(22) Then Moses caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur; they traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water.(23) They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; that is why it was named Marah. (24) And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”(25) So he cried out to ה׳, and ה׳ showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water and the water became sweet. There [God] made for them a fixed rule; there they were put to the test.

(1) From the wilderness of Sin the whole Israelite community continued by stages as ה׳ would command. They encamped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.(2) The people quarreled with Moses. “Give us water to drink,” they said; and Moses replied to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you try ה׳ ?”(3) But the people thirsted there for water; and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”(4) Moses cried out to ה׳, saying, “What shall I do with this people? Before long they will be stoning me!”(5) Then ה׳ said to Moses, “Pass before the people; take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take along the rod with which you struck the Nile, and set out.(6) I will be standing there before you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will issue from it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.(7) The place was named Massah*Massah I.e., “Trial.” and Meribah,*Meribah I.e., “Quarrel.” because the Israelites quarreled and because they tried ה׳, saying, “Is ה׳ present among us or not?”

(1) The Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin on the first new moon, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there.(2) The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron.(3) The people quarreled with Moses, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished at the instance of ה׳ !(4) Why have you brought ה׳’s congregation into this wilderness for us and our beasts to die there?(5) Why did you make us leave Egypt to bring us to this wretched place, a place with no grain or figs or vines or pomegranates? There is not even water to drink!”(6) Moses and Aaron came away from the congregation to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their faces. The Presence of ה׳ appeared to them,(7) and ה׳ spoke to Moses, saying,(8) “You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community, and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water. Thus you shall produce water for them from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their beasts.”(9) Moses took the rod from before ה׳, as he had been commanded.(10) Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock; and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?”(11) And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank.(12) But ה׳ said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them.”(13) Those are the Waters of Meribah—meaning that the Israelites quarrelled with ה׳ —whose sanctity was affirmed through them.

(16) And from there to Beer, which is the well where ה׳ said to Moses, “Assemble the people that I may give them water.”(17) Then Israel sang this song:
Spring up, O well—sing to it—(18) The well which the chieftains dug,
Which the nobles of the people started
With maces, with their own staffs. And from Midbar to Mattanah,(19) and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,(20) and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the country of Moab, at the peak of Pisgah, overlooking the wasteland.

What seems more correct in my eyes is that on account of the fact that the Holy Blessed One was in the future going to give them Torah and mitzvot at Sinai, it was necessary in these first journeys to bring Israel to situations of struggling and suffering such that they would plead before Hashem and They would fill the Israelites' needs, and they would know that there is a G-d in Israel, since They are the one who brings streams of water from the rock and gives bread, because all is in Their hand like clay in the hand of a potter.

...behold Hashem brought these difficult trials upon them, and because of that Israel didn't receive punishment for their complaints here, as they were speaking from suffering and anger...

And also Moshe Rabbeinu, when mentioning Israel's sins in Deuteronomy, didn't mention Marah (along with the other places they complained), since at Marah it was reasonable for them to ask this, as they were suffering of thirst for three days in the middle of the summer, and then found bitter water.

...[when it says שם נסהו], it means that there the Holy Blessed One began to perform miracles for Israel in the desert; because all the miracles that had been done up until now were to punish the Egyptians. However to provide for the Israelites' needs in the desert, They began in this place to perform wondrous miracles to fulfill these needs, and the language of נסהו is the language of great miracles.

Perhaps Bnei Yisrael thought that the lack of [drinkable] water in Marah was because Moshe had led them there, and he had not known whether water was present, but in these travels where they were led by the cloud aka by Hashem, when they came to Rephidim and found no water, then the matter became very difficult for them--how had G-d led them via the cloud to a dry and barren wasteland with no water?

...and on account of this it says that the people fought with Moshe and said "Give (plural) us water to drink!" The plural nature of give is referencing Hashem and Moshe, not Aharon...

...but it was G-d's intention and desire to give them water near Sinai, such that the water could be a hint/reference of the Torah, as the Torah is compared to water.

...G-d also commanded here with the tzor to hit it and with the sela to speak to it; as the tzor was the beginning of the water miracle, it required a strike in order to transform the foundation of the land into water by means of a miracle.. But after the miracle of the water had existed and been upheld, it was sufficient with just speech...

AND THE ETERNAL SAID UNTO MOSES: PASS ON BEFORE THE PEOPLE.
It appears likely to me that the waters — cold flowing waters — came out from the rock in Horeb and flowed to Rephidim, and there the people drank them. This is Scripture’s intent in saying, He brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers...The second rock in Kadesh, [instead of gushing forth water], became cleft with a sort of spring welling forth waters, and therefore Scripture states, That is ‘the well’ whereof the Eternal said unto Moses, etc., and Israel said in the Song, ‘The well,’ which the princes digged, for it was like a well that was dug. It is for this reason that Scripture says there, and the congregation drank, and their cattle, which means that there they drank from it at that place immediately, but here [in Horeb], overflowing rivers came from it and they drank of it in their homes at their will. Now although according to the tradition of our Rabbis, it was all Miriam’s Well, it is possible that on the first occasion [in Horeb] and during all their forty years’ wandering, the waters came gushing out from the rock like overflowing rivers. The second time, [in Kadesh], as a punishment for that which took place there, it became [only] like a dug well that was full of fresh water [not a gushing spring].

