The Well, the Song, and Why Torah Comes to the Lowly

"And from Mattanah to Nahaliel" (Numbers 21:19) — for that goodness with which He gave them drink in the wilderness by means of the well. And it went down with them to the valleys of Arnon, and from the valleys of Arnon it went up with them to the high places (bamoth) of the mountains, and from the high places it went down with them to the valley that is in the field of Moab, for that valley looked out from the high places upon the face of the wasteland (Jeshimon). Another interpretation: "And from there to Beer" (Numbers 21:16) — when Israel reached settled land, the well was taken away from them, and Israel spoke a song over it, as it is said, "Then Israel sang" (Numbers 21:17). And why was the name of Moses our teacher not mentioned over the well? Because he was punished through it, for the Holy One, blessed be He, swore on account of it that Moses would not enter the Land. Israel began to speak the praise of the well. Another interpretation: "A well that the princes dug" (Numbers 21:18) — this is the Torah, which was kept by Abraham and Jacob, as it is said of Abraham, "And he kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws" (Genesis 26:5), and of Jacob it is said, "And Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents" (Genesis 25:27). "That the nobles of the people delved" — these are Israel, who received it from Sinai, and through it they are called nobles, as it is said, "The nobles of the peoples are gathered together" (Psalms 47:10). And because they were blessed through its voice, they therefore merited kingship, as it is said, "And you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests" (Exodus 19:6). "With the lawgiver (mehokek)" — by means of Moses, who is called lawgiver. "With their staffs (mish'anotam)" — for they leaned (nish'anu) upon Moses, in that they accepted everything he told them from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, to keep, as it is said, "Speak you with us, and we will hear" (Exodus 20:19). "And from the wilderness, a gift (Mattanah)" — whoever makes himself like the wilderness, the Torah is given to him as a gift. For this reason the Torah is likened to water: just as water cannot stand in a high place, and goes only to a low place, so too the Torah endures only in one who makes himself like the wilderness. "And from Mattanah to Nahaliel" — since the Torah was given to him as a gift, he inherited God (nahalu El). "And from Nahaliel to Bamoth (the high places)" — since he inherited God, he rose to greatness, as it is said, "And from Nahaliel to Bamoth." But if he exalts himself, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings him low, as it is said, "And from Bamoth to the valley" (Numbers 21:20).