פרשת חקת
The end of this week’s Parsha records the moving song which the children of Israel sang out to God in appreciation for the use of the miraculous well which they had access to for the entire 40 years of wandering in the desert. One might ask, why specifically now, after 40 years, did the Jews see fit to thank God for this wondrous well? Would it not have been appropriate for them to sing the praises of God at any time before this? Furthermore, why do we not see any songs composed for the other miraculous events that occurred in the wilderness such as the Manna and Clouds of Glory?
The Kli Yakar dwells on this point. He begins by asserting that a person only values something when he is in danger of losing that thing. We know that just prior to this song that was sung by the Jewish people, Miriam had passed away and the well had temporarily ceased to exist. Only later was it reinstated in Moshe’s merit and shortly afterward, the Jewish people composed their song.
The Kli Yakar continues by bringing the Gemora in Taanis, (9) which says that there were three wonderful gifts bestowed upon the Jewish people in the wilderness. The first was the miraculous well which came on account of Miriam, the second was the cloud of Glory which came on account of Aharon, and the third was the Manna which came on account of Moshe. The Gemora goes on to say that when Miriam passed away, the well went away but was returned on the merit of Aharon and Moshe. When Aharon passed away the Clouds of Glory went away, only to come back on Moshe’s merit. When Moshe passed away, all three of these precious gifts were gone forever. The Kli Yakar points out that Miriam’s outstanding Chessed during the trying times when Pharaoh had decreed on every male child to be drowned in the Nile and she had saved them from danger by providing them with water at great personal risk was what generated the merit for the Jewish people to receive the miraculous well. Regarding the second miracle mentioned in the Gemorah – the Cloud of Glory which represented the dwelling of God in our midst – this came on account of Aharon who brought the Shecinah down to earth through the service he performed in the Tabernacle. And the third miracle – the manna – came on account of Moshe because the Gemorah says that Torah can only be given to “those who eat manna” and Moshe provided them with the Torah.
The Kli Yakar continues by pointing out that although Miriam’s Chessed and Aharon’s Avodah were certainly powerful, it seems clear that Moshe’s Torah trumped them all by virtue of the fact that they all returned on account of Moshe. We see from here that the Torah itself is all-inclusive and contains every other blessing in it. Similarly Chazal say about the Torah, “Keep tilling it and turning it over because everything is in it.” Not only is all knowledge contained in the Torah, but the spiritual source of all matter on this earth, (with out which nothing could exist) is contained in the Torah as well.
The Zohar says that God looked into the Torah and created the world. Does God need to look into the Torah? Is God Himself not self-sufficient completely? R’ Reuven Fein explains that God looked into the Torah in order to show us that all is contained in the Torah. It is well known that the Chazon Ish was consulted by many doctors and patients about complicated medical procedures and was proven time and again to have a knowledge and an understanding vastly superior to that of the top medical personnel of his time. All wisdom comes from the Torah and can be found there and indeed, all creation derives its sustenance from the Torah.
The Ohr Hachayim on this week’s Parsha explains that the song which the children of Israel sang in appreciation for the well was in fact a song about the Torah which is represented by water. This is why the verse says “The rulers dug the well…”. These rulers are the forefathers who paved the way for their children to receive the Torah through their tremendously powerful good deeds. The verse goes on to say, “The digging was finished by the great ones” which Chazal explain is referring to Moshe Rabenu who actually brought down the Torah to this earth.
However, we could ask the same question on this Ohr Hachayim that we did on the Kli Yakar. Why only now did the Jews sing the praise of the Torah and not 40 years earlier at Har Sinai? The simple answer offered by many of the Meforshim is that we know that a person doesn’t fully understand and appreciate his Rebbe until 40 years later. Similarly, the Jews were only in a position to fully appreciate the Torah and the one who taught it to them 40 years after its delivery and could only now sing its praise.
But perhaps we could answer in a slightly different fashion incorporating the Kli Yakar’s explanation into the Ohr Hachayim. Only now when the Jews got the Well back in the merit of Moshe, were they able to comprehend how great the Torah truly was! When the Jews saw undeniably that none of the Giants (Miriam and Aharon) were left alive, and the great well still came back to them on account of Moshe who was the pillar of Torah, were they able to grasp the true magnitude of the Torah and this is what generated the desire in them to open up in song which praised the Torah.
Perhaps we could conclude with the touching words of the Sefas Emes. The Sefas Emes explains that there were two songs in our history. The song at the sea and the song mentioned in our parsha. He explains that this concept of “Shira” comes out when a person is ready to make a major break through and move on to the next level. For example, during Tefilah, we build up to Shemone Esrei by beginning with the “song” of Pesukei Dezimrah. Only after this build up are we ready to face Hashem in prayer. This song instills in us the feeling of strength and victory which is needed to have a successful prayer. At the sea, the Jews sang on account of the fact that they were about to receive the Written Law and that would alter their lives forever. But the song on the Well which was sung in this week’s Parsha, was on account of the Torah Sheba’al Peh and the entrance into the land of Israel which would really define us as the Jewish nation for the rest of history. From this powerful Sefas Emes, we see the potential influence that song and joy can have on our lives.
May Hashem help us to rejoice in our Avodah and through this delight, to reach greater levels!