Is Hashem in our midst or not. The matter is incredible--how could they have doubted after they saw the pillar of fire and the cloud, and many other miracles, which everyone know were performed by HKBH. And it already wrote, "And they believed in Hashem and Moshe Their servant!" However, there are two correct ways of answering this. One: they recognized that right now Hashem was amongst them and performing miracles. But all this was only while Moshe was alive...and we are obligated to believe that even in the absence of revealed miracles Hashem and Their influence are in our midst. This is what they doubted--is Hashem in our midst, without the power of Moshe?

ודברתם אל הסלע, “and speak to the rock (pl.).” The prefix ה before the word: הסלע teaches that the rock involved was the one that used to provide water for the people as long as Miriam had been alive. The people would draw their water from that rock. It used to move with the people whenever they moved. This was the rock that Moses now struck and that refused to yield its water on account of Miriam having died. It resumed yielding water due to the merit of Moses and Aaron, as our sages have explained in the Taanit 9a. This is why G-d told both Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock. Some commentators understand what happened during this episode as follows: the words: ודברתם אל הסלע refer to what occurred in Exodus 17,7; this is totally erroneous, if only since there the Torah never used the expression סלע when speaking about the rock, but only the term צור. Moreover, it is clear that that episode occurred near Mount Sinai, as the Torah testifies that the waters emanated from the rock known as Chorev. (Exodus 17,6)

And it's known that mountains made of soft, spongy rocks and crevices have within them springs full of water, because rainwater collects within them...and sometimes the opening of the spring is near the surface, just covered by the rock...which is not the case with a tzur, which is a mountain made of hard, flinty rock in which no springs are found, and according to this we find the distinction between the water that emerged at Horeb, where there water was brought out from a tzur, where no source of water was found within, and the only way to bring water from it was with a great miracle...which is not the case with the water that emerged here from a sela, which is a mountain made of soft stones, as within the sela can be found water sources...and to accomplish the miracle of releasing water from this sela, one would need to speak to it, because if Moshe struck it with his staff, they could say he simply discovered the stone that was covering the spring.

My edition of the Yalkut makes the important additional point somewhat earlier that whereas one hits a young child when one wants its obedience, one appeals to his intelligence once he has grown up. Similarly, whereas at the time when the Israelites were in Refidim (Exodus 17,1) 40 years earlier, Moses was instructed to hit the rock, now the rock had matured and it would respond to a more sophisticated approach, i.e. it could be spoken to, i.e. Moses could teach it a chapter of Torah. Ed.] So far the words of the Yalkut.

Take the staff. ...I have already explained that in the fortieth year the Bnei Yisroel’s miraculous way of life had nearly ceased. Therefore when Hashem commanded [Moshe] to perform a miracle, They commanded him to seize the staff (as indication).

ָָAnd behold at this time it had been quite a while since the sea was split, and this generation did not know if Moshe had accomplished that miracle with his own hand or his staff, and they reasoned that just as all the miracles in Egypt were done with his staff, so too was the splitting of the sea, and by means of him hitting the stone with his staff this brought Israel back to their lack of faith, that they said Hashem had not done all these things, rather the staff accomplished all of it...

...And as for that which Rabbi Moshe said: “We do not find that G-d, praised be He, was angry [with the people when He spoke to Moses on this matter], but instead He said: Take the rod etc.” — know that whenever the people needed something for their sustenance, even though they murmured and transgressed [in asking] for it, He, being full of compassion, forgiveth iniquity … and does not stir up all His wrath, nor does He hold [their sin against them], but He gives them their request. Similarly in the [case of the] first [request for] water He said in a peaceful manner, Pass on before the people etc., even though there was trial and strife there, such that He warned them [not to try G-d] in future generations [using it as an example]. So also in connection with the manna [He said], Behold, I will cause to rain bread from heaven for you, in a phrase indicating love and affection. Only at the end, in the second communication, He said, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, merely in order to tell them that they had sinned. But [it is only] when they complained for no [good] reason, that He poured upon them the fury of His anger.

To sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel. If Moshe and Aharon had stood in prayer, this would have been "and I have been sanctified in the midst of the people of Israel"...and Israel would have believed in the power of tefillah and that I am holy amongst them. And now you have not led them to believe this.

