הֲלֹ֡א טוֹב֩ אבנה [אֲמָנָ֨ה] וּפַרְפַּ֜ר נַהֲר֣וֹת דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק מִכֹּל֙ מֵימֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הֲלֹֽא־אֶרְחַ֥ץ בָּהֶ֖ם וְטָהָ֑רְתִּי וַיִּ֖פֶן וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ בְּחֵמָֽה׃
“Bukankah Amana dan Parpar, sungai-sungai Damsyik, lebih baik daripada segala perairan Israel? Bukankah aku mandi di sungai-sungai itu, namun apakah aku menjadi tahir?” Lalu ia berbalik dan pergi dengan panas hati.
Akeidat Yitzchak
Some problems tin the text of our Parshah. 1) When the Torah writes (Numbers 11, 1) "The people were as if complaining, wicked in the eyes of the Lord," what was it that G'd had heard? Why is it not spelled out? When the Jewish people are described as "crying again" in verse four, when was the first time they had cried? 2) How could the people say "who will feed me meat?," when they had enjoyed a regular diet of fowl, quail, since the second month they had been in the desert? How could Moses therefore appear to question G'ds ability to provide meat for the whole nation? 3) Why did Moses not relay the people's request to G'd as had been his custom? 4) If Moses simply wanted to reduce the burden of leadership from himself, why did the elders have to be assembled prior to the provision of meat? 5) The Torah seems extraordinarily long winded when describing how long the meat supply would last, i.e. "not one day, not two days etc. etc.." Why? 6) Moses' question "are You going to provide meat for six hundred thousand foot soldiers that I find myself amongst," seems peculiar? 7) Why did G'd supply this meat?