Beha'alotecha

(1) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you mount the lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand.” (3) Aaron did so; he mounted the lamps at the front of the lampstand, as the LORD had commanded Moses.— (4) Now this is how the lampstand was made: it was hammered work of gold, hammered from base to petal. According to the pattern that the LORD had shown Moses, so was the lampstand made.

בהעלתך WHEN THOU LIGHTEST [THE LAMPS] — Why is the section treating of the candelabrum put in juxtaposition with the section dealing with the offerings of the princes? Because when Aaron saw the dedication offerings of the princes, he felt distressed because neither he nor his tribe was with them in the dedication, whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “By your life! Your part is of greater importance than theirs, for you will kindle and set in order the lamps” (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 5; see also Nachmanides).

ויעש כן אהרן AND AARON DID SO — This is stated in order to tell the praise of Aaron — that he did not deviate [from G-d's command] (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 60).

וזה מעשה המנרה AND THIS IS THE WORK OF THE CANDLESTICK — “This” — we may gather that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed it to him (Moses) with His finger, because he was puzzled by it (how to construct it); and that is why it states, “this is [the construction of the candlestick]” (Sifrei Bamidbar 61; Menachot 29a).

WHEN THOU LIGHTEST THE LAMPS. “Why does the section dealing with the candelabrum follow [the section which tells of] the dedication-offerings of the princes? The reason is that when Aaron saw the dedication-offerings of the princes, he became disheartened because neither he nor his tribe participated with them in the dedication; whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ‘By thy life! Thy contribution is [of] greater [significance] than theirs, for thou wilt kindle and trim the lamps every morning and evening.’” This is Rashi’s language, from a Midrash Agadah.
But it is not clear to me why G-d consoled Aaron [by reminding him of his function] in lighting the lamps, rather than consoling him with the burning of the incense every morning and evening, which is [the specific function of his] with which Scripture praised him, as it is said, they shall put incense before Thee. Or [G-d could have reminded him of] all the offerings [performed only by his descendants], and the meal-offering of baked cakes [which is brought daily by the High Priest personally], and the Service on the Day of Atonement which is only valid if done by him [i.e., Aaron and subsequent High Priests], and [by the fact that it is] he who enters into the innermost part of the Sanctuary, and he is the holy one of the Eternal, standing in His Temple to minister unto Him, and to bless in His Name, and his entire tribe minister to our G-d! Moreover, what reason was there for Aaron’s uneasiness of mind [upon seeing the offerings of the princes]? Was not his [dedication-] offering greater than that of the [other] princes, for he offered up during those days — all the [seven] days of the initiation [of the priests] — many offerings? And if you reply that [he was disheartened because] his offerings were obligatory and he had been commanded to bring them, and therefore he was dispirited because he did not bring a voluntary offering for the dedication of the altar as they did — [this cannot be so] because the lighting of the lamps with which He consoled Aaron was also a duty which he had been commanded! [Therefore what consolation did Aaron derive for not sharing in the voluntary offerings by being given a commandment which was obligatory?]
But the intention of this homiletic text is to derive an allusion from this section [of the Torah] to the Chanukah (“Dedication”) of lights which occurred in the period of the Second Temple through Aaron and his sons, namely [Matithyahu] the Hasmonean, who was High Priest, and his sons. And I have found this explanation in the following text of Megillath Setharim of Rabbeinu Nissim, who mentions this tradition, saying: “I have seen in the Midrash: When [the princes of] the twelve tribes brought the dedication-offerings and the tribe of Levi did not etc., the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him: When thou lightest the lamps. There is another Dedication in which there will be lighting of the lamps, when I will perform through your sons miracles and salvation for Israel, and a Dedication which will be called by their name, namely, ‘the Chanukah of the sons of the Hasmonean.’ Therefore He put this section [dealing with the lighting of the lamps] next to the section concerning the dedication of the altar.” Thus far is his [Rabbeinu Nissim’s] language.
And I have further seen in Yelamdeinu and also in the Midrash Rabbah [the following text]: “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Go and tell Aaron — ‘Fear not! You are designated for something of greater importance than this. The offerings are brought only as long as the Sancutary is in existence, but the lamps will give light in front of the candelabrum forever; and all the blessings that I have given you with which to bless My children will never come to an end.’” Now it is an obvious fact that when the Sanctuary is not in existence and the offerings are not brought because of its destruction, the lighting of the lamps [of the candelabrum in the Sanctuary] also ceases [so what does the Midrash mean in saying that G-d promised Aaron that the lighting of the lamps would never stop]! Therefore [we must say] that the Sages of the Midrash were alluding to the lights of the Dedication of the Hasmoneans, which applies [on the festival of Chanukah] even after the destruction of the Sanctuary, in our exile. Similarly the priestly blessing which is also juxtaposed to the dedication-offerings of the princes applies forever. Thus the Rabbis interpreted the proximity to the chapter of the dedication-offerings of the princes of both [the section] before and after it, in honor of Aaron who was not included with the princes [in those dedication-offerings].
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explains that this section was placed next to [the verse above, stating, And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting that He might speak with him …], in order “to inform us that the Divine communication [to Moses] would come at night as well, for there [in the Tent of Meeting] the lamp would be burning and would not become extinguished.” But this is not so according to the opinion of our Rabbis, who say: “Did He not speak to him [Moses] only in the daytime?” And if Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra would have understood the difference between the prophecy [experienced by] Moses and that of the other prophets, he would not have thought so [i.e., that the Divine communication also came to Moses at night]; as Scripture states, If there be a prophet among you, I the Eternal do make Myself known unto him in a vision, I do speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, for his prophecy was not through a dream, since dreams take place when it is actually night. But the order of arrangement of these sections [of the Torah] is as I have explained, for Scripture’s purpose in this book is to complete the laws of the offerings and all that must be done in the Tent of Meeting. Now He had said originally, And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually, but He did not mention the candelabrum there, and therefore [one might have thought] that it indicates that they [only] have to kindle [the lamps] in the candelabrum when it is available, just as He said in [the section concerning] the making thereof, and he shall light the lamps thereof, to give light over against it. But if it were perchance lost or broken [we might have thought that] they should light the lamps without the candelabrum, and that the candelabrum is not essential for the lighting, since the commandment is to cause a lamp to burn continually for all time. Therefore He commanded again afterwards, [so that it would be applicable] at once and for all generations, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil, stating, He [Aaron] shall set in order the lamps upon the pure candelabrum, meaning that he may only set the lamps in order upon the pure candelabrum. And since He completed here the account of the erection of the Tabernacle, He also finished all the laws of the lamps, and commanded that the seven lamps should always be burning for all generations in front of the candelabrum, just as He had mentioned at the making of the candelabrum, and he shall light the lamps thereof, to give light over against it — but not without the candelabrum, and not unless all the lamps give light over against it. He did not mention the Tent of Meeting in this section, in order to instruct [us] that this [law] applies also in the Sanctuary [at Jerusalem], for one might have thought that because there were no windows in the Tent of Meeting it was necessary to have this light, whereas in the Sanctuary [at Jerusalem] where there were windows broad within, and narrow without [such a light] would not be necessary, therefore He did not mention here the Tent of Meeting.

