Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L
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The Israelites Complain Asking For Meat
This section of Chumash (until where Moshe tells G-d to rest – see below) has an inverted letter נ placed before and after it to indicate that it is chronologically out of place. Logically, this section should have appeared earlier on (in Bamidbar, Chapter 2) where the layout of the Israelite camp is discussed.
The reason for its appearance here, is so that there would be an interruption between two different events which involve trouble, namely 1)earlier in verse 10:33 “They journeyed from the Mountain of G-d”, an allusion to making distance between G-d and the Israelites, which Rashi interprets as the first inklings of their inappropriate demand for meat which occurs in Bamidbar 11:4) and 2)The sin of “those who seek pretexts” (Bamidbar 11:1).
In the course of the Israelites’ journey, the ark would travel three days ahead of them, causing Moshe to call out to it to stop and wait for them and not go further from them. He also declared that G-d’s enemies, (i.e the enemies of the Israelites, since whoever hates Israel, hates G-d) be scattered and flee*.
*Side note: “Scattered” applies to those who have gathered together to attack the Israelites but have not done so yet, while “Flee” applies to those who have already begun to chase after the Israelites.
Once the ark came to a rest, Moshe would say, “Rest, G-d, amongst the myriads* of thousands of Israel. “
*Side note: Rashi interprets this to mean that the Shchina does not rest on Israel if they number less than twenty two thousand.
The nation* were looking for something to complain about, hoping it would reach G-d’s ears and provoke Him. They whine about how fatigued they are from walking for three days straight without rest. This causes G-d to become angry, since it was for their own good that He was having them move quickly so that they could enter the Land immediately. A fire of G-d burns in their midst and consumes the “mixed multitude”** who were the most sinful amongst them.
*Side note, the word used here for “the nation”, i.e. הָעָם is only used in reference to the wicked. Other examples of such uses include Shmos 17:4 and Yermiyahu 13:10- see there. This is in contrast to the term עַמִּי (literally “my nation” which is used to connote their righteousness, as in Shmos 8:16 and Micha 6:3)
**Side note, according to Rabbi Shimon ben Menassia, it was actually the most prominent amongst them who were consumed, as they had the power to squelch the rebellion and didn’t.
The nation cries out to Moshe, Moshe prays to G-d and the fire falls in place into the earth (if it would have turned to one side of the camp, it would have rolled along that entire side and destroyed more).
Rashi likens this to a mortal king who is angry with his son and then the son asks the king’s closest friend to ask the king to forgive him (the son).
Moshe names the place “Tav’erah” (related to the word in Hebrew “to burn”), as an allusion to the fire of G-d that burned there.
The mixed multitude, who had attached themselves to the Israelites upon leaving Egypt, started having strong cravings. This was followed by the Israelites who joined in, crying out asking who would feed them meat?
This was merely a pretext for complaining, since in reality, they had taken flocks and cattle with them when they left Egypt (see Shmos 12:38), and they definitely had some left over as is evidence from Bamidbar 32:1 which it states that the children of Reuven had a lot of cattle.
The Israelites begin to reminisce about the free* fish they had eaten in Egypt, as well as the cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions and garlic. They specified these foods as these were the only food items the manna did not change into, as they are harmful to nursing mothers. Rashi likens this to a king who instructs his son’s teacher to prevent his son from eating or drinking anything harmful, yet the son complains to the father that these restrictions are due to him not wanting him to eat.
*Side note: Not free as in “free of charge” but rather free of stipulations (i.e to adhere to the Torah)
They complain about only having manna to eat, night and day.
As a response to this, the Chumash describes how great the manna was, saying it was round like a coriander seed and looked like crystal, illustrating that they had nothing to complain about. The Israelites would casually walk up (i.e without exertion) to the manna and gather it up. It would taste as if it had been ground up, crushed or cooked and was moist as if it had oil in it.
The manna would come down at night, descending upon the dew, when the dew descended.
Families were gathering, crying in public to publicize how they were upset about intermarriage being forbidden. Moshe heard this and considered it evil and G-d became very angry.
Moshe asks G-d why He treated him so badly – what had Moshe done to make G-d so upset that Moshe was responsible for all of them? G-d had told him to “carry them in your bosom” to Israel but did Moshe conceive or give birth to them? Where could he get meat to appease their pleas? Moshe declares that it was too difficult for him to carry the entire people.
When G-d showed Moshe the punishment he was going to inflict upon the Israelites, Moshe became weak like a woman and asked G-d to kill him first so he won’t have to witness their suffering.
Moshe’s complaint was that he was alone in bearing the responsibility for the Israelites. What happened to the first group of elders who sat with Moshe and Aaron even back in Egypt? – They died in the fire at Tab’erah (above – see Bamidbar 11:1-3). This was punishment for them acting disrespectfully at Mount Sinai (alluded to in “they perceived G-d” (Shmos 24:11) – in a manner that Rashi likens to someone eating bread when speaking to a king. G-d waited to punish them till the fire of Tabe’erah (instead of at Mount Sinai) so as not to cause mourning during the giving of the Torah.
