In the first of this week’s double- parsha, Parshat Chukat-Balak, Miriam the Prophetess dies, as it says, “The Children of Israel, the entire assembly, came into the wilderness of Tzin in the first month, and the people settled down in Kadesh. There, Miriam died, and there she was buried” (Bamidbar 20:1). Why does the Torah need to tell us “There Miriam died, and there she was buried?” The second “there” must be necessary to teach us something. But what? According to the Talmud, the second usage of the word “there” teaches us that “the site of her burial was close to the place of her death” (B. Talmud, Moed Katan 28a). Based on this excerpt from the Talmud, the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains, “Seeing that the Torah mentioned the death of this righteous woman, it also was concerned with the honor due to the body of such a righteous woman, stating that she was interred on the spot” (Ohr HaChaim on Bamidbar 20:1). In other words, the Torah wanted us to know that burying a righteous person near the place of their death is a sign on deference and Kavod HaMet (honor bestowed upon the dead). However, the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh offers yet another answer as to why the word “there” is mentioned twice. In his holy words, “We learned in (the Talmud) Berachot that the righteous are called ‘alive’ even after they have died a physical death. When the Torah said ‘there,’ (a second time), it wanted to remind us that Miriam was ‘dead’ only ‘there,’ that is, only on the earth, whereas she lived on in another place reserved for the souls of the righteous” (Ibid.).

While the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains that the second usage of the word “there” teaches us that although Miriam may have died “there” in a physical sense, her soul lives on in a purely spiritual sense, Rav Hirsch has a slightly different take on how the soul of Miriam lives on, moving away from a purely spiritual understanding to an earthlier and more practical one. According to Rav Hirsch, Miriam’s death shows that “she had completed her mission on earth. Her grave in Kadesh would show future generations that she did not leave this world until the new generation was ready for the future that had been promised to it. During Israel’s long wanderings, filled with so many difficult experiences, the women did not take part in the incidents of defection from God, which resulted from despair. They cheerfully trusted God and devotedly waited for Him, and for this reason they were not included in the fateful decree of death in the wilderness. Now, mothers and grandmothers were about to go up with the new generation to the Promised Land. Bringing with them their personal recollections of the past in Egypt and of the journey in the wilderness under God’s guidance, they could refresh the souls of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren from the spiritual wellspring of their experiences with God. The fact that these Jewish women were so deeply imbued with the Jewish spirit may be ascribed in no small part to Miriam, who set them a shining example as a prophetess…What made Miriam into Miriam…did not die when Miriam…died. Just as [her] work lives on forever in [her] nation, [her] true essence is eternal: it has now departed transient earthliness and returned to God, the Source of all life” (Commentary on Bamidbar 20:1).

Rav Hirsch is saying something very deep. Yes, Miriam died “there,” at Kadesh, physically, but her spiritual legacy lived on in the hearts and minds of the Jewish women she inspired. It was by her superior example that the Jewish women did not enter into the traps of rebellion, complaining, fear and irreverence. It was by Miriam’s example that the women maintained faith in God when their male counterparts doubted and ridiculed. It was by Miriam’s example that the same women who left Egypt with timbrels in their hands could enter Eretz Yisrael. Miriam’s spiritual legacy of faith, devotion, piety, leadership and love lived on in the hearts and minds of the Jewish women, who would in turn, transmit those same qualities and attributes to the next generation. In this way, Miriam’s legacy, her essence continued to live on through the lives of the Jewish women she led and inspired.

A righteous person never really dies, as Rav Hirsch writes, “Truly, the death of a tzaddik offers convincing proof of immortality. For only one who is spiritually blind would identify the tzaddik with his or her corpse, which lies inert…How can one identify the corpse with what only a short time before had employed thought and will with spiritual strength and moral power? Only one who is blind would not see that the corpse of a tzaddik is merely the garment of a person departed - and cast aside his or her cloak” (Ibid.), 

Perhaps, the second “there” used to describe the death of Miriam is, as the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh writes, to teach us that she lives on in the spiritual realm. Perhaps. But maybe, it is as Rav Hirsch notes, that Miriam lives on beyond the earthy confines of her resting place because her legacy inspired, and continues to inspire generations of Jewish women to hold fast to the example she set. The death of Miriam was an inestimable loss on a physical level to the Jewish people. However, we can take solace in knowing that by living lives consistent with her message and model, we can continue to feel her presence among us. This Shabbat, let us reflect on how we will give over our legacies to future generations. This Shabbat, let us consider how the way we act and live here and now will influence the way others will act and live in the future. Our immortality depends on the way we live our lives today. This Shabbat, may we all think about what we are doing to invest in our immortality, in our legacies here and now, so that future generations will live their lives by our examples, and achieve their material and spiritual success based upon the strong moral foundations we have set. 

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Dan