In Parashat B’haalotcha, members Bnai Yisrael complained to Moshe that they were tired of eating Manna day in and day out and that they wished to eat meat. The Spanish scholar Rabenu Bachya explains how Manna was meant to elevate Bnai Yisrael on a spiritual level, but not necessarily satisfy them on physical level. Bnai Yisrael desired something that was less bland and more physically satiating. God’s response to Bnai Yisrael’s complaint was to send down swarms of quail. Members of Bnai Yisrael who ate the quail were struck with a plague that took their lives.
- How did Manna serve to spiritually elevate Bnai Yisrael?
- Why do you think God provided Bnai Yisrael with quail but then punished those who benefited from the quail?