“Then Israel sang” – why is Moses not mentioned there? It is because he was punished by means of water, and a person does not laud his executioner. Why is the name of the Holy One blessed be He not mentioned in it? This is analogous to a ruler who prepared a feast for the king.
The king said: ‘Is my close friend there?’ They said to him: ‘No.’ He said: ‘I too will not go there.’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He said: Since Moses is not mentioned there, I too am not mentioned there. “A well that princes dug, that the nobles of the people excavated, with a ruler’s staff, with their canes.
And from the wilderness to Matana” (Numbers 23:18). “A well that princes dug, that the nobles of the people excavated” – was there digging there? Rather, it was given due to the merit of the patriarchs, who were called princes, as it is stated: “He opened a rock and water flowed.… For He remembered His sacred word to Abraham His servant” (Psalms 105:41–42). “That the nobles of the people excavated, with a ruler’s staff, with their canes” – the princes stood atop it drawing with their staffs, each and every one to his tribe and to his family.
The space between the banners was filled with water flowing with a powerful current. A woman who needed to go to her friend from one banner to another would go by ship, as it is stated: “They went batziyot in the river” (Psalms 105:41). Tziyot means nothing other than ships, as it is stated: “A mighty ship [vetzi] will not cross it” (Isaiah 33:21). The water emerged outside the camp and surrounded it in a broad swath, as it is stated: “He leads me in circles of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalms 23:3).
It causes endless varieties of vegetation and trees to grow, as it is stated: “He lies me down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters” (Psalms 23:2). All the days that they were in the wilderness, they made use of it in this way. That is why they lauded: “Rise, well.… that princes dug” (Numbers 21:17–18). “And from the wilderness to Matana”73The word matana means a gift. – it was given to them in the wilderness to serve them.
Another matter: Why was it given in the wilderness?74The midrash here interprets the verse as referring to the Torah. It is because had it been given to them in the Land [of Israel], the tribe within whose boundary it was would say: I take precedence in its regard. That is why it was given in the wilderness, so that they would all be equal in its regard. Moreover, why was it given in the wilderness?
Just as the wilderness is not sown and not cultivated, so, one who accepts the yoke of Torah, they unload the yoke of earning a livelihood from him. Just as the wilderness is exempt from tax,75Nothing grows there, so there is nothing to tax. so, masters of Torah are free men in this world. Another matter: In the wilderness – who sustains the Torah?76This is a reference to one who knows the content of the Torah.
It is one who conducts himself like a wilderness and withdraws himself from everything. “And from Matana to Naḥaliel, and from Naḥaliel to Bamot. And from Bamot to the canyon that is in the field of Moav, by the top of Pisga, and overlooks the surface of the wasteland” (Numbers 21:19–20). “And from Matana to Naḥaliel, and from Naḥaliel to Bamot” – three places, corresponding to the three courts in Jerusalem that would explain the Torah to all of Israel.
“From Matana to Naḥaliel” – this is the Sanhedrin that was on the Temple Mount.77Naḥaliel can be read as the portion [naḥalat] of God [El] (see Eshed Haneḥalim). “And from Naḥaliel to Bamot” – this is the Sanhedrin that was in the Courtyard, alongside the altar.78Bama can refer to an altar (see Eshed Haneḥalim). “And from Bamot to the canyon that is in the field of Moav” – this was the Sanhedrin that was in the Chamber of Hewn Stone, in the area of Ruth,79This refers to the tribal portion of Judah, as Ruth was an ancestor of King David from the tribe of Judah. who came from the field of Moav – “she is a young Moavite woman who returned with Naomi from the field of Moav” (Ruth 2:6).
“And overlooks the surface of the wasteland” – this is the well that accompanied them until it entered the sea of Tiberias. One who stands upon the surface of the wasteland80Mount Nevo. sees it in the sea like an oven full, and that is the well that is overlooked from the surface of the wasteland.