The Kli Yakar points out that it doesn’t say by Miriam like it says by Moshe and Ahron: וַיִּבְכּוּ אוֹתָם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל Bnei Yisroel cried for them, since they weren’t Maspid Miriam properly, and therefore there was no more water as an Onesh (punishment) so they should give more respect to Miriam and now they realize that she was the cause of the Mayim (water) for 40 years. We can also say a Remez that a person with a name “bitter” doesn’t have Chashivus by people.
It’s truly a wonder how a person can live a life with a name “bitter”?! And when they first got the water, the place was called: מָרָה (bitter) since it was bitter until Moshe threw into it a poison piece of wood (Metzudos) and it became sweet. Yet, forever it’s called מָרָה (bitter), and lots of Torah was learned in מָרָה. By a Yid, the name “bitter” isn’t a Chisaron; it’s a potential goodness (see Kli Yakar that this is how Talmud Torah works; first it’s hard and then it sweetens).
The True Melech Appreciates the Bitterness in His Life and Rises to The Challenge
Miriam had another name: עֲזוּבָה “forsaken”, because nobody wanted to marry her (since she had Tzora'as). We can suggest that this is also a Remez how we all forsake and dislike and reject our issues and pecklach (our: עֲזוּבָה). We all wish that we didn’t have them. But Kalev married her and cured her. On Kalev it says: וְעַבְדִּי כָלֵב עֵקֶב הָיְתָה רוּחַ אַחֶרֶת עִמּוֹ (Bamidbar 14:24) and the Ohr HaChaim says that the greatness of Kalev was that he had a big Yetzer Hara to be like the Meraglim and he conquered his Yetzer Hara.
We can suggest that this is a Remez that Kalev was a person who became great because he had a big Yetzer Hara and he overcame it; i.e., he appreciated marrying Miriam (bitter) because he had Malchus and he was ready to rise to a challenge. His Einikel, Dovid, was also on this M’halech, and he even asked for a Nisayon. (However, we normally avoid asking for trouble).
Look how happy is a person who lives with Derech HaTorah. He realizes that his claim to fame is exactly his weakness that he has to overcome. In Novardok they thrived on their ability to fight their weakness, even a drop. The greatness of Kalev and of Miriam was their going against their Tevah, and indeed, in the real truth, it makes sense to call a person a name after his Nisayon. “This is my greatness.”
Look at the greatness of a woman whose very name is Miriam (which means “bitter” since she was born in “bitter” times, i.e., during the: קוֹשִׁי הַשִׁעְבּוּד peak of the Shi'bud). The whole Klal Yisroel has no water without her! Look at the greatness of all those Mussar types that spend extra time and Kochos on Shviras HaMiddos. And just as: עִיקַר חִיּוּת הָאָדָם שְׁבִירַת הַמִּדּוֹת a person’s whole existence is for Shviras HaMiddos (Gr”a), in the same way, the whole world is alive with water since Miriam works on her Middos. She was the same one who: וַתֵּתַצַּב אֲחוֹתוֹ מֵרָחֹק stayed to watch what would happen to Moshe. Miriam wasn’t Mya'esh on Moshe, and she gets credit for Moshe Rabeinu!
People who realize that all those difficulties in your life including difficult people are just Nisyonos, have a much easier time, since they recognize the truth that’s going on behind the scenes, i.e., it’s only Hashem testing you! They don’t give up so fast, since they know that your Matzav is just a Nisayon to make you great. Miriam is proud of her name, since her very essence is to be Omed B’nisayon (withstand tests) and change bitter to sweet.
