Defending the People
The newly-freed slaves found it difficult to adjust to the harsh realities of life in the wilderness:
“The people began to complain.... When God heard, He displayed His anger; God’s fire flared out, consuming the edge of the camp” (Num. 11:1).
The people cried out to Moses for help, and Moses defended them before God: “Moses prayed to God, and the fire died down.”
The Torah does not record Moses’ prayers. But the Sages wrote that Moses spoke out forcefully in defense of the people. In fact, the Talmud suggests that Moses’ prayers were valiant, even bold. Moses didn’t pray to God — he prayed “against God” (Berachot 32a).
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