וְעַתָּ֛ה נַפְשֵׁ֥נוּ יְבֵשָׁ֖ה אֵ֣ין כֹּ֑ל בִּלְתִּ֖י אֶל־הַמָּ֥ן עֵינֵֽינוּ׃
Maintenant, nous sommes exténués, nous manquons de tout: point d’autre perspective que la manne!"
Bamidbar Rabbah
“They shall send out from the camp…” – from where did the leprosy befall them? Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: Due to the act of the calf. Our Rabbis say: Due to the murmurers;7See Numbers 11:1. according to the opinion of our Rabbis, the leprosy befell them from the murmurers. How so?8The answer to this question appears at the end of the description of the complaints about the manna. When God rained the manna down for them, God performed several miracles for them. Our Rabbis said: They did not need to relieve themselves in the manner of people. Why did He do so? It is, rather, that God said: If My children need to relieve themselves, how, then, did I write in their regard that they are divine, as it is stated: “I had said: You are divine” (Psalms 82:6)? Rather, just as the angels do not need to engage in this matter, they too will no longer need to engage in this matter.
Another matter: God said: The nations eat and need to relieve themselves, and how do I distinguish between My children and the nations. That is why they did not need to relieve themselves. What did they do with the good that God performed on their behalf? They began speaking cynically about it. One said to another: Do you not hear, Shimon my brother? That one says: What do you say, Reuven my brother? He said to him: As you live, have you in all your days seen a person placing wheat in a mill, and after they are ground do not flow down?9Namely, the flour does not flow down. We, too, eat the manna, and it does not flow down. His counterpart said to him: I fear that ultimately my stomach will become swollen and burst because we do not excrete it. At that moment, God said to Moses: ‘I cannot bear and restrain Myself: “Until when will [this nation continue to] provoke Me? Until when will they not believe in Me?”’ (Numbers 14:11). Here, it is not written, “with all the wonders that I have performed with them [imo],” but rather, “[with all the signs] that I have performed in their midst [bekirbo]” (Numbers 14:11). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: How many signs and wonders I have performed in their innards [bekirbeihen], but they provoke Me, like the matter that is stated: “And the innards [vehakerev] and the legs…” (Leviticus 1:13).10This verse is brought as a proof that the term bekirbo can mean in their innards. From where is it derived that it would not emerge from them? As it is stated: “Man ate the bread of abirim” (Psalms 78:25).11The term “the bread of abirim” refers to the manna mentioned in the previous verse. Do not read it as abirim, but rather, “the bread of eivarim,” bread that is absorbed in their organs [eivarim]. Nevertheless, Moses advocated on their behalf, and God reconsidered the evil.
Then they said to one another: ‘Remember those days when we were in Egypt, when we would cook cauldrons upon cauldrons of meat, and would sit and eat toasts, and would crumble them into the gravy of the meat. If only we had died there, and God had not taken us out of there,’ as it is stated: “If only our death had been at the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat [by the fleshpots, when we ate bread until satiation]” (Exodus 16:3). ‘Now, we have nothing other than this manna alone; so it is in the evening, so it is in the morning, so it is during the week, so it is on Shabbat. If a person celebrated a good day, he has nothing to eat other than manna. If he marks a bad day, he has nothing to eat other than manna. Therefore, the souls are parched,’ as it is stated: “But now our soul is parched; there is nothing at all; [nothing but the manna to look to]” (Numbers 11:6).
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Were they requesting meat? Did they not taste all the delicacies of the world in the manna? Anyone who desired meat would taste it, and anyone who desired fish would taste it. Anyone who desired rooster, pheasant, peacock, or anything that he sought, would taste that. Why, then, were they murmuring? It was, rather, that they sought a pretext for how to return to Egypt. Nevertheless, God said to Moses: What are they requesting? It is meat. Say to them that I will provide them with meat. You will eat of it not only one or two days, but one entire month. That is what is written: “You will eat, not one day…but until an entire month” (Numbers 11:19–20). At that moment, God provided them with meat. Anyone who did not murmur before God would eat it and enjoy it. Anyone who blasphemed before God would eat, and [the meat] would examine him,12The meat would “check” whether the person eating it was a blasphemer. and it would come out of his nose, as it is stated: “Until it comes out of your nose, [and it will be lezara for you]” (Numbers 11:20). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: [The meat will cause] croup. Rabbi Huna HaKohen bar Avin says in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman in the name of our Rabbis in the Diaspora: [The meat will cause] vomit and excrement. Rabbi Evyatar says: What is lezara? It is a tick, or, that I will introduce a worm into their intestines. Rabbi Aivu bar Nagari says: It will be a warning [le’azhara] for you that from here on they will be forewarned.
Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: What is, “and it will be lezara for you” (Numbers 11:20)? They all became outcasts [zarim], just as it is stated: “No zar may eat of it” (Leviticus 22:13). So, anyone who blasphemes God becomes an outcast. How does he become an outcast? It is, rather, that leprosy befell them. God said to him: Why did they blaspheme Me? They are outcasts from the congregation: “They shall send out from the camp every leper…”
According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon, who said: Due to the act of the calf, leprosy befell them, he derives it from this verse: “On the day of your planting you will flourish, [and in the morning your seed will blossom; your branch will be lost on a day of affliction and mortal pain]” (Isaiah 17:11). Our Rabbis say: Forty days after Israel received the Torah, Israel crafted the calf.13For those forty days they were completely devoted to God. From where is it derived? It is as you find that God alluded to this to Moses. God said to Moses: ‘Do you not see Israel, that they are standing and saying: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7); as you live, they are standing in deceit. They are complete with Me only forty days,’ as it is stated: “You shall be for Me [li] a kingdom of priests…” (Exodus 19:6). Was the verse lacking “li”? Lamed is thirty, yod is ten; there is forty.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov: one of them would say: They were completely devoted for twenty-nine days, and one of them would say: They were completely devoted for eleven days. Both derive it from one verse, as it is stated: “Eleven days from Ḥorev…” (Deuteronomy 1:2). One of them says: What is “eleven”? Moses told them: ‘Was it not that you were completely devoted to God for twenty-nine days, but during the final eleven, you were calculating how to craft the calf,’ as it is stated: “Eleven days…” But his counterpart says: For eleven days they were completely devoted to God, and for twenty-nine they were calculating how to craft the calf. Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta says: They were completely devoted for one day, as it is stated: “The day that you stood before the Lord your God at Ḥorev” (Deuteronomy 4:10).
Rabbi Meir says: It is neither in accordance with the statement of these nor in accordance with the statement of those, but even at the moment that they were saying, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7), they were saying one matter with their mouth and one matter with their heart, as it is stated: “But they enticed Him with their mouth and deceived Him with their tongue. Their heart was not true with Him” (Psalms 78:36–37). Even on that very day that they were standing before Mount Sinai, their heart was not true to their Creator. That is what Isaiah says to them: “On the day of your planting you will flourish (tesagsegi)” (Isaiah 17:11) – God said to them: On the day that I sought to render you a plant in My name14Namely, on the day that I established you as My nation., you generated dross (sigim).15Tesagsegi is interpreted as: Make sigim. That is: “On the day of your planting you will flourish.”
What is, “and in the morning your seed will blossom” (Isaiah 17:11)? Rabbi Ḥama, Rabbi Ḥanina, and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: one of them said: To what is the matter analogous? It is to a king who had one garden filled with fine and excellent cabbage. He entered into it at dusk and saw it. He said: How fine and excellent; in the morning I will sell it to the merchants and fill my purse with gold pieces. In the morning he entered to see it and found that it had germinated.16Its leaves had spread and it no longer looked fine and excellent. He said to it: May you be cursed; in the evening you were fine and excellent, and in the morning you germinated. So God said to Israel: “And in the morning your seed will blossom [tafriḥi].”17Tafriḥi is interpreted as meaning that the seeds flew out [hifriḥu], which is a sign of deterioration.
His counterpart says: It is analogous to one who had a field of flax. He entered into it in the evening, and it was fine. He came to enter in the morning and found that it had become stalks. So, God said to them: “And in the morning your seed will blossom [tafriḥi] (Isaiah 17:11).”18See previous footnote.
