Midras Mazmur 106:26: Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma Buber & Sifrei Devarim

(Numb. 14:1:) “Then the whole congregation raised (rt.: ntn) their voices; [and that night the people wept.]” This text is related (to Jer. 12:8), “[My heritage] has set (rt.: ntn) its voice against Me; therefore I have hated (rt.: sn') it.” The very voice with which you wept caused you to be punished by enemies (rt.: sn').⁴²Numb. R. 16:20, cont. Moreover, it was over this very generation that Isaiah said (in Is. 17:11), “In the day you plant, you see it flourish; and on the morning you sow, you see it bloom.” Isaiah said, “On the day that I went to plant you in the land, you produced slag; ‘and on the morning you sow, you see it bloom,’ it has flowered before the heat [of the day].” (Is 17:11, cont.:) “[But the] harvest flees on a day of sickness (nahalah) and human pain.” On the day that I went to give you your ancestral inheritance (nahalah), you became a manifesto in the world. And “human pain” refers to the divine punishment that you received as a legacy for [future] generations.⁴³Ta‘an. 29a; yTa‘an. 4:8 (or 5) (68d); Sot. 35a. Because the congregation wept in the night of the Ninth of Ab,⁴⁴See Ta‘an. 4:6: FIVE [CALAMITOUS] THINGS BEFELL OUR ANCESTORS ON THE SEVENTEENTH OF TAMMUZ AND FIVE ON THE NINTH OF AB…. ON THE NINTH OF AB IT WAS DECREED AGAINST OUR ANCESTORS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT ENTER THE LAND, THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED THE FIRST TIME AND THE SECOND TIME, BETHAR (THE CENTER OF THE BAR COCHBA REVOLT) WAS TAKEN, AND THE CITY [OF JERUSALEM] WAS PLOWED UNDER (after this revolt, but cf. Ta‘an. 29a). the Holy One, blessed be He, has said, “You have wept for nothing. I shall establish this night for you as [a night of] a weeping for [future] generations.” And from that hour a decree on the Temple was ordained for it to be destroyed and that the Children of Israel would go in exile among the nations. It is so stated (in Ps. 106:26-27), “So He raised His hand toward them [in an oath], to make them fall in the wilderness. And to make their seed fall among the gentiles, even to scatter them among the lands.” The raising of [the divine] hand was corresponding to the lifting up of the voice (in Numb. 14:1). (Numb. 14:2:) “And all the Children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them.” These are the sanhedraot. (Numb. 14:2, cont.:) “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt […].” [The matter] is comparable to a king at whose tribunal⁴⁵Gk.: Bema. a certain person came up for judgment.⁴⁶Numb. R. 16:21. He uttered a word from his mouth by which he convicted himself. The king set aside his bill of indictment⁴⁷Lat.: elogium; Gk.: elogion. and convicted him out of his own mouth. He said to him, “I am judging you by what has come out of your own mouth. So let it be for you according to what you have said.” Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them (in Numb. 14:29), “In this desert shall your carcasses fall.” (Numbers 14:28:) “’As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘as they have spoken in My ears.’” They began to say (in Numb. 14:3–9), “And why is the Lord bringing us [unto this land…]?” They also said to each other, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces [before the whole assembly of the congregation of the Children of Israel]. Moreover, Joshua ben Nun and Caleb ben Jephunneh, of those who had explored the land, rent their clothes and spoke unto the whole assembly of the Children of Israel, …. “If the Lord is pleased with us, [He will bring us into this land]…. Only do not rebel against the Lord….” The people said to them, “We have no faith in you! Our brothers care for us more than you do.” Thus it is stated (in Deut. 1:28), “Where are we going up to? Our brothers have caused [our hearts] to melt (with fear).” (Numb. 14:10:) “So the whole congregation said to stone [them with stones].” And who was “them?” Moses and Aaron. (Ibid., cont.:) “Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting.” [This incident] teaches that they threw stones, but the cloud intercepted them. (Numb. 14:11:) “Then the Lord said unto Moses, ‘How long ('ad-'anah) will this people scorn Me, and how long ('ad-'anah) will they have no faith in Me?’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “I have uttered two cries (of 'ad-'anah) because of you.⁴⁸Numb. R. 16:22, cont.; see below, Numb. 4a:14. Your end shall be to cry out in the subjection of the four empires: (Ps. 13:2-3:) ‘How long ('ad-'anah), O Lord, will you forget me forever; how long ('ad'-'anah) will you hide Your face from me? How long ('ad-'anah) shall I take counsel in my soul with grief in my heart [all day]; how long ('ad-'anah) will my enemy be exalted over me?’ I cried out (in Numb. 14:27), ‘How long ('Ad-matay) shall this evil congregation [be murmuring against me]?’ Your end shall be to cry out (in Ps. 6:4), ‘My soul also is greatly dismayed; [and You, O Lord, how long ('ad-matay)]?’”

