Midrash sur Les Nombres 11:1

“She has become like a widow.” Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: They did not go to extremes vis-à-vis the attribute of justice, and the attribute of justice did not go to extremes in their regard.¹¹They did not sin in an extreme fashion and they were not punished in an extreme fashion (see Matnot Kehuna; Maharzu). They did not go to extremes vis-à-vis the attribute of justice, as it is stated: “The people were like complainers” (Numbers 11:1). “Complainers” is not written here, but rather, “like complainers.” “The princes of Judah were like those who move boundaries” (Hosea 5:10). “Those who move boundaries” is not written here, but rather, “like those who move boundaries.” “For like a wayward cow [Israel has strayed]” (Hosea 4:16), “For a [wayward] cow” is not written here, but rather, “like a wayward cow.” The attribute of justice, too, did not go to extremes in their regard. “She has become like a widow”—“A widow” is not written here, but rather, “like a widow”—like a woman whose husband went to a country overseas and plans to return to her. “He drew His bow like an enemy” (Lamentations 2:4), “enemy” is not written here, but rather, “like an enemy.” “The Lord was like an enemy” (Lamentations 2:5), “enemy” is not written here, but rather, “like an enemy.”
Another matter, “she has become like a widow.” Rabbi Ḥama bar Ukeva and the Rabbis, Rabbi Ḥama bar Ukeva said: [This is analogous] to a widow who was demanding her sustenance but was not demanding her marriage contract.¹²After a man’s death, his widow may choose to continue to live in his home and to be supported by his estate. She may also leave and demand payment of the sum specified in her marriage contract. Israel is compared here to a widow who chooses to be supported by her late husband’s estate rather than leaving and cutting all ties to her husband. The Rabbis said: [This is analogous] to a king who grew angry at the queen and wrote her a bill of divorce and then snatched it from her. Any time that she sought to marry another, he would say to her: ‘Where is your bill of divorce?’ Any time she would demand her sustenance, he would say to her: ‘Have I not already divorced you?’ So too, any time Israel would seek to engage in idol worship, the Holy One blessed be He would say to them: “Where is your mother’s bill of divorce?” (Isaiah 50:1). Any time they request that He perform miracles on their behalf, the Holy One blessed be He says to them: ‘I have already divorced you.’ That is what is written: “I sent her away and gave her bill of divorce to her” (Jeremiah 3:8).
Another matter, “she has become like a widow.” Rabbi Akiva and the Rabbis, Rabbi Akiva says: “Widow,” and you say “like a widow”? Rather, a widow from the Ten Tribes, but not a widow from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.¹³Rabbi Akiva is asserting that Jerusalem is described as a widow from the Ten Tribes but not from Judah and Benjamin, because he holds that Lamentations was composed before Judah and Benjamin were exiled (Matnot Kehuna). Alternatively, because he holds that the Ten Tribes are not destined to return, but Judah and Benjamin will eventually return (Maharzu). The Rabbis say: A widow from these and from those, but not from the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “For neither Israel nor Judah is widowed from its God” (Jeremiah 51:5).

Similarly, you find that Moses remained unscathed by the fire that descended upon those who complained against him, as is said: And the fire of the Lord burnt them and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp (Num. 11:1).

“He drew His bow like an enemy; His right hand stood as an adversary, and he killed all delights of the eye. In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He poured out His fury like fire” (Lamentations 2:4).
“He drew His bow like an enemy.” Rabbi Aivu said: They did not go to extremes vis-à-vis the attribute of justice, and the attribute of justice, too, did not go to extremes in their regard.⁸⁶They did not sin in an extreme fashion and they were not punished in an extreme fashion (Etz Yosef). They did not go to extremes vis-à-vis the attribute of justice, as it is stated: “The people were like complainers” (Numbers 11:1). “Complainers” is not written here, but rather, “like complainers.” “The princes of Judah were like those who move boundaries” (Hosea 5:10). “Those who move boundaries” is not written here, but rather, “like those who move boundaries.” “For like a wayward cow [Israel has strayed]” (Hosea 4:16), “For a wayward cow” is not written here, but rather, “like a wayward cow.” The attribute of justice, too, did not go to extremes in their regard. “He drew His bow like an enemy.” “An enemy” is not written here, but rather, “like an enemy.”
Another matter, “He drew His bow like an enemy.” This is Pharaoh,⁸⁷When the verse states that God drew His bow like an enemy, the enemy referenced is Pharaoh. as it is stated: “The enemy said” (Exodus 15:9). “His right hand stood as an adversary,” this is Haman, as it is stated: “A man who is an adversary and an enemy” (Esther 7:6).
Another matter, “He drew His bow like an enemy.” This is Esau, as it is written: “Because the enemy said against you” (Ezekiel 36:2).⁸⁸This chapter in Ezekiel is a continuation of chapter 35, which is directed to Se’ir, which is identified with the offspring of Esau; see, e.g., Genesis 36:8. “And he killed all delights of the eye,” these are children who are as dear to their parents as their eyeball. The Rabbis say: These are the [members of the] Sanhedrin, who are as dear to Israel as the eyeball.
“In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He poured out His fury like fire.” There are four instances of pouring that are for good and four instances of pouring that are for bad. Four instances of pouring that are for good, as it is stated: “Upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, I will pour a spirit of grace and supplication” (Zechariah 12:10). “It will be, thereafter, that I will pour My spirit upon all flesh…. Also upon the slaves and upon the maidservants in those days I will pour My spirit” (Joel 3:1–2). “I will no longer conceal My face from them, as I have poured My spirit upon the house of Israel, the utterance of the Lord God” (Ezekiel 39:29). And four instances of pouring that are for bad, as it is stated: “He poured His fiery wrath upon him” (Isaiah 42:25). In Ezekiel it is written: “As You pour Your fury upon Jerusalem” (Ezekiel 9:8). It is written: “The Lord vented His fury, He poured out His enflamed wrath” (Lamentations 4:11). And this: “He poured out His fury like fire.”