Dying in the wilderness was not a punishment...rather it was a decree, measure for measure. Since they did not show Israel the way to behave in Eretz Yisrael when the rains have stopped, etc....

And there was no water. Even though the well moved around. The second time around the rock did not provide the same, nice, sweet running waters. Rather the water was minimal and distasteful...and all this Hashem did to accustom Bnei Yisrael to things without miraculous quality.

אז, “then,” i.e. after G-d had provided them with the well from which to slake their thirst, they broke out in a song of thanksgiving. This song has not been recorded at the time it had been sung because at the same time this location had become the one at which both Moses and Aaron had been punished. When the time came to make a specific reference to that well, the Torah also reported this song that the Israelites had sung.

It was then that Yisroel sang. Since it does not say, “It was then that Moshe and Bnei Yisroel sang,” we understand that Yisroel recited this song about Moshe, for the well was returned to them in his merit, after it had ceased with the death of Miriam. For this reason Miriam is not mentioned in this song, and Moshe is mentioned, alluded to in the verse: “The well dug by princes, that the nobles of the nation excavated, through the lawgiver (מחוקק).” The expression “lawmaker” refers to Moshe, as it says (Devarim 33:21), “for there the great scribe’s (מחוקק) burial plot is concealed.” In Taanis (9a), the conclusion is that the well came back in the merit of Moshe.

And from there to Beira...where Hashem provided them water without Moshe's help or the people's request.

And from there B'nei Yisrael went to Beira. There's no city in Eretz Yisrael with the name Beira; rather the place where the well stopped moving with them, since they no longer needed it, was called Beira, and there they sang a song on the well. And the reason they had not sung for it until now is because we don't bless on a miracle until it's complete...so they didn't say this song until they'd emerged from the desert and the need for the well had ended.

ומשם בארה AND FROM THENCE TO THE WELL — from there the flow of blood ran to the well. How? The Holy Blessed One said: Who will inform my children of those miracles? — The proverb says: If you have given bread to a child let its mother know (i.e., since the mother has, to an extent, benefitted by this, and the child cannot tell her, you should do so) (Shabbat 10b). After they (the Israelites) had passed by, the mountains returned to their original positions, and the well that followed the Israelites flowed down into the valley and brought up from there the blood and the arms and other limbs of those who had been thus killed, and carried them around the camp, so that Israel saw them, and they sang a song of triumph, as follows (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 20):

וירא ישראל את מצרים מת AND ISRAEL SAW THE EGYPTIANS DEAD — because the sea threw them out on its shore in order that the Israelites should not say: “Just as we have come up from out of the sea on this part, so they have come up on another part of this shore, but far away from us, and they will pursue us” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 14:31:1; Pesachim 118b; Arakhin 15a).

עלי באר COME UP, WELL from the valley and bring up what you have to bring up! — Whence do we know that it was the well that announced to them these miracles as it is stated above? Because it is said: ומשם בארה “and from there to the well”. For you cannot say that it means: “from that place was (they got) the well”, because was it indeed from there that they got it? Had it not been with them from the beginning of the forty years’ wanderings? But it means that from there it flowed down to the Israelites to proclaim the miracles! Then again, also, the paragraph beginning with the words: אז ישיר … השירה הזאת were spoken at the end of the forty years whilst the well was given them at the beginning of the forty, and what reason then can there be to write it as late as here. But the subject of the song has to be explained in connection with what precedes it (that it was a summons to the well to bring up the bodies of the slain) (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 20).

אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת, “Then Israel sang this song:” According to the plain meaning of the text the principal content of this song is the reference to the Emorites who drowned in the river Arnon and whose blood mingled with the waters from the well which accompanied the Israelites on their journeys...G’d brought about a storm or earthquake which banged together the two opposing sides of these cliffs squashing he Emorites who had been hiding inside them. The blood of these people drenched the river so that the Israelites did not even become aware of their miraculous escape until they saw that the river had become red with blood. This was the comparison with what happened at the Sea of Reeds that our verses alluded to in poetical form. The words אשר נטה, “when it veered,” in verse 15, describes the motion of the cliff in the opposite direction toward Moav during this happening. The cliff then stuck to its opposite number across the river.

אז ישיר ישראל, Then Israel sang, etc. What precisely was the point of this song? Besides, why had the Israelites not acknowledged the mannah by a song just as they acknowledged the water? The entire paragraph needs explaining. Perhaps the entire song really was an acknowledgement of the Torah...After all, Torah has frequently been compared to a well of water. It is called "well" because it originates with G'd the ultimate well from which all springs forth. It is also called "water" as it symbolises water and its life-giving properties. When the people sang עלי באר, "arise o well," this was not a reference to the physical well and the waters beneath the earth's surface, but to a celestial well. The words ענו לה are similar to Exodus 15,23 ותען להם מרים, the responsive nature of the chant.