“On a day of affliction [naḥala]” (Isaiah 17:11) – on a day that I thought to render you an inheritance [naḥala] in My name, you did not sustain My kingdom over you. “And mortal pain” (Isaiah 17:11) – come and receive leprosy. Why does it call it “mortal [anush] pain”? It is because it is an expression of man [gever],19Enosh and gever both mean man. as it is an affliction that overcomes [hagevartanit]. Alternatively, “and mortal pain” – because it causes the body that it enters to decompose; that is why God said to Moses: Separate the lepers that are in their midst as it is they who performed that act. “They shall send out from the camp every leper…”
Another matter: God said: The nations eat and need to relieve themselves, and how do I distinguish between My children and the nations. That is why they did not need to relieve themselves. What did they do with the good that God performed on their behalf? They began speaking cynically about it. One said to another: Do you not hear, Shimon my brother? That one says: What do you say, Reuven my brother? He said to him: As you live, have you in all your days seen a person placing wheat in a mill, and after they are ground do not flow down?9Namely, the flour does not flow down. We, too, eat the manna, and it does not flow down. His counterpart said to him: I fear that ultimately my stomach will become swollen and burst because we do not excrete it. At that moment, God said to Moses: ‘I cannot bear and restrain Myself: “Until when will [this nation continue to] provoke Me? Until when will they not believe in Me?”’ (Numbers 14:11). Here, it is not written, “with all the wonders that I have performed with them [imo],” but rather, “[with all the signs] that I have performed in their midst [bekirbo]” (Numbers 14:11). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: How many signs and wonders I have performed in their innards [bekirbeihen], but they provoke Me, like the matter that is stated: “And the innards [vehakerev] and the legs…” (Leviticus 1:13).10This verse is brought as a proof that the term bekirbo can mean in their innards. From where is it derived that it would not emerge from them? As it is stated: “Man ate the bread of abirim” (Psalms 78:25).11The term “the bread of abirim” refers to the manna mentioned in the previous verse. Do not read it as abirim, but rather, “the bread of eivarim,” bread that is absorbed in their organs [eivarim]. Nevertheless, Moses advocated on their behalf, and God reconsidered the evil.
Then they said to one another: ‘Remember those days when we were in Egypt, when we would cook cauldrons upon cauldrons of meat, and would sit and eat toasts, and would crumble them into the gravy of the meat. If only we had died there, and God had not taken us out of there,’ as it is stated: “If only our death had been at the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat [by the fleshpots, when we ate bread until satiation]” (Exodus 16:3). ‘Now, we have nothing other than this manna alone; so it is in the evening, so it is in the morning, so it is during the week, so it is on Shabbat. If a person celebrated a good day, he has nothing to eat other than manna. If he marks a bad day, he has nothing to eat other than manna. Therefore, the souls are parched,’ as it is stated: “But now our soul is parched; there is nothing at all; [nothing but the manna to look to]” (Numbers 11:6).
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Were they requesting meat? Did they not taste all the delicacies of the world in the manna? Anyone who desired meat would taste it, and anyone who desired fish would taste it. Anyone who desired rooster, pheasant, peacock, or anything that he sought, would taste that. Why, then, were they murmuring? It was, rather, that they sought a pretext for how to return to Egypt. Nevertheless, God said to Moses: What are they requesting? It is meat. Say to them that I will provide them with meat. You will eat of it not only one or two days, but one entire month. That is what is written: “You will eat, not one day…but until an entire month” (Numbers 11:19–20). At that moment, God provided them with meat. Anyone who did not murmur before God would eat it and enjoy it. Anyone who blasphemed before God would eat, and [the meat] would examine him,12The meat would “check” whether the person eating it was a blasphemer. and it would come out of his nose, as it is stated: “Until it comes out of your nose, [and it will be lezara for you]” (Numbers 11:20). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: [The meat will cause] croup. Rabbi Huna HaKohen bar Avin says in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman in the name of our Rabbis in the Diaspora: [The meat will cause] vomit and excrement. Rabbi Evyatar says: What is lezara? It is a tick, or, that I will introduce a worm into their intestines. Rabbi Aivu bar Nagari says: It will be a warning [le’azhara] for you that from here on they will be forewarned.
Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: What is, “and it will be lezara for you” (Numbers 11:20)? They all became outcasts [zarim], just as it is stated: “No zar may eat of it” (Leviticus 22:13). So, anyone who blasphemes God becomes an outcast. How does he become an outcast? It is, rather, that leprosy befell them. God said to him: Why did they blaspheme Me? They are outcasts from the congregation: “They shall send out from the camp every leper…”
According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon, who said: Due to the act of the calf, leprosy befell them, he derives it from this verse: “On the day of your planting you will flourish, [and in the morning your seed will blossom; your branch will be lost on a day of affliction and mortal pain]” (Isaiah 17:11). Our Rabbis say: Forty days after Israel received the Torah, Israel crafted the calf.13For those forty days they were completely devoted to God. From where is it derived? It is as you find that God alluded to this to Moses. God said to Moses: ‘Do you not see Israel, that they are standing and saying: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7); as you live, they are standing in deceit. They are complete with Me only forty days,’ as it is stated: “You shall be for Me [li] a kingdom of priests…” (Exodus 19:6). Was the verse lacking “li”? Lamed is thirty, yod is ten; there is forty.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov: one of them would say: They were completely devoted for twenty-nine days, and one of them would say: They were completely devoted for eleven days. Both derive it from one verse, as it is stated: “Eleven days from Ḥorev…” (Deuteronomy 1:2). One of them says: What is “eleven”? Moses told them: ‘Was it not that you were completely devoted to God for twenty-nine days, but during the final eleven, you were calculating how to craft the calf,’ as it is stated: “Eleven days…” But his counterpart says: For eleven days they were completely devoted to God, and for twenty-nine they were calculating how to craft the calf. Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta says: They were completely devoted for one day, as it is stated: “The day that you stood before the Lord your God at Ḥorev” (Deuteronomy 4:10).
Rabbi Meir says: It is neither in accordance with the statement of these nor in accordance with the statement of those, but even at the moment that they were saying, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7), they were saying one matter with their mouth and one matter with their heart, as it is stated: “But they enticed Him with their mouth and deceived Him with their tongue. Their heart was not true with Him” (Psalms 78:36–37). Even on that very day that they were standing before Mount Sinai, their heart was not true to their Creator. That is what Isaiah says to them: “On the day of your planting you will flourish (tesagsegi)” (Isaiah 17:11) – God said to them: On the day that I sought to render you a plant in My name14Namely, on the day that I established you as My nation., you generated dross (sigim).15Tesagsegi is interpreted as: Make sigim. That is: “On the day of your planting you will flourish.”
What is, “and in the morning your seed will blossom” (Isaiah 17:11)? Rabbi Ḥama, Rabbi Ḥanina, and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: one of them said: To what is the matter analogous? It is to a king who had one garden filled with fine and excellent cabbage. He entered into it at dusk and saw it. He said: How fine and excellent; in the morning I will sell it to the merchants and fill my purse with gold pieces. In the morning he entered to see it and found that it had germinated.16Its leaves had spread and it no longer looked fine and excellent. He said to it: May you be cursed; in the evening you were fine and excellent, and in the morning you germinated. So God said to Israel: “And in the morning your seed will blossom [tafriḥi].”17Tafriḥi is interpreted as meaning that the seeds flew out [hifriḥu], which is a sign of deterioration.
His counterpart says: It is analogous to one who had a field of flax. He entered into it in the evening, and it was fine. He came to enter in the morning and found that it had become stalks. So, God said to them: “And in the morning your seed will blossom [tafriḥi] (Isaiah 17:11).”18See previous footnote.
“On a day of affliction [naḥala]” (Isaiah 17:11) – on a day that I thought to render you an inheritance [naḥala] in My name, you did not sustain My kingdom over you. “And mortal pain” (Isaiah 17:11) – come and receive leprosy. Why does it call it “mortal [anush] pain”? It is because it is an expression of man [gever],19Enosh and gever both mean man. as it is an affliction that overcomes [hagevartanit]. Alternatively, “and mortal pain” – because it causes the body that it enters to decompose; that is why God said to Moses: Separate the lepers that are in their midst as it is they who performed that act. “They shall send out from the camp every leper…”
Shemot Rabbah
Another matter, “behold, I will rain down bread for you.” That is what is written: “Come, partake of my bread, and drink of the wine I have mixed” (Proverbs 9:5). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘What caused you to eat of the manna and to drink from the spring? It is because you accepted the statutes and the ordinances, just as it states: “There He instituted for it statutes and ordinances…” (Exodus 15:25). It is due to the merit of My bread11This is a reference to the Torah, which is compared to bread (Matnot Kehuna). that you took the bread of the manna, and due to the merit of the wine that I mixed12This is a reference to the Torah, which is compared to wine (see Song of Songs 1:2; Etz Yosef). that you drank the water of the spring, as it is stated: “And drink of the wine I have mixed.”’
