Devarim, Vision

(1) The prophecies of Isaiah son of Amoz, who envisioned concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

(27) You murmured in your tents and said, “It is because the Holy One hates us that G!d brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to wipe us out. (28) What kind of place are we going to? Our brothers have melted our hearts, saying, ‘We saw there a people stronger and taller than we, large cities with walls sky-high, and even Anakites.’”

(30) Adonai your G*d is the One who goes before you, will fight for you, just as G*d did for you in Egypt before your very eyes, (31) and in the wilderness, where you saw how YHVH your G!d carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you traveled until you came to this place. (32) Yet for all that, you have no faith in YHVH your G!d, (33) who goes before you on your journeys—to scout the place where you are to encamp—in fire by night and in cloud by day, in order to guide you on the route you are to follow.”

(6) Five calamitous matters occurred to our forefathers on ...on the Ninth of Av. On the Ninth of Av it was decreed upon our ancestors that they would all die in the wilderness and not enter Eretz Yisrael; and the Temple was destroyed the first time, and the second time, by the Romans; and Beitar was captured; and the city of Jerusalem was plowed, from when the month of Av begins, one decreases acts of rejoicing.

(34) יהוה heard your loud complaint and, becoming angry, vowed: (35) Not one of those involved, this evil generation, shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers— (36) none except Caleb son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his descendants will I give the land on which he set foot, because he remained loyal to יהוה.—

(39) That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of יהוה and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge.

AND YOU MURMURED. Va-teragenu (and you murmured) is similar to rogenim (murmur) in And they that murmur shall learn instruction (Is. 29:24). Teragenu (murmured) is in the nifal. Compare, al te’atzevu (be not grieved).

ובדבר הזה אינכם מאמינים, "In this matter you did not believe in G'd, etc." Why did Moses have to say: "in this matter?" Rashi understands Moses' words as a reference to G'd's promise that the people would enter the land of Canaan. This does not appear acceptable. I believe the plain meaning of the verse is that Moses referred to the miracles G'd had demonstrated when The Holy One lifted the whole Jewish people out of Egypt just as a father carries his child. They did not even believe the miracles they themselves had experienced (Exodus 14,19 compare Rashi there) which Moses recalled in verse 31. Proof that the Israelites were lacking in faith at the time is provided by Exodus 17,7 "If the Lord is in our midst or not?" The Zohar on that verse provided us with the well known parable of the father who carried his son on his shoulder. When they met someone, the son asked the stranger if he had seen his father. Israel's question in the verse we referred to is compared to the effrontery of the child in the parable by the Zohar. This then is what Moses referred to with the words: "in this matter you did not have faith in the Lord your G!d." Moses added: "who is walking before you, etc," in order to underline that in view of the continued miracles performed constantly by G!d there was no excuse for this lack of faith.