In response to Moshe’s complaint regarding him being alone in bearing responsibility for the Israelites, G-d now tells Moshe to assemble seventy men to stand with him at the Ohel Moed.
These men must be from amongst the elders of Israel who Moshe knew were appointed in Egypt to oversee the Israelites’ labor and were beaten on their behalf for showing mercy to the Israelites. It is their suffering on behalf of the Israelites that merited them to be chosen for leadership here.
In gathering them, Moshe is to tell them how fortunate they are to have been chosen for this.
They are to stand with Moshe at the Ohel Moed so that the Israelites see them and treat them with respect and honor for their having gone in with Moshe to hear G-d speak.
G-d tells Moshe that He will descend and speak with Moshe* (but not with the elders) there and grow the spirit that is on Moshe and bestow it upon the elders as well. Rashi likens this to a candle placed on a candelabra, from whom others light yet it own light is not diminished.
*Side note, this is one of the 10 descents of the Shechina written about in the Torah.
Moshe is to tell these elders that they are to bear the responsibility of the rebellious Israelites so that Moshe will no longer bear this burden alone.
Moshe is to tell the Israelites that they are to prepare themselves to be punished as they will eat meat the following day as a result of their cries for meat. They are to eat this meat for a full month* up until the point that they become nauseated from it, as if it was coming out through their noses. Their desire to get rid of it will be stronger than their initial desire to have it. This is due to their having hated G-d and expressed their regret over having left Egypt.
*Side note, according to the Sifrei, it was only the relatively virtuous ones who stopped eating meat after this month, whereas the wicked ones still had meat between their teeth when the punishment came to them. The Mechilta however, interprets this in the opposite way – that the month is referring to the wicked ones who suffered for a full month, whereas the relatively righteous ones didn’t suffer for so long (i.e the “meat was still between their teeth.”)
G-d expresses that their arrogance was only possible since G-d had put His presence amongst them.
Moshe asks G-d if indeed G-d is saying that all 600,000* people who were with him would be given meat by G-d and they will eat it for a full month?
*Side note: Rashi notes that Moshe omits the additional 3,000 (see Bamidbar 1:46) and cites Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan who explained that it was only those 600,000 who left Egypt who cried.
Moshe expresses his doubt to G-d that slaughtered cattle and sheep and all the fish in the sea would suffice for the Israelites*?
*Side note, Rabbi Akiva understands this literally, that Moshe was incredulous that there would be enough meat for the 600,000 people to eat for a full month, similar to Moshe calling them rebels at the Meriva waters (Bamidbar 20:10). This was a worse critique than that one, however he wasn’t punished as it wasn’t said in public.
Rabbi Shimon however, says that G-d forbid that Moshe thought G-d couldn’t provide. Rather he was saying, after having given 600,000 people meat for a full month, will G-d really then kill them? Would that be a positive reflection of G-d? Do we tell a donkey to eat a certain amount of barley and that we will then will cut off its head?
G-d replied that if He didn’t give the meat to them they will say His power is limited. And demonstrating His power was more important even if some people had to die.
Rabban Gamliel, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said that Moshe told G-d that it would be impossible to satisfy the nation and that no matter what they are given they will say they asked for something else and that all of their requests were just an excuse. Nevertheless, G-d declared that if He doesn’t give them what they are asking for, they will claim that G-d’s power is limited. Moshe replied that he would go and appease them. G-d warns him that his attempt will be in vain. And indeed Moshe went to appease them by reminding them of how water came out of the rock yet they did not listen. Thus he went to assemble the seventy elders.
So G-d descended in a cloud and spoke to Moshe and increased Moshe’s spirit so it was bestowed on the seventy elders who then prophesied*.
*Side note: according to the Sifrei, their prophetic powers lasted only that day, however according to the Targum, the powers remained with them.
Seeing as there were twelve tribes, to choose the 70 elders in an equilateral way across the tribes, this would come out to there being 6 elders per tribe for ten of the tribes and 5 elders per tribe for the remaining two. Although it had already been written down who the elders of the Sandhedrin would be, Moshe knew that no tribe would agree to be the one to have one less elder. Thus he set up a lot. He took 72 slips and wrote the word “elder” on 70 of them and left two slips blank. He then chose six men from each tribe and had each one pick out a slip. Any man who picked out a slip with the word “elder” would be one of the ones who had been chosen for the Sanhedrin, and anyone who picked out a blank slip would be told that G-d didn’t want him to be one of the chosen ones.
Two of the men who were chosen for the Sanhedrin, Eldad and Medad, expressed that they felt that they weren’t worthy of this appointment. They did not go out to the Ohel Moed but rather prophesied within the camp.
A boy (some say this was Moshe’s son Gershom) ran to tell Moshe about this. Moshe’s servant (from his youth), Yehoshua, declared that Moshe should imprison* Eldad and Medad.
*Side note: according to Rashi, this means to give them communal responsibilities which would destroy their prophetic abilities. Rashi also cites Sifrei and Targum Onkelos’ interpretation that they should literally be imprisoned since they were foretelling that Moshe would die and that Yehoshua would take the nation into Israel.
Moshe berated Yehoshua asking, “Are you zealous for my sake?” And said that he wished all of the Israelites were prophets.
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