Am Yisrael arrives in Kadesh, near the end of their 40-year journey. The final stretch before entering Eretz Yisrael.

וַתָּ֤מׇת שָׁם֙ מִרְיָ֔ם וַתִּקָּבֵ֖ר שָֽׁם׃

“Miryam died there and was buried there.”

(Bemidbar 20:1)

The Torah gives no hesped, no tears, no mourning.

Just a silence.

Then:

וְלֹא־הָיָ֥ה מַ֖יִם לָעֵדָ֑ה

“There was no water for the congregation.”

(20:2)

Chazal make the connection instantly.

📖 Ta’anit 9a teaches:

Three gifts sustained Israel in the midbar — the man, the ananei ha-kavod, and the well — in the merit of Moshe, Aharon, and Miryam.

When she died, the well stopped.

But why did water flow in her merit?