Chumashחומש

שתים עשרה עינת מים. כְּנֶגֶד י"ב שְׁבָטִים נִזְדַּמְּנוּ לָהֶם:

שתים עשרה עינת מים TWELVE SPRINGS OF WATER — A number corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel were ready for them (Mekhilta).

ושבעים תמרים. כְּנֶגֶד שִׁבְעִים זְקֵנִים (מכילתא):

ושבעים תמרים AND SEVENTY PALM-TREES — corresponding to the seventy elders (Mekhilta).

בחמשה עשר יום. נִתְפָּרֵשׁ הַיּוֹם שֶׁל חֲנָיָה זוֹ, לְפִי שֶׁבּוֹ בַיּוֹם כָּלְתָה הַחֲרָרָה שֶׁהוֹצִיאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם וְהֻצְרְכוּ לַמָּן, לְלַמְּדֵנוּ, שֶׁאָכְלוּ מִשְּׁיָרֵי הַבָּצֵק שִׁשִּׁים וְאַחַת סְעוּדוֹת וְיָרַד לָהֶם מָן בְּשִׁשָּׁה עָשָׂר בְּאִיָּר, וְיוֹם א' בְּשַׁבָּת הָיָה כִּדְאִיתָא בְּמַסֶּכֶת שַׁבָּת (פ"ז):

בחמשה עשר יום ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY — The day of this encampment is specially mentioned because on that day there came to an end the cake (provisions) they had brought with them from Egypt and they now needed the Manna, thus informing us that of the remains of the dough they had prepared in Egypt (cf. Rashi on Exodus 12:33) they ate sixty-one meals. For the Manna fell for them on the sixteenth day of Iyar, which was the first day of the week, just as is stated in the Treatise Shabbat 87b.

וילונו. לְפִי שֶׁכָּלָה הַלֶּחֶם:

וילנו AND THEY MURMURED, because the bread had come to an end.

מי יתן מותנו. שֶׁנָּמוּת; וְאֵינוֹ שֵׁם דָּבָר כְּמוֹ מִיתָתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא כְּמוֹ עֲשׂוֹתֵנוּ חֲנוֹתֵנוּ שׁוּבֵנוּ, לַעֲשׂוֹת אֲנַחְנוּ, לַחֲנוֹת אֲנַחְנוּ, לָמוּת אֲנַחְנוּ. תַּרְגּוּמוֹ לְוַי דְּמִיתְנָא, "לוּ מַתְנוּ" (במדבר יד, ב) — הַלְוַאי וְהָיִינוּ מֵתִים:

מי יתן מותנו WOULD THAT WE HAD DIED — The word מותנו means “that we should die”; it is not a noun with the same meaning as מיתתנו “our death”, but it is an infinitive like עשותנו and חנותנו and שובנו which signify “that we should make”, “that we should encamp”, “that we should return”. In the Targum it is rendered by לוי דמיתנא which is really the Targum rendering of (Numbers 14:2) לו מתנו “Would that we were dead” (cf. Rashi on Exodus 14:12).

דבר יום ביומו. צֹרֶךְ אֲכִילַת יוֹם יִלְקְטוּ בְּיוֹמוֹ וְלֹא הַיּוֹם לְצֹרֶךְ מָחָר (מכילתא):

דבר יום ביומו THE THING OF THE DAY ON ITS DAY — what is needed for a day’s eating shall they collect on its (that) day, and they shall not today collect what will be needed tomorrow (cf. Mekhilta).

למען אנסנו הילך בתורתי. אִם יִשְׁמְרוּ מִצְווֹת הַתְּלוּיוֹת בּוֹ, שֶׁלֹּא יוֹתִירוּ מִמֶּנּוּ וְלֹא יֵצְאוּ בַּשַּׁבָּת לִלְקֹט:

למען אנסנו הילך בתורתי THAT I MAY TRY THEM WHETHER THEY WILL WALK IN MY LAW — whether they will observe the commands associated with it: viz., that they should not leave any overnight, and that they should not go out on the Sabbath to collect it.

והיה משנה. לַיּוֹם וְלַמָּחֳרָת:

והיה משנה AND IT SHALL BE DOUBLE — for today and for tomorrow.

