(1) Setting out from Elim, the whole Israelite community came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. (2) In the wilderness, the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. (3) The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, when we ate our fill of bread! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to starve this whole congregation to death.” (4) And the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread for you from the sky, and the people shall go out and gather each day that day’s portion—that I may thus test them, to see whether they will follow My instructions or not. (5) But on the sixth day, when they apportion what they have brought in, it shall prove to be double the amount they gather each day.” (6) So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “By evening you shall know it was the LORD who brought you out from the land of Egypt; (7) and in the morning you shall behold the Presence of the LORD, because He has heard your grumblings against the LORD. For who are we that you should grumble against us? (8) Since it is the LORD,” Moses continued, “who will give you flesh to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to the full, because the LORD has heard the grumblings you utter against Him, what is our part? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD!”
(ד) כי תלינו עלינו. שֶׁתַּרְעִימוּ עָלֵינוּ אֶת הַכֹּל, וְאֶת בְּנֵיכֶם וּנְשֵׁיכֶם וּבְנוֹתֵיכֶם וְעֵרֶב רַב. וְעַל כָּרְחִי אֲנִי זָקוּק לְפָרֵשׁ תַּלִּינוּ בִּלְשׁוֹן תַּפְעִילוּ מִפְּנֵי דְּגֵשׁוּתוֹ וּקְרִיָּתוֹ, שֶׁאִלּוּ הָיָה רָפֶה, הָיִיתִי מְפָרְשׁוֹ בִּלְשׁוֹן תִּפְעֲלוּ, כְּמוֹ "וַיָּלֶן הָעָם עַל מֹשֶׁה" (שמות י"ז), אוֹ אִם הָיָה דָגוּשׁ וְאֵין בּוֹ יוּ"ד וְנִקְרָא תִלּוֹנוּ, הָיִיתִי מְפָרְשׁוֹ לְשׁוֹן תִּתְלוֹנְנוּ, עַכְשָׁיו הוּא מַשְׁמָע תַּלִּינוּ אֶת אֲחֵרִים, כְּמוֹ בִמְרַגְּלִים "וַיַּלִּינוּ עָלָיו אֶת כָּל הָעֵדָה" (במדבר י"ד):
((4) כי תלינו עלינו THAT YOU MAKE everyone MURMUR AGAINST US — your sons, and your wives, and your daughters and the mixed multitude. — And whether I like it or not I am forced to explain the word תַלִּינוּ in the sense of “you make (people) do something”, viz., murmur (i. e. what we call the Hiphil conjugation), because of its (the ל) be eshed and because of the קרי. For if it (the ל) were weak (i. e. without a Dagesh), I would explain it in the sense of “ye do something” (our Kal), just as, (Exodus 17:3) “And the people murmured (וַיָלֶן) against Moses”, or, if there was still a Dagesh but there was no י in it, so that it could be read תִלּוֹנוּ, I would explain it as meaning “ye put yourself in a state of murmuring” (our Niphal; cf. Rashi on Exodus 15:24). Now, however, it being as it is, it must imply “you make others murmur”, just as in the case of the spies it states, (Numbers 14:36) “And they made all the congregation to murmur (וַיַּלִּינוּ) against him” (where וַיַּלִּינוּ is the same grammatical form, so far as conjugation is concerned, as תַלִּינוּ, but as it has an object, כל העדה, it cannot mean “And they murmured”, and must necessarily mean “they made the congregation murmur).
Chumash Etz Chayim p. 415
"I will rain down bread...that I may thus test them, to see whether they will follow My instructions or not."
In what way is the manna a test? Some commentators see it as a deprivation, being confined to the same limited menu day after day. Others interpret it differently: If people are assured of food to eat without any effort on their part, will they remember to be grateful to God (Dov ben of Mezeritch)? Are wealthy people more likely to follow God's ways, out of gratitude? Or are poor people more likely to do so, because their awareness of their dependence on God is greater? Perhaps the test was to see whether people would content themselves with one day's supply, truly believing that God could be counted on to renew their food supply on the morrow.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (Chumash - Judaica Press, 1997) p. 270:
"The observance of My Law is dependent on My finding men for whom it is enough to know that their wives and children have sufficient sustenance from one day to the next, and who are content to enjoy each day in happiness and good cheer, to do their duty for today and to leave the care for tomorrow to Him Who gave them the present day and its sustenance, and Who will give them also the next day and its required sustenance. Only such unreserved trust in God will safeguard the observance of His Law against violations caused by anxiety about material hardship, real or imagined. He who has not learned to trust God for the next day will worry so much about the prospects of years to come that he will ultimately be led astray from God and from His Law...
Mechilta (Quoted in Torah Shlema Volume 4):
(1) Rabbi Yehoshua says: A person studies two halachot in the morning and two in the evening and works all day -- it is accounted to him as if he kept the entire Torah.
From this, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says, the Torah was only given for study to those who eat manna. How is this? One sits and studies but does not know from where one will eat or drink, or how one will dress - we see the Torah was only given for study to those who eat manna, and they are equivalent to those who eat Terumah. (holy offerings) -- Mechilta
(2) ...if there is no sustenance, there is no Torah -- if there is no Torah, then there is no sustenance.
Abraham Maslow - Hierarchy of Needs:
1. Biological and physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear.
3. Love and belongingness needs - friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work).
4. Esteem needs - which Maslow classified into two categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige). Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most important for children and adolescents and precedes real self-esteem or dignity.
5. Self-actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. A desire “to become everything one is capable of becoming”(Maslow, 1987, p. 64).
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Prasa (Turkish Leeks with Tomatoes)
"We remember the leeks, onions and garlic" - moaned the Israelites in the desert (Num. 11:6)
Recipe from Jewish Cooking in America by Joan Nathan - Knopf, 1994 (p. 238)
Ingredients - 1to2 TBS olive oil, 1 16 oz can whole tomatoes w juice or 4to6 overripe tomatoes chopped (reserving 1.5 cups juice), 2 cloves garlic finely diced, 4 large leeks cut lengthwise and into 1 inch pieces, juice of one small lemon, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1. Heat olive oil in saucepan. When just hot, add tomatoes without any juice mashing them roughly. Stir to blend. Simmer 3to5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and simmer for 3to5 more minutes.
3. Add leeks and 1 cup of juice saved from tomatoes. Slowly simmer the mixture covered for a minimum of 1 hr until leeks really soft and flavors have blended adding more juice or water if leeks too dry.
4. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir and simmer, covered for 10to15 minutes longer.
5. Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature.