kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh."
Why was Miriam punished with tzaraas when her criticism of Moshe seemed justified? The shiur develops a yesod based on a Midrash that Miriam's error wasn't lashon hara in the conventional sense — she actually intended to help with a shalom bayis issue — but rather her failure to search out Moshe's unique madrega and recognize that his separation from his wife was a halachic requirement for his level of nevuah, not just a chumra. This reframes the entire mitzvah of "zachor es asher asah Hashem" as an obligation to actively seek out people's hidden ma'alos.
Parshas Chukas 21:17
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