Commento su Numeri 11:20

עד חדש ימים BUT EVEN A WHOLE MONTH [SHALL YE EAT] — This was said in reference to the comparatively virtuous, who languish on their beds and only afterwards their soul departs from them; in reference to the wicked, however, it states, (v. 33) “and while the flesh was yet between their teeth [the wrath of the Lord glowed against the people]”. Thus is it taught in the Sifrei Bamidbar 94. But in the Mechilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 16:13:1 (on Exodus 16:13) just the opposite is taught: the wicked ate the flesh and were in agony thirty days, while as for the comparatively virtuous, “the flesh was yet between their teeth, etc.” (they suffered no prolonged agony, but died immediately).

והיה לכם לזרא, they will eat so much of it that that it will cause an excess which in turn will produce sickness. This is what Assaph in Psalms 78,31 spoke about.

עד אשר יצא מאפכם, as per Onkelos, i.e. until you will vomit it.

עד אשר יצא מאפכם, “until it comes out of your nose, etc.” They would gorge themselves on such large quantities of meat for an entire month that they would finally become revolted by it, and would vomit it. Eventually, they would view meat as something not fit to eat.

This was the virtuous ones. שמתמצין means “who fell ill.”

עד חדש ימים, “as long as a whole month.” The last day of that month was not included in the period that G-d is speaking of. According to the Talmud in tractate Taanit folio 29, the last day of that period would be the 23rd of Sivan.

עד אשר יצא מאפכם UNTIL IT COME OUT AT YOUR NOSTRILS — Understand this as the Targum does: until that you feel a loathing for it; i.e. it will seem to you that you have eaten more than enough of it, so that it will come out and be ejected by way of the nose.

למה זה יצאנו ממצרים?; we had such a variety of food there, not only manna.

למה זה יצאנו ממצרים?, so that you could say “we remember the fish that we ate in Egypt” (verse 8). Seeing that you are so ungrateful you will be punished. If you had just felt a desire to eat meat, and had not at the same time used the opportunity to complain about your having left Egypt, you would not have been punished so severely. There had been many complaints of the Israelites that did not result in their being punished on account of them.

You are disgusted. That you will be disgusted by it such that it will seem to you…

והיה לכם לזרא, “it will become loathsome for you.” The Torah substituted the letter א at the end of this word, where we would have expected the letter ה. There are other examples of this in the Bible, such as Ruth 1,20 קראן לי מרא, “call me the embittered one,” where we also would have expected the author to have written: מרה. The meaning of the word לזרא, is: להסיג, to remove, to vomit. Isaiah uses that expression in Isaiah 1,4 נזורו אחור, when describing the Jewish people’s moral turpitude by having turned their back on G-d and His commandments. We find it also in Numbers 17,2: as an imperative: זרה הלאה, “scatter it! (the destructive glowing coals on his pan containing incense). G-d commands the people to gorge themselves on the meat so much so that in the end it will become repugnant to them, no longer an object of their desire. Eventually, they will vomit it in disgust.

והיה לכם לזרא AND BECOME SOMETHING STRANGE UNTO YOU — This means, that you will cast it away from you even more readily than you previously welcomed it (Sifrei Bamidbar 94). But in the work of Rabbi Moses the Preacher, I have seen it stated that there exists a language in which they call a sword "זרא".

More readily than you welcomed. The word זרא (repulsive) is used in the sense of “scattered” as in “behold he is winnowing” (Rus 3:2), but here the aleph is interchanged with a hei. The meaning is that you will expel it from your mouths and nostrils, i.e., you will not even want to look at it, for you will cast it away entirely, more than you welcomed it originally. You might ask: How did Rashi know to explain “more than you welcomed it”? It appears that the word והיה (it will be) is superfluous, for the Torah should have stated “comes out of your nostrils, repulsive to you.” What is the meaning of “it will be”? It is obvious that if it comes out of your nostrils it will be repulsive to you. Therefore the word “it will be” alludes to another development, in addition to casting it away. Since it will come out from your nostrils, you will cast it away even further. If so this certainly indicates that you will cast it off further that you welcomed it, thus Rashi notes “it will be…” R. Yaakov Triosh.

לאמור למה זה יצאנו ממצרים, because you had the nerve to say: “why did we ever agree to leave Egypt?” G-d refers to the people having yearned for the fish they ate in Egypt without having to work or pay for. (verse 5)

את ה’ אשר בקרבכם [BECAUSE THAT YE HAVE SCORNED] THE LORD WHO IS AMONG YOU — The latter words appear superfluous, but they are taken to suggest: Unless I had planted my Shechinah among you your heart would not have become so arrogant as to engage in all these matters (Sifrei Bamidbar 94).

You would not have had the arrogance. For if this were not so, why would the Torah have said “among you.”