We learn this week that Miriam passes away after the Israelites come to Kadesh, and that they then have no water to drink [Num. 20:1-2]. Rashi explains that for the entire 40 years that they were in the desert, they had access to a well in the merit of Miriam. Once she passed away, the well dried up.
Yes, Miriam was a great person. She was responsible for saving Moshe—she watched to see what would happen, saw Pharoah’s daughter rescue him from the river, and went to get her mother to be the nursemaid for her own son. She also led the women of Israel to sing at the Red Sea after the men.
But we also know that Miriam spoke badly of Moshe, and that lashon hora is a terrible sin. So doesn’t this tell us that she was not that great, after all?
The Torah is telling us that the truth is precisely the opposite: that no human is perfect. That, of course, plays out as Moshe restores the flow of water, but deviates from Hashem’s instructions. He was told to speak to the rock and it would provide water, which would have brought about a greater sanctification of Hashem’s name, but Moshe struck the rock instead [20:8, 11]. Moshe, too, sinned, and given his high level was told he would not merit to bring the Israelites into the Holy Land [v. 12].
What happened when Miriam spoke about Moshe? She was punished with Tzara’as [12:10], but the well did not dry up.
What happened when Moshe himself struck the rock? He was punished that he would not guide the Israelites into the Holy Land, but he was not immediately removed as their leader.
No one is perfect, the Torah tells us. Both Moshe and Miriam may have sinned, but they were and remained great people, and were punished in a way that matched their tremendous spiritual level. This means that they were still great. What caused Moshe to decline was not his own error, but the sins of the nation: “go descend, because your people… have corrupted themselves” [Ex. 32:7]!
Miriam may have sinned, but even then, the water continued flowing. This shows us that we should not demand perfection from anyone, including ourselves. Even if we make a mistake, we have the opportunity to pick ourselves up, repair what we have done, and continue onwards and upwards.
