וַיָּ֛שֶׁב אֶת־אֶֽלֶף־וּמֵאָ֥ה הַכֶּ֖סֶף לְאִמּ֑וֹ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִמּ֡וֹ הַקְדֵּ֣שׁ הִקְדַּ֣שְׁתִּי אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף֩ לַיהוָ֨ה מִיָּדִ֜י לִבְנִ֗י לַֽעֲשׂוֹת֙ פֶּ֣סֶל וּמַסֵּכָ֔ה וְעַתָּ֖ה אֲשִׁיבֶ֥נּוּ לָֽךְ׃
A gdy wrócił one tysiąc i sto srebrników matce swojej, rzekła matka jego: Poświęciłam z ręki mojej pieniądze te Wiekuistemu dla syna mego, aby sporządzono z tego obraz rzeźbiony i lity, a teraz zwracam ci je.
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
(Numb. 14:27:) HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION BE MURMURING AGAINST ME? <I HAVE HEARD THE MURMURINGS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL>….. Let our master instruct us: When a baby has a stone in his hand on the Sabbath, is it permissible to pick him up on the Sabbath?19Numb. R. 16:26. Thus have our masters taught (in Shab. 21:1): A PERSON MAY PICK UP ONE'S CHILD, EVEN WITH A STONE IN HIS HAND, OR A BASKET (of fruit), EVEN WITH A STONE INSIDE IT. You have learned from the generation of the wilderness that the Holy One, as it were, carried them up in the wilderness. (Deut. 1:31:) AND IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOU SAW HOW THE LORD YOUR GOD CARRIED YOU AS {THE PERSON} [ONE] CARRIES HIS CHILD. Yet there was an object of idolatry in their hand.20Corresponding to the stone in the hand of the child. Thus it is stated (in Neh. 9:18): EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD MADE THEMSELVES A MOLTEN CALF…. And so you find that, when they crossed in the sea, Micah's image (of Jud. 17:3–4) crossed with them, as stated (in Zech. 10:11): AND A RIVAL WIFE21Tsarah. The Midrash understands the word in this sense, although most translations follow the other meaning of tsarah, i.e., “affliction,” “distress,” or the like. So also below, Deut. 4:14. SHALL CROSS IN THE SEA.22Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Pisha 14 on Exod. 12:41; Sanh. 103b; M. Pss. 101:2; Exod. R. 41:1; also Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 1 on Exod. 15:22; ySuk. 4:3 (54c); see ARN, A, 34. Still with all this, the Holy One did not forsake them. He said to Moses: I have done a lot of good things with them; yet they are provoking me a lot. I parted the sea for them; they provoked me, as stated (in Pss. 106:7): THEY REBELLED AT THE SEA, [AT THE] REED [SEA]. I led them in the desert, but they provoked me there. And so it says (in Numb. 14:22): THEY HAVE TRIED ME THESE TEN TIMES AND NOT HEARKENED TO MY VOICE. Here also I told you to send them to explore the land, but they provoked me and brought a bad name upon it (i.e., upon the land). I am not able to endure. How long shall I endure them? Where is it shown? From what they read on the matter (in Numb. 14:27): HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION <BE MURMURING AGAINST ME>?
Bamidbar Rabbah
“Until when, for this evil congregation that bring complaints against Me? I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel that they brought against Me” (Numbers 14:27).
“Until when…” – halakha: A baby who has a stone in his hand, is it permitted to move him on Shabbat? Our Rabbis taught: A person may take his son even though there is a stone in his hand, and a basket with a stone inside it. You learn it from the generation of the wilderness, as the Holy One blessed be He was, as it were, bearing them in the wilderness, “as a man would bear his son” (Deuteronomy 1:31), and there were idols in their possession, as it is stated: “They made themselves a cast figure of a calf” (Nehemiah 9:18). Likewise you find when they crossed in the sea, the image of Mikha crossed with them, as it is stated: “Trouble [tzara]28The word tzara can also mean another wife. Thus it is used as a reference to idol worship, in which "another entity" is being brought into the relationship with God. will pass through the sea” (Zechariah 10:11). Nevertheless, the Holy One blessed be He did not abandon them. He said to Moses: ‘I split the sea for them and they infuriated Me,’ as it is stated: “How much did they defy Him?” (Psalms 78:40). ‘Here, too, they disseminated slander regarding the Land, and I am unable to tolerate it. Until when need I be tolerant of them? “Until when, for this evil congregation?”’ (Numbers 14:27).
“Until when…” – halakha: A baby who has a stone in his hand, is it permitted to move him on Shabbat? Our Rabbis taught: A person may take his son even though there is a stone in his hand, and a basket with a stone inside it. You learn it from the generation of the wilderness, as the Holy One blessed be He was, as it were, bearing them in the wilderness, “as a man would bear his son” (Deuteronomy 1:31), and there were idols in their possession, as it is stated: “They made themselves a cast figure of a calf” (Nehemiah 9:18). Likewise you find when they crossed in the sea, the image of Mikha crossed with them, as it is stated: “Trouble [tzara]28The word tzara can also mean another wife. Thus it is used as a reference to idol worship, in which "another entity" is being brought into the relationship with God. will pass through the sea” (Zechariah 10:11). Nevertheless, the Holy One blessed be He did not abandon them. He said to Moses: ‘I split the sea for them and they infuriated Me,’ as it is stated: “How much did they defy Him?” (Psalms 78:40). ‘Here, too, they disseminated slander regarding the Land, and I am unable to tolerate it. Until when need I be tolerant of them? “Until when, for this evil congregation?”’ (Numbers 14:27).