Comentario sobre Números 12:15

והעם לא נסע AND THE PEOPLE JOURNEYED NOT [TILL MIRIAM WAS BROUGHT IN] — This honour the Omnipresent showed her as a reward for the single hour she tarried for Moses’ sake when he was thrown into the river, as it is said, (Exodus 2:4) “And his sister placed herself afar off (i. e. she waited) [to know what would be done to him]” (Sotah 9b).

והעם לא נסע, even though the cloud had lifted off the encampment and the Tabernacle. The Torah writes: ובהעלות הענן מעל המשכן יסעו בני ישראל בכל מסעיהם, “when the cloud would lift from above the Tabernacle the Children of Israel would begin all their respective journeys.” They did not journey on this occasion as they realised that the reason why the cloud had lifted was in order to distance itself from the tzoraat.

והעם לא נסע, And the people had not travelled, etc. The Torah makes the people the principals in this decision. This is why the Torah did not write ולא נסע העם, but mentioned the people first. The people had expressed their willingness to delay their departure. Although, normally, the people's breaking camp was determined by the movement of the cloud, the Torah wanted to inform us that the people were willing to inconvenience themselves on account of Miriam's many merits. Had the people been aware that their entire water supply was due to Miriam's merit (compare Taanit 9) they would most certainly have chosen to remain near their source of water.