(5) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (6) Take the Levites from among the Israelites and cleanse them. (7) This is what you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle on them water of purification, and let them go over their whole body with a razor, and wash their clothes; thus they shall be cleansed. (8) Let them take a bull of the herd, and with it a meal offering of choice flour with oil mixed in, and you take a second bull of the herd for a sin offering. (9) You shall bring the Levites forward before the Tent of Meeting. Assemble the whole Israelite community, (10) and bring the Levites forward before the LORD. Let the Israelites lay their hands upon the Levites, (11) and let Aaron designate the Levites before the LORD as an elevation offering from the Israelites, that they may perform the service of the LORD. (12) The Levites shall now lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls; one shall be offered to the LORD as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make expiation for the Levites. (13) You shall place the Levites in attendance upon Aaron and his sons, and designate them as an elevation offering to the LORD. (14) Thus you shall set the Levites apart from the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine. (15) Thereafter the Levites shall be qualified for the service of the Tent of Meeting, once you have cleansed them and designated them as an elevation offering. (16) For they are formally assigned to Me from among the Israelites: I have taken them for Myself in place of all the first issue of the womb, of all the first-born of the Israelites. (17) For every first-born among the Israelites, man as well as beast, is Mine; I consecrated them to Myself at the time that I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt. (18) Now I take the Levites instead of every first-born of the Israelites; (19) and from among the Israelites I formally assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons, to perform the service for the Israelites in the Tent of Meeting and to make expiation for the Israelites, so that no plague may afflict the Israelites for coming too near the sanctuary. (20) Moses, Aaron, and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites accordingly; just as the LORD had commanded Moses in regard to the Levites, so the Israelites did with them. (21) The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; and Aaron designated them as an elevation offering before the LORD, and Aaron made expiation for them to cleanse them. (22) Thereafter the Levites were qualified to perform their service in the Tent of Meeting, under Aaron and his sons. As the LORD had commanded Moses in regard to the Levites, so they did to them.

