Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, O well—sing to it—
The well which the chieftains dug, which the nobles of the people started with maces, with their own staffs. And from Midbar to Mattanah,
and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,
and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the country of Moab, at the peak of Pisgah, overlooking the wasteland.

                        Numbers 21:17-20

Analyzing poetry is challenging. It requires a slow and careful study. What can be uncovered on the second reading cannot be discerned the first time reading it. Slowly, the layers of interpretation and the multitude of explanations burst forth one from another, from Midbar to Mattanah.

The actual background explanation or the appearance of this song in the mouths of the Israelites seems straightforward. The abundance of water cascading from the rock inspired the people, turning their hearts from disappointment and complaints to hope and salvation.

Verses in Psalms that serve as a midrash to our song offer further insight into the awesome spectacle of water flowing in the middle of the desert. This observation may stem from the realization that the initiative to sing came spontaneously from the people without any encouragement or direction from their leaders (“Then Israel sang this song…”), indicating that it was motivated by an overwhelming sense of gratitude for a generous gift. Thus we find “He struck the rock and waters flowed, streams gushed forth” (Psalms 78:20) and “He opened a rock so that water gushed forth; it flowed as a stream in the parched land” (Psalms 108: 41).

This description of flowing streams and rivers is developed further in the Tosefta:

The well that was with Israel in the wilderness, was like a rock of the size of a basket and was bubbling out and rising as from the mouth of this flask, travelling with them up the mountains and going down with them to the valleys. Wherever Israel encamped it encamped opposite them opposite the door of the Tabernacle. The princes of Israel surrounded it, holding their staffs, and said over it this song, Spring up, O well—sing to it. Then the waters bubbled forth, and rose on high like a pillar; and every one drew out the staff of his tribe and family, as it is said, “The well which the chieftains dug, which the nobles of the people started with maces, with their own staffs. And from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to the valley, etc.” And it would go around all the camp of the Lord, and water all the wasteland. And it made mighty streams, as it is said, “And streams overflowed.” And they sat in small boats in order to go from place to place, as it is written, “They ran in the dry places like a river.”

                        Tosefta Sukka 3:11-12

According to the Tosefta, not only did the rock serve to filter and purify the water, not only did it accompany the Israelites to every place that they journeyed, not only did it bring water around the entire camp, to every tent and living quarters, but it turned the desert into a mini-Venice. People had to take “small boats in order to go from place to place,” as the Midrash Rabbah teaches: “when a woman had to visit her friend from another tribe she would take a boat to get there.”

After all the excitement about the powerful response to the river and the song that its waters evoked, turning from its gushing in the book of Psalms and bubbling in the Tosefta, let us examine other questions about this song, namely: Who is singing and to whom is it sung?

The Midrash Rabbah offers an explanation for the fact the Israelites break out in song, but that Moses does not participate:

Why is Moses not mentioned? Because he was punished by means of water, and a person does not praise his executioner.

The midrash implies that Moses views water as carrying a curse with it. Deep in his memory, from the time of his birth when he was pulled from the waters of the Nile, water has presented a danger. But the midrash continues and asks:

…and why is God’s Name not mentioned? This can be compared to a ruler who prepared a feast to honor the king. The kind asked: Is my friend in attendance? They told him that he was not. The king responded: In that case I will not go there. Similarly, the Holy One Blessed be He said: Since Moses is not mentioned there, I will not be mentioned there, either.

Still, the fact that Moses, Aaron and God are both missing from the song itself and are not among the singers demands explanation. Perhaps this is why Rashi suggests that Moses and Aaron are implicitly mentioned in the poem, when it says "The well which the chieftains dug," as the chieftains are Moses and Aaron. Thus, Israel's song refers to Moses and Aaron, who are praised as those who brought this great salvation to Israel by means of the abundance of water.

