ותמת שם מרים, in the first month (Nissan) of the fortieth year. Aaron died after her in the fifth month as detailed in Numbers 33,38.

קח את המטה, which at that time was reposing next to the Tablets. (compare Numbers 17,25)

ודברתם אל הסלע, G’d did not command Moses to take the staff in order to strike the rock as he had commanded him in Exodus 17,6. He only commanded Moses to display the staff to remind them that they had again been very obstinate. They had acquired this attribute in Numbers 17,25 when the Torah speaks of למשמרת לאות לבני מרי, “to be kept as a lesson to rebels.” However, the water was to be produced merely by speaking to the rock.

והוצאת להם מים, by means of your speaking to the rock.

ויאמר להם שמעו נא המורים, just as this staff produced almonds as a reminder of the last rebellious generation, are we to produce water from you from this rock?

At the time he raised the staff he struck it twice in succession followed by saying :did you really think that we would produce water from this rock?” Moses said this because he harboured doubt; seeing that G’d had instructed him to take the staff with him (verse 8) he did not think that speaking to the rock was meant to result in the rock yielding up its water, but that striking it may be required, just as he had done at Refidim. As to the fact that G’d had specifically instructed him to “speak” to the rock, he thought that speaking to a rock, i.e. communicating one’s thoughts to it, consisted of striking the rock. In the absence of certainty about which course to follow, Moses decided to speak to the rock in addition to striking it, but G’d had already indicated that He accepted Moses’ striking the rock by making all that water come forth. In spite of G’d’s apparent approval of what Moses had done he was punished, seeing that G’d employs more stringent rules in dealing with the righteous such as Moses than He applies to ordinary mortals. This is what He meant when he said in verse 12 “because you did not demonstrate faith in Me to use this opportunity to sanctify Me by means of first having spoken to the rock.” “Seeing that I, the commentator, am aware that Moses was quite incapable of deliberately countermanding G’d’s instructions, I had to explain the episode as resulting from an error Moses made.”

ויקדש בם, G’d’s name had still become sanctified by means of the water which came forth from the rock even though Moses and Aaron had not spoken to the rock.

ולא נשתה מי באר, water from your wells. Water was very precious and hence expensive in that land.

דרך המלך, the public highway, a road which may be traveled by everybody without restriction.