Sinning with Quail/2

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Sinning with Quail

Exegetical Approaches

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Gluttony

These commentators understand the intense gluttony of the nation as the sin in this narrative. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik writes that gluttony represents a pagan way of life, which stands in contradistinction to a Torah way of life.1

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 or Meat – R. Bahya writes that their request for these foods further reflected their gluttonous nature.2 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 gluttony.3
בוכה למשפחותיו – R. Avraham Ibn Ezra understands this phrase as expressing as comparing the people's response to those who cry over their dead.4

Theological Issues

The Israelites' request for meat truly represented a much more severe theological issue they had with Hashem and his Torah.

Burden of Commandments

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

Eating בחנם – These commentators reason that בחנם truly means "free from commandments".5 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 75a) asserts that דגים is actually a reference to illicit sexual relations, which were not yet prohibited to the Israelites in Egypt.6 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 request.7 Nonetheless, such a request was not as severe as the one in Bemidbar 11.
העם בוכה למשפחותיו – The Sifre understands that the crying by families was really a crying about families. Once the prohibitions of illicit sexual relations were introduced, families were forced to split up due to prohibited relationships.

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.

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.
Alternatively, Abrabanel argues Shemot 16 was also  a negative request. However, the nation had not known of the Manna yet and were thus never introduced to messages of the Manna, namely a full belief in Hashem's ability to provide. By Bemidbar 11, the nation was expected to have internalized those messages already. The failure to do so resulted in the punishment
ֵ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 or Meat – The request was not limited to meat. The people also questioned Hashem's ability to provide fish as well.
בוכה למשפחותיוRashiBemidbar 11:10About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki writes that the people gathered families together to publicize their complaint against Hashem.
תהילים פרק עח – Tehillim 78 retells the story of the nation asking for food in the desert. Verse 18 supports this approach by saying וַיְנַסּוּ־אֵ֥ל בִּלְבָבָ֑ם לִֽשְׁאׇל־אֹ֥כֶל לְנַפְשָֽׁם.

Lack of Appreciation

The request for meat itself was not so problematic. Rather, the way in which the nation expressed their desire caused the punishment. The Israelites showed no appreciation for many miracles Hashem had done for them. Tehillim 78 could be read as a recounting of all the miracles Hashem had done for the people and yet they fail to appreciate them as they constantly ask for more.

For Freedom from Egypt

Hashem punished the Israelites for their lack of appreciation for their freedom from Egypt.

Request of Shemot 16 – Shemot 16 also records the people expressing regret at leaving Egypt. Therefore it is unclear as to why a similar punishment was not given there. Perhaps, their request for מותנו in Egypt is much less severe than a request for the foods they ate as slaves.
Fish or Meat/Eating בחנם – Both of these points reflect the nation's nostalgia towards Egypt.
Severity of Punishments – This approach stays most true to Bemidbar 11:19 where Hashem introduces the severe punishment "כִּי מְאַסְתֶּם אֶת י"י אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבְּכֶם וַתִּבְכּוּ לְפָנָיו לֵאמֹר לָמָּה זֶּה יָצָאנוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם." While they never clearly expressed that they wanted to return, the regret of leaving is implied by their nostalgia.
Denying the significance of יציאת מצרים perhaps violates one of the most fundamental beliefs of the Torah as expressed in the firsts of the Decalogue. "אנכי ה׳ אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים."  Such a violation may warrant a severe punishment

For the Manna

The Israelites lack of appreciation for and degradation of the Manna warranted a severe punishment from Hashem.

Request of Shemot 16 – The manna was not around for the nation to degrade. Therefore, their request was not something negative.

Fish or Meat/Eating "בחנם" – All of these points were methods of degrading the Manna.  
R. Bahya writes the דגה was a disgusting type of fish. קשואים and אבטיחים were examples of bad fruits. These foods were available to the Israelites slaves for free.
Juxtaposition of Passages – R. Bahya argues that this narrative, Miriam's story in Bemidbar 12, and the spies are all juxtaposed one to the other because they all revolve around the sin of speaking poorly about something else. The manna, Moshe, and the Land of Israel were all victims of this לשון הרע.