משנה. עַל שֶׁהָיוּ רְגִילִים לִלְקֹט יוֹם יוֹם שֶׁל שְׁאָר יְמוֹת הַשָּׁבוּעַ; אוֹמֵר אֲנִי "אֲשֶׁר יָבִיאוּ וְהָיָה מִשְׁנֶה" – לְאַחַר שֶׁיָּבִיאוּ, יִמְצְאוּ מִשְׁנֶה בַּמְּדִידָה עַל אֲשֶׁר יִלְקְטוּ וְיָמֹדּוּ יוֹם יוֹם, וְזֶהוּ לָקְטוּ לֶחֶם מִשְׁנֶה – בִּלְקִיטָתוֹ הָיָה נִמְצָא לֶחֶם מִשְׁנֶה. וְזֶהוּ עַל כֵּן הוּא נוֹתֵן לָכֶם בַּיּוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי לֶחֶם יוֹמָיִם – נוֹתֵן לָכֶם בְּרָכָה, פוי"שן, בַּבַּיִת לְמַלֹּאת הָעֹמֶר פַּעֲמַיִם לְלֶחֶם יוֹמַיִם:

משנה DOUBLE of what they were accustomed to collect on each day of the other days of the week. I say that the words, אשר יביאו והיה משנה “what they bring shall be double”, imply that after they have brought it home they will find it double in measure of what they had been gathering and measuring each day. This is the force of: “they collected double bread” (v. 22) — when it was collected it was found by them to be double food, and this is the meaning of (v. 29), “therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days”: He gives you a blessing — old French foison, — abundance in the house that you may fill the Omer twice, as bread for two days.

ערב. כְּמוֹ לָעֶרֶב:

ערב is the same as לערב AT EVENING

וידעתם כי ה' הוציא אתכם מארץ מצרים. לְפִי שֶׁאֲמַרְתֶּם לָנוּ כִּי הוֹצֵאתֶם אוֹתָנוּ, תֵּדְעוּ כִּי לֹא אֲנַחְנוּ הַמּוֹצִיאִים אֶלָּא ה' הוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם שֶׁיָּגִיז לָכֶם אֶת הַשְּׂלָו:

וידעתם כי ה׳ הוציא אתכם מארץ מצרים YE SHALL KNOW THAT THE LORD HATH BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT — Since you said to us, (v. 3) “for ye have brought us forth” you shall know that it was not we who brought you forth, but it was God who brought you forth for He will bring quails for you.

ובקר וראיתם. לֹא עַל הַכָּבוֹד שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "וְהִנֵּה כְּבוֹד ה' נִרְאָה בֶּעָנָן" נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא כָּךְ אָמַר לָהֶם, עֶרֶב וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי הַיְכֹלֶת בְּיָדוֹ לִתֵּן תַּאֲוַתְכֶם, וּבָשָׂר יִתֵּן, אַךְ לֹא בְּפָנִים מְאִירוֹת יִתְּנֶנָּה לָכֶם, כִּי שֶׁלֹּא כַּהֹגֶן שְׁאַלְתֶּם אוֹתוֹ וּמִכָּרֵס מְלֵאָה, וְהַלֶּחֶם שֶׁשְּׁאַלְתֶּם לְצֹרֶךְ, בִּירִידָתוֹ לַבֹּקֶר תִּרְאוּ אֶת כְּבוֹד אוֹר פָּנָיו – שֶׁיּוֹרִידֵהוּ לָכֶם דֶּרֶךְ חִבָּה, בַּבֹּקֶר, שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁעוֹת לַהֲכִינוֹ וְטַל מִלְמַעְלָה וְטַל מִלְּמַטָּה, כְּמֻנָּח בְּקֻפְסָא (יומא ע"ה):

ובקר וראיתם AND IN THE MORNING YE SHALL SEE [THE GLORY OF THE LORD] — Not in reference to that glory of which it stated, (v. 10) “And behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud” is this said, but thus, in effect, did he say to them: In the evening ye shall know that His hand has the power to give you your desire and He will give you flesh; but not with a radiant countenance will He give it to you, because you have asked Him something that is not proper (since one can exist without eating meat), and out of a full stomach (i. e. you really have meat for you have an abundance of cattle); but the bread for which you have asked out of necessity — when it falls in the morning you will behold the glory of the radiance of His countenance (His glory), because He will make it fall for you in a manner that is indicative of His love (Mekhilta) — in the morning, whilst there is yet time to prepare it, and there shall be dew above it and dew below it as though it were carefully packed in a chest (Yoma 75b).

את תלנתיכם על ה'. כְּמוֹ אֲשֶׁר עַל ה':

את תלנתיכם על ה׳ this is the same as תלנתיכם] אשר על ה׳] YOUR MURMURINGS WHICH ARE AGAINST THE LORD.

ונחנו מה. מָה אֲנַחְנוּ חֲשׁוּבִין?