הזה עליהם מי חטאת SPRINKLE UPON THEM WATER OF PURIFYING — water in which the ashes of the Red Heifer are mingled; on account of those among them who might have become unclean through contact with dead persons.

נתנים נתנים FOR THEY ARE GIVEN, GIVEN ARE THEY [UNTO ME] — i.e., given twice: dedicated for bearing the holy objects and dedicated to sing in chorus in the Sanctuary.

כי לי כל בכור FOR ALL THE FIRSTBORN [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] ARE MINE — This means: they became Mine by strict right (lit., by the line of justice), because I protected them distinguishing between them and the firstborn of Egypt, and I took them as Mine — until they sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf, but now ואקח את הלוים I HAVE TAKEN THE LEVITES in their stead.

(1) The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, on the first new moon of the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, saying: (2) Let the Israelite people offer the passover sacrifice at its set time: (3) you shall offer it on the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, at its set time; you shall offer it in accordance with all its rules and rites. (4) Moses instructed the Israelites to offer the passover sacrifice; (5) and they offered the passover sacrifice in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai. Just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did. (6) But there were some men who were unclean by reason of a corpse and could not offer the passover sacrifice on that day. Appearing that same day before Moses and Aaron, (7) those men said to them, “Unclean though we are by reason of a corpse, why must we be debarred from presenting the LORD’s offering at its set time with the rest of the Israelites?” (8) Moses said to them, “Stand by, and let me hear what instructions the LORD gives about you.” (9) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (10) Speak to the Israelite people, saying: When any of you or of your posterity who are defiled by a corpse or are on a long journey would offer a passover sacrifice to the LORD, (11) they shall offer it in the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, (12) and they shall not leave any of it over until morning. They shall not break a bone of it. They shall offer it in strict accord with the law of the passover sacrifice. (13) But if a man who is clean and not on a journey refrains from offering the passover sacrifice, that person shall be cut off from his kin, for he did not present the LORD’s offering at its set time; that man shall bear his guilt. (14) And when a stranger who resides with you would offer a passover sacrifice to the LORD, he must offer it in accordance with the rules and rites of the passover sacrifice. There shall be one law for you, whether stranger or citizen of the country.

בחדש הראשון [AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES] IN THE FIRST MONTH — The section which appears at the commencement of this Book was not spoken before Eyar (the second month; cf. Numbers 1:1): you learn, therefore, that there is no “earlier” or “later” (no chronological order) in the Torah. But why, indeed, did not Scripture open the Book with this section? Because it implies something disparaging to Israel (Sifrei Bamidbar 64:1) — that during all the forty years they were in the wilderness they offered only this single Passover sacrifice (Tosafot on Kiddushin 38b s. v. הואיל)