Why did they not recite song over the manna, just as they recited it over the spring? It is because regarding the manna they expressed derogatory statements, as it is stated: “But now our soul is parched, there is nothing at all, other than the manna before our eyes” (Numbers 11:6). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I seek neither your grievances nor your lauding,’ therefore He granted them permission to recite song only over the spring, because they were fond of it, as it is stated: “Rise, well, call to it” (Numbers 21:17).
Another matter, “behold, I will rain down bread for you from the heavens,” that is what is written: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalms 23:5). When did the children of Israel state this matter? It was when they departed from Egypt and the nations of the world were saying: ‘These are destined to perish in the wilderness,’ and [Israel] said: “Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?” (Psalms 78:19).
What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He had them recline [hesiban] under the clouds of glory, as it is stated: “God led the people roundabout [vayasev]” (Exodus 13:18), and he fed them manna, as it is stated: “Who fed you manna in the wilderness” (Deuteronomy 8:16). The height of the manna was higher than the waters of the Flood, as it is stated: “He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens” (Psalms 78:23), and regarding the Flood it is written: “And the windows of the heavens were opened” (Genesis 7:11).13Doors in the time of the Sages had four windows. Thus, if the waters of the Flood came through windows, and an unclarified plural term implies two, and the manna came through doors, the implication is that the manna was more plentiful than the waters of the Flood (see Yoma 76a). The nations of the world were seeing Israel reclining, eating, and lauding the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalms 23:5). “You anoint my head with oil” (Psalms 23:5), this is the quail. “My cup is full” (Psalms 23:5), this is the spring. Likewise, in the future, He will make peace for them, and they will recline and eat in the Garden of Eden. The idolaters will see their conduct and their manner ,14Their hearts will melt due to jealousy or fear. as it is stated: “Behold, My servants will drink and you will be thirsty, [behold, My servants will rejoice and you will be ashamed]” (Isaiah 65:13).
Why did they not recite song over the manna, just as they recited it over the spring? It is because regarding the manna they expressed derogatory statements, as it is stated: “But now our soul is parched, there is nothing at all, other than the manna before our eyes” (Numbers 11:6). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I seek neither your grievances nor your lauding,’ therefore He granted them permission to recite song only over the spring, because they were fond of it, as it is stated: “Rise, well, call to it” (Numbers 21:17).
Another matter, “behold, I will rain down bread for you from the heavens,” that is what is written: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalms 23:5). When did the children of Israel state this matter? It was when they departed from Egypt and the nations of the world were saying: ‘These are destined to perish in the wilderness,’ and [Israel] said: “Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?” (Psalms 78:19).
What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He had them recline [hesiban] under the clouds of glory, as it is stated: “God led the people roundabout [vayasev]” (Exodus 13:18), and he fed them manna, as it is stated: “Who fed you manna in the wilderness” (Deuteronomy 8:16). The height of the manna was higher than the waters of the Flood, as it is stated: “He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens” (Psalms 78:23), and regarding the Flood it is written: “And the windows of the heavens were opened” (Genesis 7:11).13Doors in the time of the Sages had four windows. Thus, if the waters of the Flood came through windows, and an unclarified plural term implies two, and the manna came through doors, the implication is that the manna was more plentiful than the waters of the Flood (see Yoma 76a). The nations of the world were seeing Israel reclining, eating, and lauding the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalms 23:5). “You anoint my head with oil” (Psalms 23:5), this is the quail. “My cup is full” (Psalms 23:5), this is the spring. Likewise, in the future, He will make peace for them, and they will recline and eat in the Garden of Eden. The idolaters will see their conduct and their manner ,14Their hearts will melt due to jealousy or fear. as it is stated: “Behold, My servants will drink and you will be thirsty, [behold, My servants will rejoice and you will be ashamed]” (Isaiah 65:13).
