Sinning with Quail/2

Sinning with Quail

Exegetical Approaches

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Gluttony

The Israelites' gluttony warrants an intense punishment from Hashem

Sources:RambanBemidbar 11:4About R. Moshe b. Nachman, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorShemot 16:4Shemot 16:13Bemidbar 11:5Bemidbar 11:8Bemidbar 11:9Bemidbar 11:10Bemidbar 11:21About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor,  R. Bachya #2Bemidbar 11:5About R. Bachya b. Asher , R. Yosef ibn KaspiBemidbar 11:7About R. Yosef ibn Kaspi, Ralbag #1Bemidbar 11:4Bemidbar Toalot 11About R. Levi b. Gershom, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

Eating "בחנם" –  Ramban asserts that Egyptian taskmasters would have the Israelites catch fish for them in the Nile and would allow the slaves to take fish once in a while. R. Yosef Bekhor Shor argues that when the Nile would overflow, fish would remain on the soil and be left ownerless for anyone to take. For these commentators, חנם literally means "free of charge."

Fish, Vegetables  or Meat? R. Bahya writes that their request for these foods further reflected their gluttonous nature¹. The request was not exclusively for meat.

Request of Shemot 16 – According to these commentators, it is likely the request in Shemot 16 was not sinful at all. There, the people were fighting for survival in that they had absolutely nothing to eat as the Manna had not been introduced. The people in Bemidbar 11 had the Manna already and yet were still desiring more. Their request was not one of survival but of gluttony²

בוכח למשפחותיו – R. Avraham Ibn Ezra understands this phrase as expressing as comparing the people's response to those who cry over their dead³.

Theological Issues

Burden of Commandments

Desire for food and meat are actually masks for a want of freedom from restrictive commandments.

Sources:Sifre, Rashi, Daat ZekeinimBemidbar 11:13About Daat Zekeinim, Maharsha.חידושי אגדות יומא עה .חידושי אגדות חולין יז, Malbim #2Tehillim Beur HaInyan 78:29About R. Meir Leibush Weiser

Eating בחנם – These commentators reason that בחנם truly means "free from commandments⁴." In Egypt, before the giving of the Torah, the Israelites were not bound by any eating restrictions and could indulge in any food they pleased.

Fish or Meat? Shmuel (Yoma 75b) asserts that דגים is actually a reference to illicit sexual relations, which were not yet prohibited to the Israelites in Egypt⁵. Longing for "fish" is another expression of ridding of restrictive commandments.

Request of Shemot 16 – Rashi argues that the request for meat in Shemot was also a negative, gluttonous request⁶. Nonetheless, such a request was not as severe as the one in Bemidbar 11.

בוכה למשפחותיו – These commentators understand that the crying by families was really a crying about families. Once the prohibitions of illicit sexual relations were introduced, families 

Testing Hashem's Abilities

Complaints about food and meat challenge Hashem's ability to provide food for the hungry nation. Such a lack of belief could be tantamount to  idolatry and warrant an extreme punishment. 

Sources:Sifre, Rashi, Malbim #1Bemidbar 11:10Tehillim Beur HaInyan 78:18About R. Meir Leibush Weiser, Seforno, Zedekiah Ben R. Abraham, HaKetav VeHaKabbalah, Ralbag #2, Rambam

Request of Shemot 16 – In Shemot 16, though a similar request was made, it is unlikely that request was sinful. There, the request as directed at Moshe and Aharon. The nation was, perhaps, seeking an answer to their issues. In Bemidbar 11, the request was directed at no one. The people, perhaps, were not looking for a real answer to the request. They merely expressed their lack of faith in Hashem's providence and did not care to verify whether He could provide.

בחנם –  Ramban asserts that Egyptian taskmasters would have the Israelites catch fish for them in the Nile and would allow the slaves to take fish once in a while. R. Yosef Bekhor Shor argues that when the Nile would overflow, fish would remain on the soil and be left ownerless for anyone to take. For these commentators, חנם literally means "free of charge."

Fish or Meat – The request was not limited to meat. The people also questioned Hashem's ability to provide fish as well.

בוכה למשפחותיו – Rashi writes that the people gathered families together to publicize their complaint against Hashem.

Educational Expectations

Lack of Appreciation

While the request itself was not problematic, Hashem punished the Israelites for their lack of appreciation for their freedom from Egypt.

Sources:RashbamBemidbar 11:20About R. Shemuel b. Meir, R. Bachya #1Bemidbar 11:5About

Request of Shemot 16

Educational Development

The Israelites' request portrayed the nation's failure of inculcating the the essential messages of th Manna and revelation at Sinai.

Sources:AbarbanelBemidbar 11:16About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel

Request of Shemot 16

¹ R. Bahya also quotes Sifre, which discusses גילוי עריות as emerging from the reference of דגה (See Theological Issues/Burden of Commandments/ Fish or Meat?). He writes the Sifre, by introducing sexual relations into the picture, is also highlighting the gluttonous nature of the people. דגה, in addition to being fish, also emphasizes how much the people were gluttons.

² The different words used in the Torah for gathering the meat in Bemidbar 11 and gathering the Manna in Shemot 16 and Bemidbar 11:7-8 may reflect this distinction. The root א.ס.פ appears continuously throughout Bemidbar 11. In Shemot 16, the root ל.ק.ט is used. Both of these verbs express the action of gathering. Radak (Yeshaya 17) writes that א.ס.פ is the first reaping done in a field, where one grabs a lot of sheaves in one shot. ל.ק.ט is a reaping done where one picks up one sheaf at a time off the ground. The ambitious reaping, אסיפה, may reflect a more gluttonous gathering of food, as is seen in Bemidbar 11. לקיטה may reflect a more humble, respectful, or simple gathering of food as seen in Shemot 16 and Bemidbar 7-8

³ R. Yosef Bekhor Shor emphasizes the nation's exaggerated cries later in 11:19 where he compares the people to a baby crying over nothing. 

⁴ The Sifre discounts the possibility that Egyptian taskmasters would have given free sustenance to their slaves if they would not even give straw to make bricks (See Shemot 5). Therefore, חנם must be discusses something else.

⁵ Rashi, Maharsha (Yoma 75b), and Daat Zekeinim (Bemidbar 11) all explain how the root of דגה can also mean sexual relations. (See Bereishit 48:16)

⁶ Yoma 75a writes that Hashem gave meat "לא כהוגן," "improperly," because it was asked for "לא כהוגן." Most read this statement a referring to the request for meat in Shemot 16. There, meat was given at night, a more inconvenient time to collect. See עיון יעקב who argues the Gemara refers to Bemidbar 11 instead,