We just read two Parshiot, Ḥukat and Balak. As an Israeli that didn’t have a second day of Yom Tov, I cannot ever remember reading those two parshiot together. For me personally, it’s difficult to read them together, not because I need to read twice the regular amount, but because each Parasha has a lot of concepts in it, and I think each parasha deserves its own week.
In Parashat Ḥukat, we read about the song of praise for the well. The commentators explain that this song is not only about the well that accompanied Am Yisrael throughout the desert and the renewal of the well after Miriam passed away. It also thanks HaShem for saving them from the Amoraim. The well would flow with blood rather than water to show Am Yisrael that HaShem saved them from the hands of the Amoraim.
But what is really fascinating about this song is the distinct difference between the Song of the Well, and the Song of the Sea of Reeds. In the Song of the Well, Moshe Rabbeinu’s name is not mentioned even once. Some commentators explain that Moshe’s exclusion reflects negatively on him since Moshe was punished from an incident involving the well. It would be inappropriate to mention his name.
But there are two more fascinating Perushim that the commentators offer, and both reflect positively on Moshe Rabbeinu. We must first examine the peculiar timing of the Shirat HaBe’er. The well referred to in this song had already supplied Am Yisrael with water for close to 40 years. Why didn’t they praise HaShem for the Be’er when it first appeared, or at any point since then?
The answer is that as long as the Be’er remained as a reliable water source, nobody appreciated the amazing miracle that occurred in their midst on a daily basis. It’s like a person that is thirsty at the office. You go any take a drink from the water cooler. When people were thirsty in the desert, they went and took water from the well. They took the well for granted.
This tendency is prevalent in each and every one of us. When things go well for us — we have a decent job, the children are doing well in school, everyone is healthy — we do not take the time to appreciate the kindness of HaShem and thank him for it. It is only when He takes something away from us that we realize what we are missing.
Klal Yisrael had to sing this song as a tribute to Miriam when she passed because they really only came to appreciate her when she was gone. Moshe Rabbeinu — who appreciated Miriam’s righteousness and the Be’er that she provided all along — did not have to join this song of praise.
The book Shemen HaTov offers another explanation. It says that when Am Yisrael left Egypt, they were on such a low level that they couldn’t appreciate the miracles that occurred at Yam Suf. Moshe had to lead them by hand and instruct them to sing this song of praise. Forty years later, when they were just about to enter Eretz Yisrael, the Jewish people were able to appreciate HaShem’s miracles on their own.
It’s well known that in most relationships, the more people love each other, the more dependent they become on each other. One relationship is different. Parents, no matter how much they love their children, and no matter how over protective they were of their children when they were young, want to see their children become self-standing. Parents will do everything to make their children independent, and that is the true Nachat.
This was also the relationship that Moshe had with Am Yisrael. Moshe was with them from the birth of the nation as they left Egypt and he protected them and defended them for forty years. Finally, after forty years in the wilderness, Moshe was about to see Am Yisrael go on without him. They were becoming independent, and Moshe was able to sit back, like a proud parent, and watch his children gain Jewish independence, to realize on their own that it is now time to sing a song of praise to HaShem. This is why his name is not mentioned.
Shabat Shalom
Rabbi Eliyahu Tal