Sifrei Bamidbar
(Bamidbar 11:6) "And now, our souls are dry. There is nothing": R. Shimon said: They said: It (the manna) will burst our bowels. Can a mortal ingest and not expel! They said to R. Shimon: And how do you explain (Devarim 23:14) "And you shall have a spade along with your other implements" (to cover your excrement)? He answered: What the Canaanite merchants sold them they expelled, but the manna, never. As it is written (Psalms 78:25) "Man ate the bread of abirim" — (bread) which was absorbed in the eivarim (the limbs). "Only to the manna is our eyes. (7) The manna was (round) like coriander seed, and it looked like crystal.": You think that he who said this ("Only to the manna, etc.") said that ("The manna was round, etc."?) This is not so. Israel said "Only to the manna is our eyes," and the L-rd "pacified" all future generations and said to them: Come and see what they are grumbling to Me about — "The manna was like coriander seed — it looked like crystal!" viz. (Bereshit 2:12) "And the gold of that land is good. There is the crystal and the onyx stone." Similarly, (i.e., another instance of "split referrent") (Ibid. 38:25) "And Judah recognized (them) and said: 'She is right. It is by me'" (that she is with child). And Scripture (and not Judah) states that "he did not live with her again." Similarly, (Devarim 25:18) "and you (Israel) were faint and weary," "and (he, Amalek) did not fear G-d." Similarly, (Judges 5:28) "Why is his (Sisra's) chariot delayed in coming?" — This was stated by Sisra's mother, (29) "The wisest of her ladies answer her, etc." — This was said by his wife and her daughters-in-law. (Ibid.) "She, too, returns her words to her" — there was revealed to her what was said to Devorah by the Holy Spirit — Don't wait any longer for Sisra. (Ibid. 31) "So will all of Your foes go lost, O L-rd." Similarly, (I Samuel 4:8) "Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of this mighty G-d" — This was stated by the righteous (among them). But the wicked said: "This is the G-d who smote the Egyptians with every plague in the desert." Their intent was: He had only ten plagues (in His arsenal) and He brought them all on the Egyptians — He has no plagues left. The L-rd responded: You say I have no plague left? I will bring upon you a plague the like of which the world has never seen. One of you will be sitting (and defecating) and a mouse will rise from the depths and will scoop out his innards and return to the depths! And thus is it written (Ibid. 5:6) "And the hand of the L-rd was heavy against the Ashdodites … and He struck them with hemorrhoids." Similarly, (Jeremiah 26:16-25) "Then the officers and all the people said to the Cohanim: … This man (Jeremiah) does not deserve to die … And there arose men of the elders of the land and they said to the entire assemblage of the people: Michah the Monashite prophesied … Did Chizkiyahu king of Judah put him to death? …" Until here, the words of the righteous. But the wicked among them said: "There was also a man who prophesied in the name of the L-rd, Uriah the son of Shemayahu … And King Yehoyakim heard … and the king wanted to put him to death…. And King Yehoyakim sent men to Egypt … and they took Uriah out of Egypt …" They said: Just as Uriah was killed, so Jeremiah must be killed. "But Achiram son of Shafan protected Jeremiah not to hand him over to the people to be put to death." Similarly, (Ruth 2:13) "As the L-rd lives, lie (here) until the morning." Because the yetzer hara (the evil inclination) sat and aggrieved him (Boaz) the whole night, saying: You are single and need a wife, and she (Ruth) is single and needs a husband, and you know that a woman is acquired (as a wife) by intercourse — Arise and live with her and let her be your wife — he swore to his yetzer hara "As the L-rd lives," I will not touch her. And to the woman he said: "Lie (here) until the morning." Here, too, "Only to the manna is our eyes." Do you think that he who said this said that ("The manna was like coriander seed, etc.")? (No!) Israel said "Only to the manna is our eyes!" and the L-rd "pacified" and said to them: Come and see about what they are railing against Me: "The manna was like coriander seed and it looked like crystal," viz. (Bereshit 2:12) "The gold of that land is good. There is crystal and the shoham stone."