Tafsiran Bilangan 11:1: Rashi, Kli Yakar, Ramban & Sforno

ויהי העם כמתאננים AND THE PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING — The term העם “the people” always denotes wicked men. Similarly it states, (Exodus 17:4) “what shall I do unto this people (לעם הזה)? [yet a little and they will stone me]”, and it further states, ( 13:10) “This evil people [which refuses to hear my words]”. But when they are worthy men who are spoken of they are called עמי “My people”, as it is said, (Exodus 5:1) “Let My people go”; (Micah 6:3) “O My people, what have I done unto thee” (Sifrei Bamidbar 85).

And the people were as those who complain, etc. We do not find explicitly in Scripture what this complaint was, yet the verse does not come to conceal but to explain. However, since we find two explicit complaints in Scripture — the first, We remember the fish, etc. and the second, weeping among their families regarding matters of forbidden relationships, etc. — therefore, certainly the entire passage speaks about one matter, and it was all one complaint originating from the passage And it came to pass when the Ark set forward, which is the mystery of the inverted letter nun at the end of the passage and in the word kemitonnenim [as those who complain].
For it is surprising in the eyes of many, and also in my eyes it is surprising, what our Sages interpreted (Tractate Shabbat 130a): And Moses heard the people weeping among their families — concerning matters of forbidden relationships that were prohibited to them. What is the connection of this complaint to here? And why did they not weep at the time when the forbidden relationships were prohibited to them? And if at that time they were silent and each of them accepted it, now what happened to them that they came to mention the past and to regret the past which they had already accepted and upheld?
Furthermore, they explicitly said, We remember the fish, and they said, Who will feed us meat? And without doubt, all these verses from and the Children of Israel also wept again until And Moses heard the people weeping are all speaking about one weeping. For this reason, our Sages endeavored to interpret the complaint in a distant way, for in Tractate Yoma (75a), Rav and Shmuel disagree about it — one says it refers to actual fish, and one says it refers to forbidden relationships, using a euphemistic expression, as it is written (Proverbs 30:20), She eats and wipes her mouth. According to his view, it is also simple to say that Who will feed us meat is also a euphemistic expression. And even according to his words, we need to provide a good reason and understanding of what this complaint has to do here, and why they were silent when the forbidden relationships were prohibited to them.

AND THE PEOPLE WERE ‘K’MITHON’NIM.’ Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that [the word k’mithon’nim is] “of the root aven (wickedness); similarly, the thoughts of ‘oneich’ (thy evil thoughts),¹⁴⁹Jeremiah 4:14. for they spoke words of wickedness.” But this is not correct, for why would Scripture have concealed their sin, and not stated [clearly what it was], as it does in all other places! The correct interpretation appears to me to be that as they got further away from Mount Sinai, which was near an inhabitable settlement, and entered the great and dreadful wilderness¹⁵⁰Deuteronomy 1:19. in their first journey, they became upset and said: “What shall we do? How shall we live in this wilderness? What shall we eat and what shall we drink? How shall we endure the trouble and the suffering, and when shall we come out of here?” The word k’mithon’nim is thus related to the expression, Wherefore doth a living man ‘yithonein’ (complain), a strong man because of his sins?¹⁵¹Lamentations 3:39. which is an expression indicating pain, and feeling sorry for oneself. Similarly, ben oni¹⁵²Genesis 35:18. means “the son of my sorrow; “‘v’anu hadayagim’ (and the fishers shall lament) and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn.¹⁵³Isaiah 19:8. Thus when Scripture states that they felt anxious and upset, it has thereby already mentioned and told [the nature of] their sin. It states that they were k’mithon’nim (‘as’ murmurers), meaning that they spoke in the bitterness of their soul as do people who suffer pain, and this was evil in the sight of the Eternal, since they should have followed Him with joyfnlness, and with gladness of heart by reason of the abundance of all good things¹⁵⁴Deuteronomy 28:47. which He gave them, but they behaved like people acting under duress and compulsion, murmuring and complaining about their condition. It is for this reason that He states with regard to the second [sin, or punishment], and the children of Israel also wept ‘again,’¹⁵⁵Verse 4. meaning that their first sin consisted of complaining about their lack of comforts in the wilderness, and now they again did a similar thing, and they did not receive correction¹⁵⁶Jeremiah 7:28. from the fire of G-d which devoured them.¹⁵⁷As stated in the verse before us.