Miriam died there. (Bemidbar 20:1)
Everyone knows that Moshe and Aharon passed away through misas neshikah, a “kiss” of Hashem. In the Torah it says that Moshe and Aharon died על פי ה' – “Through the mouth of Hashem.” But Chazal reveal to us the secret that Miriam, too, passed away through misas neshikah. (If so, why doesn’t the pasuk say about her, “Through the mouth of Hashem”? Because it would not be proper for the Torah to write about Hashem that He gave her a “kiss”.)
Miriam had the same tremendous dveikus to Hashem as did Moshe and Aharon. But this fact is not publicly known. The Torah does not state it openly.
Moshe, Aharon and Miriam were the three great pillars of the Jewish people in the Wilderness. Chazal teach us:
The Jewish people had three good leaders; they are Moshe, Aharon and Miriam. And three goodly gifts were given through them; they are the Well, the Cloud and the Manna. The Well was in the merit of Miriam, the Pillar of Cloud was in the merit of Aharon, and the Manna was in the merit of Moshe.
Everyone knows about Moshe and Aharon. But Miriam’s greatness, although equal to theirs, was hidden. It was quiet and modest.
This amazing matter applies to us as well. When a yeshiva boy thinks about his future he is full of aspirations. He strives to know all of Shas by heart, to learn day and night non-stop, to achieve gadlus. These aspirations support him and keep him going all his life.
And what gadlus does a woman aspire to? What keeps her going? No one knows of her aspirations!
Moshe, Aharon and Miriam all had the same gadlus. But Miriam’s misas neshikah is not publicly known. Women, too, have great aspirations. They strive and hope for a gadlus no less than that of the famous Gedolim and Tzaddikim, but no one knows about it.
A woman’s greatness is internal. It does not express itself externally, even in her deeds. There is no way to discern the greatness a woman, even if one were to follow her around twenty-four hours a day, because it is inner and hidden.