IN THE SECOND YEAR AFTER THEIR COMING OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, IN THE FIRST MONTH. From here the Rabbis have deduced the principle: “There is no [strict] chronological order in the narrative of the Torah” [for the census mentioned at the beginning of this Book of Numbers was on the first day of ‘the second’ month in the second year, and the present chapter about the Passover was in the ‘first month’ of the same year]! Now the reason for this delay [in mentioning the section concerning the Passover] was that since this fourth book [of the Torah] comes to mention the commandments which Israel was given in the wilderness of Sinai for that particular time, He wanted [first] to complete everything related to the Tent of Meeting and its functioning during all the time [that Israel was] in the wilderness. Therefore He mentioned first the [commandments about the four] standards, and the place of the Tent [of Meeting], and the position of its ministers, and the ordinance concerning the divisions [of the Levites] when carrying [the Tabernacle whilst travelling, and] all services of the Tent. Then He mentioned the dedication-offerings of the princes, who brought the wagons in which they would carry it [the Tent] as long as they were to be in the wilderness, and He finished [the account of] their offerings at the dedication of the altar, which began on the first of Nisan or afterwards. After all this He returned and mentioned the admonition that He had given them not to forget the commandment of the Passover.
Now in the opinion of our Rabbis [the obligation to bring the Passover-offering] only applied in the wilderness in this [second] year, after the exodus because they did not perform circumcision in the wilderness, and the [non-performance of] circumcision of the male children and the servants prevented them [from slaughtering the Passover-offering]. It is possible that this [specific] command [to bring the Passover] was necessary because at first they were only commanded about making the Passover-offering in future generations after [entering] the Land of Israel, as it is written, And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the Land which the Eternal will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this Service. And it is further stated there, And it shall be when the Eternal shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanite, etc., that thou shalt keep this Service in this month. And now the Holy One, blessed be He, desired and commanded that they should make it [the Passover-offering] in order that the memory of their redemption and of the miracles which were done for them and their fathers should be transmitted from the fathers who saw them to their children, and their children to another generation. Thus He had said at first, And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the Land, meaning to say that this commandment [to bring the Passover-offering] does not apply outside the Land in future generations; therefore now He commanded that they should fulfill it in the desert. And in the opinion of our Rabbis they only brought the Passover-offering in this [second] year [after the exodus], because they begot sons and servants whom they could not circumcise, for the reason that the Rabbis mentioned, that it was dangerous [to observe circumcision], as is explained in Tractate Yebamoth.
However, in the Sifre the Rabbis have said: “And they brought the Passover-offering in the first month. Scripture speaks in a critical manner about Israel, inasmuch as [throughout their forty years in the desert] they brought only this Passover-offering, and likewise He said, Did ye bring unto Me offerings and meal-offerings in the wilderness forty years?” The Rabbis arrived at this interpretation [that the verse is rebuking them because they only brought the Passover-offering in the second year after the exodus], on the basis of this verse which states, And they brought the Passover-offering in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at dusk, in the wilderness of Sinai, since it is a superfluous verse, for it would have been sufficient to say, and they brought the Passover-offering “according to all that the Eternal commanded Moses.” But Scripture mentioned the [exact] day and [the fact that it was in] the wilderness in order to hint that they only observed it in the wilderness on that day, and this was their “shortcoming” [which is referred to in the text of the Sifre].
It is possible that [the reason why it is considered] their shortcoming is because of their sin in the affair of the spies, on account of which they fell into disesteem and the [cooling] northern wind did not blow upon them, [with the result that on account of the great heat in the desert] they could not circumcise themselves, and therefore they were prohibited to eat any sacred offerings, and they were “rebuked” by [G-d]. Or it may be that this Beraitha [of the Sifre which speaks of the “shortcoming” of Israel, as hinted at in this section] is in agreement with the words of the Sage who holds that [non-performance of] circumcision of one’s male children or servants does not prevent one from eating the Passover-offering, and therefore the people were permitted to bring the Passover-offering, but they did not trouble themselves to do it, and this is indeed a great “shortcoming.” The first interpretation, however, appears more likely to be correct, for [had they been obliged to bring it] Moses would have forced them to observe it and would not have allowed them [by not bringing it] to incur the penalty of excision. But as for the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days, and the removal [over that period] of leavened bread, Scripture did not have to say that they observed it [in the wilderness], since these are commandments that are obligatory on everyone’s person and apply in all places, and it has already been stated [that they are to be observed] throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.

(15) On the day that the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the Tabernacle, the Tent of the Pact; and in the evening it rested over the Tabernacle in the likeness of fire until morning. (16) It was always so: the cloud covered it, appearing as fire by night. (17) And whenever the cloud lifted from the Tent, the Israelites would set out accordingly; and at the spot where the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp. (18) At a command of the LORD the Israelites broke camp, and at a command of the LORD they made camp: they remained encamped as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. (19) When the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle many days, the Israelites observed the LORD’s mandate and did not journey on. (20) At such times as the cloud rested over the Tabernacle for but a few days, they remained encamped at a command of the LORD, and broke camp at a command of the LORD. (21) And at such times as the cloud stayed from evening until morning, they broke camp as soon as the cloud lifted in the morning. Day or night, whenever the cloud lifted, they would break camp. (22) Whether it was two days or a month or a year—however long the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle—the Israelites remained encamped and did not set out; only when it lifted did they break camp. (23) On a sign from the LORD they made camp and on a sign from the LORD they broke camp; they observed the LORD’s mandate at the LORD’s bidding through Moses.

