This week Miriam dies. In the Torah it says, “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. The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron.” What does the lack of water have to do with Miriam’s death? Rashi, the great medieval French Torah commentator, noticing this juxtaposition of Miriam’s death and the people crying out for water, brings a midrash that says, “because of the merit of Miriam, a well followed the Israelites for their 40 years in the desert.” This magical well provided the Israelites all the water they needed until her death and then it disappeared. With the well gone, the Israelites panicked. They didn’t know where their next drink would come from. Miriam, like a good leader, served and sustained her people. But great leaders do something more, that Miriam did not. They help their people develop self-reliance, so that the leader is no longer necessary. The best leaders cultivate not dependence, but independence.