MOSES' CHALLENGE By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

It was the worst crisis in Moses’ life. Incited by the “mixed multitude,” the Israelites complain about the food: “If only we had meat to eat. We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna.” It was an appalling show of ingratitude, but not the first time the Israelites had behaved this way. Three earlier episodes are recorded in the book of Shemot1 immediately after the crossing of the Red Sea. First, at Marah, they complained It was an appalling show of ingratitudethat the water was bitter. Then, in more aggressive terms, they protested at the lack of food (“If only we had died by the L‑rd’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death”). Later, at Rephidim, they grumbled at the absence of water, prompting Moses to say to G‑d, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me!”