AND ON THE DAY THE TABERNACLE WAS RAISED UP. Now He resumes the telling of the journey [through the wilderness] and the commandments which they were commanded about it, such as the trumpets, which Moses was now commanded were to be for the calling of the congregation, and for causing the camps to set forward. The sense of the expression [And on the day the Tabernacle was raised up] the cloud covered the Tabernacle, even the Tent of the Testimony is to state that the cloud covered only the Tent of the Testimony, but not the court of the Tabernacle.

(1) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Have two silver trumpets made; make them of hammered work. They shall serve you to summon the community and to set the divisions in motion. (3) When both are blown in long blasts, the whole community shall assemble before you at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting; (4) and if only one is blown, the chieftains, heads of Israel’s contingents, shall assemble before you. (5) But when you sound short blasts, the divisions encamped on the east shall move forward; (6) and when you sound short blasts a second time, those encamped on the south shall move forward. Thus short blasts shall be blown for setting them in motion, (7) while to convoke the congregation you shall blow long blasts, not short ones. (8) The trumpets shall be blown by Aaron’s sons, the priests; they shall be for you an institution for all time throughout the ages. (9) When you are at war in your land against an aggressor who attacks you, you shall sound short blasts on the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God and be delivered from your enemies. (10) And on your joyous occasions—your fixed festivals and new moon days—you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your sacrifices of well-being. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I, the LORD, am your God.

(11) In the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle of the Pact (12) and the Israelites set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. The cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran. (13) When the march was to begin, at the LORD’s command through Moses, (14) the first standard to set out, troop by troop, was the division of Judah. In command of its troops was Nahshon son of Amminadab; (15) in command of the tribal troop of Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar; (16) and in command of the tribal troop of Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon. (17) Then the Tabernacle would be taken apart; and the Gershonites and the Merarites, who carried the Tabernacle, would set out. (18) The next standard to set out, troop by troop, was the division of Reuben. In command of its troop was Elizur son of Shedeur; (19) in command of the tribal troop of Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai; (20) and in command of the tribal troop of Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel. (21) Then the Kohathites, who carried the sacred objects, would set out; and by the time they arrived, the Tabernacle would be set up again. (22) The next standard to set out, troop by troop, was the division of Ephraim. In command of its troop was Elishama son of Ammihud; (23) in command of the tribal troop of Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur; (24) and in command of the tribal troop of Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni. (25) Then, as the rear guard of all the divisions, the standard of the division of Dan would set out, troop by troop. In command of its troop was Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai; (26) in command of the tribal troop of Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran; (27) and in command of the tribal troop of Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan. (28) Such was the order of march of the Israelites, as they marched troop by troop.

(29) Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD has said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will be generous with you; for the LORD has promised to be generous to Israel.” (30) “I will not go,” he replied to him, “but will return to my native land.” (31) He said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness and can be our guide. (32) So if you come with us, we will extend to you the same bounty that the LORD grants us.” (33) They marched from the mountain of the LORD a distance of three days. The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD traveled in front of them on that three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them; (34) and the LORD’s cloud kept above them by day, as they moved on from camp.

(35) When the Ark was to set out, Moses would say: Advance, O LORD! May Your enemies be scattered, And may Your foes flee before You! (36) And when it halted, he would say: Return, O LORD, You who are Israel’s myriads of thousands!

ויהי בנסע הארן AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN THE ARK PROCEEDED [THAT MOSES SAID etc.] — He (the Lord; cf. Shabbat 115a) made for it (for this section) dividing marks (inverted “Nuns”), in front and behind it, in order to indicate that this is not its proper place (it would more fittingly find a place in the section dealing with the march of the people in chapter Numbers II. after v. 17). But why, then, is it written here? In order to make a break between the narrative of one punishment and that of another punishment etc., as is stated in the Talmudic chapter commencing with כל כתבי (Shabbat 115b, cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 84:1).

AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN THE ARK SET FORWARD. “He [the Eternal] made for this section [i.e., this verse and the following one] a special mark in front of it and behind it [by placing two inverted letters nun at the beginning and end of it] in order to indicate that this section is not in its proper place. Why then was it written here? In order to separate between [the narrative of] one punishment and that of another punishment, as is stated in the Chapter of ‘Any of the Holy Scriptures.’” This is Rashi’s language. But the Rabbi did not explain to us what is this [first] “punishment” from which it was necessary to separate [the later verses], for there is no “punishment” mentioned here in Scripture before the verse, And it came to pass when the ark set forward. The language of the Gemara there is: “The second punishment is [the section], And the people were as murmurers. The first ‘punishment’ is that which says, And they set forward from the mount of the Eternal, on which Rabbi Chanina said: This teaches us that they turned aside from the Eternal.” On this [statement of Rabbi Chanina] the Rabbi [Rashi] wrote there in his commentaries: “Within three days of their journeying the mixed multitude … fell a lusting complaining about the [lack of] meat, in order to rebel against G-d.” But these are astonishing words, for the “punishment” stated in the verse And the people were as murmurers [… and the fire of the Eternal burnt among them etc.] is written first, and that of the lusting is second, and they are both next to each other [so why did Rashi mention the sin of the lusting following upon their journeying as the first “punishment,” since that of the murmurers is closer to it]? Perhaps the Rabbi [Rashi] thought that these episodes were not written in their [chronological] order, and that He [already] alluded to the first [punishment] in saying, [and they set forward] from the mount of the Eternal, for perhaps they already intended to do so [to demand meat] from the time that they set forth on that journey; but He made a break [by writing the section of the ark], and then wrote the second [punishment, i.e., that of the murmurers], and afterwards He went back to [relate the actual realization of their original intention to ask for meat, namely] the first punishment. But there is neither rhyme nor reason in this [explanation].
But the meaning of this interpretation [of the Rabbis that they set forward from the mount of the Eternal indicates a punishment, is based on that which] they found in the Agadah, that “they set forward from Mount Sinai with joy, just like a child who runs away from school, saying: ‘Perhaps He will give us more commandments [if we stay]!” This then is the sense of the expression, And they set forward from the mount of the Eternal, meaning that their intention was to remove themselves from there because it was the mount of the Eternal. This is the first “punishment” [i.e., the first sin, as explained further on], and then He interrupted [with the section on the ark] in order that there should not be three punishments one after the other, so that it would have established a basis for further punishment. He called the [first] sin “punishment” even though no actual punishment occurred to them because of it, [but since they deserved to have been punished, it is called a “punishment”]. Perhaps were it not for this sin of theirs He would have brought them into the Land immediately [and so there was indeed a “punishment”].

(Bamidbar 10:35) "And it was, when the ark traveled": There are signs (inverted nuns) before (this verse) and after (the next verse). Rebbi says: Because it is a book in itself — whence they ruled: A (Torah) scroll which was erased, and there remained eighty-five letters, as in the section "And it was, when the ark traveled" (imparts tumah to the hands [a Rabbinical enactment, viz. Shabbath 14a]). R. Shimon says: There are signs before and after because this is not its place. What should have been written? (Bamidbar 10:33) "And they traveled from the mountain of the L-rd, a journey of three days. (And the ark of the covenant of the L-rd preceded them a distance of three days"). (Bamidbar 11:1) "And the people were as seekers of a pretext." An analogy: Some men say to the king: Would you please accompany us to the governor of Acco? They arrive at Acco — he has gone to Tyre. They arrive at Tyre — he has gone to Tziddon. They arrive at Tziddon — he has gone to Antochia. They arrive at Antochia — some of them start complaining against the king for having put them to all of this trouble! It is the king who should complain, for having been put to all of this trouble for their sakes! Similarly, on that day the Shechinah traveled a three-days journey, so that they could (immediately) enter Eretz Yisrael — and they began to complain before Him for having been put to all of that trouble! It is He (if anyone) who should have complained! For it was for their sakes that the Shechinah was thus constrained!