It should be noted, however, that the hints to Moses and Aaron that Rashi hears in the song of the Israelites, go unnoticed by the midrash. What is clear is that it is difficult to ascertain to whom the miracle of the spring can be attributed. The Malbim, for example, states clearly that Moses did not sing because he played no role in bringing the water. So who are the Israelites singing about? The midrash has a suggestion:

The well which the chieftains dug. Was there any digging involved? Rather the well was granted to them because of the merit of their forefathers, who were called chieftains (Midrash Rabbah).

The midrash suggests that the well was dug in the merit of the diggings carried out by the Patriarchs. A similar argument appears in the Tosefta which says that the water appeared in Abraham’s merit for having said “Let a little water be brought” (Genesis 18:4). Similarly, God prepared a well for his children in the desert that brought water to the entire Israelite camp (see Tosefta Sota Chapter 4). Thus, the song connects the wanderings of Abraham and his descendants from Elonei Mamrei through the Sinai desert. 

The midrash, however, continues. It appears that the chieftains played a role in this new creation, as well:

“…which the nobles of the people started with maces, with their own staffs,” meaning that the heads of the tribes stood at the side of the well and each one drew from it with his staff on behalf of his tribe and his family so that the spaces between the tribes became filled with water (Bamidbar Rabbah).

In Midrash Tanhum we find reference to a deeper problem:

Why was it given to them in the desert?

Had it been given to them in the Land of Israel, the tribe in whose territory it was found would argue “I deserve to get it first.”

Therefore it was given in the desert so that all would be equal in it.

     (Midrash Tanhum, Hukkat 49)

The discovery of significant natural resources that are needed by all is a matter that must be discussed. Today in Israel, the Sheshinski Committee was established to clarify who has rights to the oil and gas discoveries in the Mediterranean and economic committees in the Knesset must grapple with these questions. The discovery of a great source of water will likely have many claiming credit and demanding rights to it. According to the Midrash, such a resource will be shared by all only if it is found in the desert where no one can claim ownership. With no small irony, the midrash describes the controversy that could be anticipated when such discoveries are made within precincts that can be claimed by one person or another. It is clear to the midrash that natural resources belong to all. Someone can lay claim to a piece of land or to an inheritance, but natural resources are different. They must be shared by all.

The various commentators expressed this approach when presenting the water as a metaphor used to signify the Torah. The Torah was also given in the desert. The Torah was also transported from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth.

There is no resource more abundant than the words of Torah and none is more fruitful. To whom do the words of the Torah belong in each generation? Who owns the 'rising spring' and 'this endless river'?

The desert is a wilderness. It does not require the issuance of permits, and we find there neither orderly government nor a complex bureaucratic system. It is accessible and it belongs to anyone willing to settle there. There are no taxes and no tariffs. This is why the Torah, too, was given in the desert.

There is, however, an alternative approach, as is suggested by Rabbi Nahman of Breslov.

This is the meaning of “The well which the chieftains dug, which the nobles of the people started with maces, with their own staffs. And from Midbar to Mattanah…” The well refers to explanations of the Torah, that the Jewish leaders merit by delving into its study, leading each of them to reach the level of greatness as is appropriate for him – the revelations of the Torah. And by means of the explanations of the Torah, they also merit repentance and abashment, which is the meaning of “which the chieftains dug.” Digging refers to abashment, as we find in Isaiah (24:23) “Then the moon shall be ashamed, And the sun shall be abashed.” For the explanations of the Torah that are represented by the well lead to abashment.

Likutei Moharan Tinyana 72

If I understand Rav Nahman correctly, he argues that the explanations of the Torah realized by each one of us, and each novel idea that a person thinks of, are inspired by the chieftains and the noble people of old. The source of these ideas is that same well-spring of the desert that brought water up for the people – that is, the same Torah taught by Moses in the desert. The connection to this vast abundance contains an aspect of great enlightenment, while, at the same time, it also serves as clear testimony to the fact that we are merely vessels of the Torah. The very power and illumination of these novel thoughts serve to attest that they cannot possibly be owned or controlled by anyone – they belong to all.