BeShallach

Shemot 13:17-17:16

The Complaining Israelites

Michael Rosenberg, 5764

I often dread reading certain parts of Sefer Shemot. Like Sefer Bemidbar, much of the book we are now reading on Shabbat details Benei Yisrael expressing their anger-at God, at Moshe, at Aharon-in ways that make them look downright stupid. It feels as if I'm watching a bad movie-the characters are doing something that we can see is going to lead to trouble, but somehow they just don't get it. So, even though it might be surprising that the splitting of the Yam Suf (one of the most stunning miracles in the Torah) and Shirat ha-Yam (Benei Yisrael's recognition of God's greatness) are followed by multiple incidents of Israelite complaining, it is not at all out of character.

First, a brief summary of the parts of the story relevant for this devar torah: on their way out of Egypt, Benei Yisrael are chased by the Egyptians. It looks as if the Egyptians are going to catch them, and the Israelites complain to Moshe (14:10-12). Of course, we know that the Egyptians don't get us, because God splits the Yam Suf, Benei Yisrael go through, the Egyptians drown, and we get the song of praise sung at the sea (chapter 15). Right after this stunning event, though, the Israelites go to a place called Mara. They haven't found water for three days, and the water in Mara is "bitter," so Benei Yisrael complain, only to have a miracle turn the waters sweet (15:23-25). Then, after traveling to Midbar Sin, the Israelites complain again, this time about not having the good food that they had in Egypt. In response, they get some quail and receive the manna. All in all, the Israelites look like a pretty whiny bunch.

Take a look at these specific passages from our parasha in which Benei Yisrael appear to be complaining: 14:10-15 (the Egyptians about to attack at the Yam Suf), 15:23-25 (bitter waters at Mara), 16 (all of it-the Israelites upset with the food available to them), and 17:3 (another case of complaining about water). Pay careful attention to the words used to describe the way Benei Yisrael communicate with God and/or Moshe. If you can, try to use a dictionary to understand these in addition to translation(s).

Two verbs occur throughout these different passages that catch my attention. One of these is the verb based on the root .ל.ו.נ, which appears in 15:24 and in a variety of forms (once as a noun) in chapter 16. I looked it up in a concordance, and it turns out that this verb is pretty rare. It basically occurs in these places and in two major stories of whining in Bemidbar-the story of the spies and their evil report about the Land of Israel (a sin that was so problematic that it led to the punishment that the generation of those who left Egypt would be forbidden from entering the Land of Israel) and the story of Korah (a rebellion that led to the deaths of almost 15,000 people). Whenever we see rare words in a story, we should assume that they are important and think closely about their meaning.

According to my dictionary and the translations I saw, the root in these passages doesn't mean "complaining" (which is what I guessed as I read through it), but rather, "murmuring." In the verses that use this word, then, we shouldn't imagine screaming crowds; instead, the Torah depicts individual people quietly expressing their bitterness. To use imagery that should be familiar to us: these are not protesters-they're gossipers.

The idea of murmuring stands in stark contrast to the other word that occurs repeatedly in the context of Benei Yisrael's complaints and that caught my attention. Go back to 14:10 and 15:25. Here, Benei Yisrael don't murmur; the Hebrew verb used is based on the root .צ.ע.ק, which means to shout or cry out. Interestingly, in chapter 15, about the bitter waters, we see the words used in consecutive verses, both times describing the actions of Benei Yisrael. This side-by-side appearance reveals a great deal. In verse 24 Benei Yisrael "murmur" about Moshe, while in the following line we read that he "cries out" to Hashem. The Torah presents two ways of expressing anger/concern/frustration that are nearly opposite in their physical manifestations: when one is upset with the decisions made by those in power, she can scream about it (the protester model), or she can whisper to those around her about the inept leadership of the community (the gossiper model).

I imagine that the way I'm setting up these two different modes of complaining (protester vs. gossiper) reveals something to all of you about my own feelings about the relative merits of vocal, visible disagreement as opposed to the murmurings we see in our stories, but I think that those feelings are grounded (or at least reflected) in these texts.

Consider 15:24-25 again; why is that Benei Yisrael murmur about Moshe and cry out to God? In all of Sefer Shemot, neither the Torah nor God-as-a-character-in-the-Torah describes the Israelites as murmuring about God. Moshe describes them this way-16:2, 16:7-8-but God does not. Indeed, Moshe even tells the people (16:8) that their murmurings should be about/directed at God, not him! However, when the Israelites are described or spoken to by Hashem, their murmurings are about Moshe or just in general. It is not until the story of the spies and their evil report in Bemidbar 14:27 that God says that Benei Yisrael have murmured about God. This does not seem to me to be a coincidence. God gives up on the generation that left Egypt at the moment when they begin to express their complaints against God in the form of murmuring.

What makes murmuring more problematic that shouting or crying out (.צ.ע.ק)? My thoughts about this are inspired by a comment of Rashi on our parashah. At the moment before the splitting of the Yam Suf, when the Israelites are complaining to Moshe, Hashem asks Moshe why he is crying out (using our verb .צ.ע.ק) to God (14:15). Rashi says that God's remark teaches us that Moshe was davenning in a really lengthy way. Rashi understands this word for crying out as expressing prayer.

The point of prayer is to transform situations. Moshe was hoping that by davvening, he could save Benei Yisrael; according to Rashi, God responds that, in fact, no, you should be acting now, not praying-but that doesn't change the fact the Moshe apparently thought that by "crying out" he could help the situation. Murmuring, the Torah seems to imply, is a sign of giving up and expressing bitterness for the sake of venting; to cry out is to express rage or fear out of a desire to improve things. As long as Benei Yisrael are crying out to God, rather than murmuring about Hashem, they are forgiven. However, when the generation that left Egypt gives up on God and murmurs about Hashem, God responds by giving up on them.