(1) The people took to complaining bitterly before the LORD. The LORD heard and was incensed: a fire of the LORD broke out against them, ravaging the outskirts of the camp. (2) The people cried out to Moses. Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. (3) That place was named Taberah, because a fire of the LORD had broken out against them. (4) The riffraff in their midst felt a gluttonous craving; and then the Israelites wept and said, “If only we had meat to eat! (5) We remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. (6) Now our gullets are shriveled. There is nothing at all! Nothing but this manna to look to!” (7) Now the manna was like coriander seed, and in color it was like bdellium. (8) The people would go about and gather it, grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, boil it in a pot, and make it into cakes. It tasted like rich cream. (9) When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall upon it. (10) Moses heard the people weeping, every clan apart, each person at the entrance of his tent. The LORD was very angry, and Moses was distressed. (11) And Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You dealt ill with Your servant, and why have I not enjoyed Your favor, that You have laid the burden of all this people upon me? (12) Did I conceive all this people, did I bear them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You have promised on oath to their fathers? (13) Where am I to get meat to give to all this people, when they whine before me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ (14) I cannot carry all this people by myself, for it is too much for me. (15) If You would deal thus with me, kill me rather, I beg You, and let me see no more of my wretchedness!” (16) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy of Israel’s elders of whom you have experience as elders and officers of the people, and bring them to the Tent of Meeting and let them take their place there with you. (17) I will come down and speak with you there, and I will draw upon the spirit that is on you and put it upon them; they shall share the burden of the people with you, and you shall not bear it alone. (18) And say to the people: Purify yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat, for you have kept whining before the LORD and saying, ‘If only we had meat to eat! Indeed, we were better off in Egypt!’ The LORD will give you meat and you shall eat. (19) You shall eat not one day, not two, not even five days or ten or twenty, (20) but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you. For you have rejected the LORD who is among you, by whining before Him and saying, ‘Oh, why did we ever leave Egypt!’” (21) But Moses said, “The people who are with me number six hundred thousand men; yet You say, ‘I will give them enough meat to eat for a whole month.’ (22) Could enough flocks and herds be slaughtered to suffice them? Or could all the fish of the sea be gathered for them to suffice them?” (23) And the LORD answered Moses, “Is there a limit to the LORD’s power? You shall soon see whether what I have said happens to you or not!” (24) Moses went out and reported the words of the LORD to the people. He gathered seventy of the people’s elders and stationed them around the Tent. (25) Then the LORD came down in a cloud and spoke to him; He drew upon the spirit that was on him and put it upon the seventy elders. And when the spirit rested upon them, they spoke in ecstasy, but did not continue. (26) Two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in camp; yet the spirit rested upon them—they were among those recorded, but they had not gone out to the Tent—and they spoke in ecstasy in the camp. (27) A youth ran out and told Moses, saying, “Eldad and Medad are acting the prophet in the camp!” (28) And Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ attendant from his youth, spoke up and said, “My lord Moses, restrain them!” (29) But Moses said to him, “Are you wrought up on my account? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD put His spirit upon them!” (30) Moses then reentered the camp together with the elders of Israel. (31) A wind from the LORD started up, swept quail from the sea and strewed them over the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on that side, all around the camp, and some two cubits deep on the ground. (32) The people set to gathering quail all that day and night and all the next day—even he who gathered least had ten ḥomers—and they spread them out all around the camp. (33) The meat was still between their teeth, nor yet chewed, when the anger of the LORD blazed forth against the people and the LORD struck the people with a very severe plague. (34) That place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, because the people who had the craving were buried there. (35) Then the people set out from Kibroth-hattaavah for Hazeroth.

(1) Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married: “He married a Cushite woman!” (2) They said, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” The LORD heard it. (3) Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any other man on earth. (4) Suddenly the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three of them went out. (5) The LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, stopped at the entrance of the Tent, and called out, “Aaron and Miriam!” The two of them came forward; (6) and He said, “Hear these My words: When a prophet of the LORD arises among you, I make Myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. (7) Not so with My servant Moses; he is trusted throughout My household. (8) With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of the LORD. How then did you not shrink from speaking against My servant Moses!” (9) Still incensed with them, the LORD departed. (10) As the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam stricken with snow-white scales! When Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she was stricken with scales. (11) And Aaron said to Moses, “O my lord, account not to us the sin which we committed in our folly. (12) Let her not be as one dead, who emerges from his mother’s womb with half his flesh eaten away.” (13) So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “O God, pray heal her!” (14) But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father spat in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut out of camp for seven days, and then let her be readmitted.” (15) So Miriam was shut out of camp seven days; and the people did not march on until Miriam was readmitted. (16) After that the people set out from Hazeroth and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.