Shalom and thank you for your question! You wish to know if the pillars of cloud and of fire followed the Jewish people into the Promised Land.
G-d provided the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire for the Jewish people during their journey from Egypt as protection for them against their enemies and from the ravages of the desert climate and deadly creatures. The clouds (plural – we’ll get to that…) also laundered their clothing while it was on them! These, along with the well that moved from station to station with them, were in the merit of their three leaders, Moses, his brother Aharon and his sister Miriam.
In Exodus 13:21 we read:
” And the L-rd went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to cause it to to lead them on the way, and at night in a pillar of fire to give them light to travel by day and by night.”
The classic commentator Rashi (acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, ) explains that ‘to lead them on the way’ means through a messenger. The pillar of cloud was the messenger, and the Holy One Blessed be He in His glory, led it before them… it was not meant to provide light but to protect them on the way.”
We read further in the next passage 13:22, “He did not move away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire at night (from) before the people.”
Rashi: “(this verse) tells us that the pillar of fire transmitted its light to the pillar of cloud, for while one had not yet set, the other one would rise.”
In Exodus 14:19 we read: “Then the angel of G-d, who had been going in front of the Israelite camp, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved away…and stood behind them.” Rashi now clarifies two dramatic aspects of the cloud’s movement. Firstly, the cloud moved behind the Israelites to absorb the arrows and catapults of the Egyptians, secondly, the cloud caused darkness for the Egyptians.
In Numbers 19:1, we learn of Miriam’s death and burial in the wilderness of Zin, and Rashi notes that “just as sacrifices bring atonement, so does the death of the righteous secure atonement.” In the next passage, 19:2, we are told “The congregation had no water…” Here the indispensable Rashi quotes from the Talmud (Taanit 9a) “From here we learn that all forty years in the desert they had the well in Miriam’s merit.” This means that Miriam’s death brought with it the departure of the well. In that section of the Talmud it is explained also that although after Aharon died and the clouds of glory departed, they were restored in the merit of Moses. The Canaanite king at that time thought that he had heavenly permission to fight the Jewish people when the clouds of glory departed after Aharon’s death, despite the fact that the other clouds were still there.
Here we must deal with that ‘plural’ I referred to in the beginning. There is an opinion that there were seven clouds. In any case, there were clouds whose purpose was to kill scorpions, flatten hills and raise valleys, launder the peoples clothing… and there were clouds whose purpose was to honor the Jewish people. These latter clouds were the ones that ceased when Aharon passed on, but returned in Moses’ merit. Moses, as the leader of the people, made sure that they had water as well even after Miriam’s death.
All of the above miracles ceased when Moses passed away, which the prophet Zachariah refers to (11:8) when he says “I cut off the three shepherds in one month.”
The purpose of these miracles was for the duration of the Jewish people’s journey through the desert. There were to be new challenges and new miracles in each successive generation. Conquering the land of Israel involved new challenges and many miracles, and in the time of the First Temple for example, there were ten ongoing miracles in the Temple. These are listed in the tractate ‘Pirkei Avot ‘.
One of the reasons we celebrate the Festival of Sukkot (“Booths’,) is to commemorate the clouds of glory that G-d provided in the desert.
In the book of Exodus 12:29, we learn that the Exodus occured at midnight. The Haggada of Passover indicates that the continuation of the Passover redemption will be ‘the second half’ of that night. This will be the true and final Redemption that we are waiting for!
Among the sources:
Likutei Sichos vol 18 p253ff