ונחנו מה (lit., and we, what?) means AND WE, WHAT ARE WE accounted (of what importance are we?),

כי תלינו עלינו. שֶׁתַּרְעִימוּ עָלֵינוּ אֶת הַכֹּל, וְאֶת בְּנֵיכֶם וּנְשֵׁיכֶם וּבְנוֹתֵיכֶם וְעֵרֶב רַב. וְעַל כָּרְחִי אֲנִי זָקוּק לְפָרֵשׁ תַּלִּינוּ בִּלְשׁוֹן תַּפְעִילוּ מִפְּנֵי דַּגְשׁוּתוֹ וּקְרִיָּתוֹ, שֶׁאִלּוּ הָיָה רָפֶה, הָיִיתִי מְפָרְשׁוֹ בִּלְשׁוֹן תִּפְעֲלוּ, כְּמוֹ "וַיָּלֶן הָעָם עַל מֹשֶׁה" (שמות י"ז), אוֹ אִם הָיָה דָגוּשׁ וְאֵין בּוֹ יוֹ"ד וְנִקְרָא תִלּוֹנוּ, הָיִיתִי מְפָרְשׁוֹ לְשׁוֹן תִּתְלוֹנְנוּ, עַכְשָׁיו הוּא מַשְׁמַע תַּלִּינוּ אֶת אֲחֵרִים, כְּמוֹ בַּמְּרַגְּלִים "וַיַּלִּינוּ עָלָיו אֶת כָּל הָעֵדָה" (במדבר י"ד):

כי תלינו עלינו THAT YOU MAKE everyone MURMUR AGAINST US — your sons, and your wives, and your daughters and the mixed multitude. — And whether I like it or not I am forced to explain the word תַלִּינוּ in the sense of “you make (people) do something”, viz., murmur (i. e. what we call the Hiphil conjugation), because of its (the ל) be eshed and because of the קרי. For if it (the ל) were weak (i. e. without a Dagesh), I would explain it in the sense of “ye do something” (our Kal), just as, (Exodus 17:3) “And the people murmured (וַיָלֶן) against Moses”, or, if there was still a Dagesh but there was no י in it, so that it could be read תִלּוֹנוּ, I would explain it as meaning “ye put yourself in a state of murmuring” (our Niphal; cf. Rashi on Exodus 15:24). Now, however, it being as it is, it must imply “you make others murmur”, just as in the case of the spies it states, (Numbers 14:36) “And they made all the congregation to murmur (וַיַּלִּינוּ) against him” (where וַיַּלִּינוּ is the same grammatical form, so far as conjugation is concerned, as תַלִּינוּ, but as it has an object, כל העדה, it cannot mean “And they murmured”, and must necessarily mean “they made the congregation murmur).

בשר לאכל. וְלֹא לִשְׂבֹּעַ; לִמְּדָה תוֹרָה דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ שֶׁאֵין אוֹכְלִין בָּשָׂר לָשֹׂבַע. וּמָה רָאָה לְהוֹרִיד לֶחֶם בַּבֹּקֶר וּבָשָׂר בָּעֶרֶב? לְפִי שֶׁהַלֶּחֶם שָׁאֲלוּ כַּהֹגֶן, שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ לָאָדָם בְּלֹא לֶחֶם, אֲבָל בָּשָׂר שָׁאֲלוּ שֶׁלֹּא כַּהֹגֶן, שֶׁהַרְבֵּה בְהֵמוֹת הָיוּ לָהֶם, וְעוֹד שֶׁהָיָה אֶפְשָׁר לָהֶם בְּלֹא בָשָׂר, לְפִיכָךְ נָתַן לָהֶם בִּשְׁעַת טֹרַח שֶׁלֹּא כַּהֹגֶן (יומא ע"ה):

בשר לאכל FLESH TO EAT— but it does not add as it does in the next phrase לִשְׂבֹּעַ, “to satisfaction”; the Torah thus teaches us a rule of conduct — that one should not eat meat to satiety. And what did He see (what reason had He) that He made bread fall for them in the morning and flesh at evening? Because the bread they asked for was a proper thing to demand since it is impossible for a person to exist without bread; but meat they asked for improperly, for they had abundant cattle, and besides it was possible for them to exist without flesh. On this account He gave it to them at evening, at a time of (when it would cause them) trouble, a manner which was not favourable to them (Mekhilta; Yoma 75).

אשר אתם מלינם עליו. אֶת הָאֲחֵרִים הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶתְכֶם מִתְלוֹנְנִים:

אשר אתם מלינים עליו means [YOUR MURMURINGS] WHICH YOU MAKE others who hear you murmuring MURMUR AGAINST HIM.

קרבו. לַמָּקוֹם שֶׁהֶעָנָן יֵרֵד:

קרבו APPROACH [BEFORE THE LORD] — to the place where the cloud will descend.