“The entire congregation raised and sounded their voice and the people wept that night” (Numbers 14:1).
“The entire congregation raised and sounded their voice” – this is what is written: “The words of a grumbler are like blows, and they descend into the chambers of the belly” (Proverbs 18:8). The matters that they grumbled after the Holy One blessed be He caused them great trouble, as had they not concurred with the spies, they would not have been stricken with them, but they followed them, as it is stated: “You grumbled [vateragenu] in your tents and said” (Deuteronomy 1:27). What is vateragenu? You sought the denigration [tartem genut] of the Land of Israel, which the Holy One blessed be He called “a good land.”
“The entire congregation raised and sounded their voice” – this is what the verse said: “It has raised its voice against Me; therefore, I hated it” (Jeremiah 12:8). That voice that you cried caused you to be hated. Regarding that generation, Isaiah said: “On the day of your planting you will flourish [tesagsegi] and in the morning your seed will blossom” (Isaiah 17:11). On the day that He said to implant you in the ground, you became dross [sigim].¹⁵Instead of being planted in the land and flourishing, you became like dross. “And in the morning your seed will blossom” – before the heat of the day arrived, you blossomed.¹⁶When the plant blossoms early, the heat of the day withers it. Your faith withered even before you entered the heat of battle waged to conquer the Land. “The harvest will be lost on a day of affliction” (Isaiah 17:11) – on the day that I moved to give you the inheritance of your ancestors, you became a disgrace for the world. “And acute agony” (Isaiah 17:11) – this is the calamity that you sent as an inheritance for the generations, as they wept on the eve of the Ninth of Av. The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘You wept a gratuitous weeping before Me, I will set it for you as weeping for the generations.’ From that moment, it was decreed that the Temple would be destroyed, so that Israel would be exiled among the nations, just as it says: “He raised His hand in their regard, to cast them down in the wilderness, and to cast their offspring among the nations and to scatter them among the lands” (Psalms 106:26–27). Raising the hand is corresponding to raising the voice.

(Numb. 14:1:) THEN THE WHOLE CONGREGATION RAISED THEIR VOICE AND CRIED (rt.: NTN); <AND THAT NIGHT THE PEOPLE WEPT.> This text is related (to Jer. 12:8): <MY HERITAGE> HAS SET (rt.: NTN) ITS VOICE AGAINST ME; <THEREFORE I HAVE HATED (rt.: SN') IT.> The very voice with which you wept caused you to be punished like enemies (rt.: SN').⁴⁸Tanh., Numb. 4:12; Numb. R. 16:20, cont. Moreover, it was over this very generation that Isaiah said (in Is. 17:11): IN THE DAY YOU PLANT, YOU SEE IT FLOURISH; AND ON THE MORNING YOU SOW, YOU SEE IT BLOOM; <BUT THE> HARVEST FLEES ON A DAY OF SICKNESS (nahalah) AND HUMAN PAIN. On the day that I went to give you your ancestral inheritance (nahalah) you became a manifesto in the world. AND HUMAN PAIN refers to the divine punishment that you received as a legacy for <future> generations.⁴⁹Ta‘an. 29a; yTa‘an. 4:8 (or 5) (68d); Sot. 35a. Because the congregation wept in the night of the ninth of Ab,⁵⁰See Ta‘an. 4:6: FIVE <CALAMITOUS> THINGS BEFELL OUR ANCESTORS ON THE SEVENTEENTH OF TAMMUZ AND FIVE ON THE NINTH OF AB…. ON THE NINTH OF AB IT WAS DECREED AGAINST OUR ANCESTORS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT ENTER THE LAND, THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED THE FIRST TIME AND THE SECOND TIME, BETHAR (THE CENTER OF THE BAR COCHBA REVOLT) WAS TAKEN, AND THE CITY <OF JERUSALEM> WAS PLOWED UNDER (after this revolt, but cf. Ta‘an. 29a). the Holy One has said: You have wept for nothing. I shall establish this night for you as <a night of> a weeping for <future> generations, and from that hour a decree on the Temple was ordained for it to be destroyed and that the children of Israel would go in exile among the nations. It is so stated (in Ps. 106:26–27): SO HE RAISED HIS HAND TOWARD THEM <IN AN OATH>, [TO MAKE THEM FALL IN THE WILDERNESS AND TO MAKE THEIR SEED FALL AMONG THE GENTILES, EVEN TO SCATTER THEM AMONG THE LANDS]. The raising of <the divine> hand was corresponding to the lifting up of the voice (in Numb. 14:1).