"V'lo hayah mayim la'eidah, Vayikyahalu al Moshe ve'al Aharon. Vayarev ha'am im Mosheh." Numbers 20: 2,3
"There was no water for the assembled people and they gathered against Moshe and Aharon. And the people quarreled with Moshe"
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The people of Israel had had always relied upon the prophetess Miriam to give
them water. This was her blessing and her inate talent. When Miriam died, it
was natural for the Jewish people to approach Miriam's brothers, Moshe and
Aharon, to continue on in Miriam's place. The verse therefore tells us that
the nation approached Moshe and Aharon. However, what is puzzling is that
when the nation quarreled, they quarreled with Moshe alone. Moshe and not
Aharon is mentioned when the nation quarreled over wanting water. Miriam had an inate gift to provide the people with water; her name indicates this talent. The four letter name of Miriam is composed of the word "mayim" (water) and the letter "resh." The letter "resh" equals the same gematria as the word, "mi'sela" (from the stone). Miriam had the ability to draw water from the stone to quench the collective thirst of the people of Israel. All this is alluded to by her name. There is no allusion to water in Aharon's name, however there is a strong allusion to water in Moshe Rabbeinu's name. The name Moshe is broken up into two words, "Mav (mem and vav) and sheh." The word "mav" means water in Egyptian and "sheh" means pulling or drawing out. The nation naturally took up their quarrel with Moshe because the "drawing of water" was in his capacity rather than Aharon's.
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