More puzzling than the inverted Nuns in the sixth aliya of Behaalotcha, is the exchange between Moshe and Hashem in perek 11 pesukim11 to 23 which comes after the Nuns. At the beginning of the perek (11:1) we read that the nation sought, seemingly without cause, to complain against Hashem. As a result, Hashem sent a flame which consumed a portion of the complainers. Moshe responded to the people’s outcry and prayed to Hashem, who then relented. Nonetheless, thereafter, a segment of people again complained, this time focusing their complaints on their sustenance and disparaging the manna. At this juncture, we encounter an odd conversation between Moshe and Hashem.
The parsha tells us (11:10) that Hashem became very angry. As to Moshe, the parsha states: וּבְעֵינֵ֥י משֶׁ֖ה רָֽע (“And it was evil in Moshe’s eyes”).The parsha then declares: “And Moshe said to Hashem, ‘Why have you done evil to your servant? [לָמָ֤ה הֲרֵעֹ֨תָ֙ לְעַבְדֶּ֔ךָ] And why have I not found favor in Your eyes [for you] to place this burden of this entire people upon me. Did I conceive this entire people, did I give birth to them that you tell me ‘Carry them in your bosom as nurse carries the suckling’…alone I cannot carry this entire nation for it is too heavy for me. If thus You shall do to me, please kill me if I have found favor in your eyes, so that I not see my evil.’” (11:11-15).
The events that transpired, complaining about the manna, do not seem to warrant this response from Moshe. Moshe’s language is also odd; he states what seems to be a rhetorical question about him conceiving the nation and acting as its nurse. Note also that Moshe does not appear to make any plea for the nation. Consider also Hashem’s response. What does it mean that after Moshe gathers 70 elders Hashem will bestow on them some of Moshe’s spirit (11:16-17)? Hashem further instructs Moshe to tell the people that for the next month they will be inundated with meat. To this Moshe responds that nothing will satisfy the people. This, in turn, causes Hashem to also pose a rhetorical question. He asks Moshe: “Is My Hand limited?” Has Moshe ever questioned Hashem’s abilities before?
Most frequently the words וּבְעֵינֵ֥י משֶׁ֖ה רָֽע are translated as “It was bad in Moshe’ eyes” or “evil in Moshe eyes.” Perhaps a better rendering in this context would be the declarative: “In Moshe’s eyes: Evil.” What Moshe saw was evil, more specifically, he saw the Evil Inclination. Moshe realized that the complaints of the people were not motivated by any reality but by the Evil Inclination. Moshe then rails against the existence of the Evil Inclination itself.
When Moshe asks: “Why (have you done) this evil to your servant?” [לָמָ֤ה הֲרֵעֹ֨תָ֙ לְעַבְדֶּ֔ךָ] he is asking Hashem why the Evil Inclination was created in the first place. The existence in the nation of this force is too great for Moshe to contend with. In stating, “Did I conceive this entire people, did I give birth to them…” Moshe is arguing that had he been in Hashem’s place he would never have placed such a force in a human being. Moshe states that it is beyond his ken how a people who have seen Hashem’s power cannot give themselves wholly over to Hashem and overcome their Evil Inclination. For Moshe, trying to relate to such people is a task as impossible as a male trying to give milk to a child from his own body, to suckle a baby. Moshe here is recognizing a shortcoming. Hashem’s response is to call for advisers for Moshe who still understand the forces that play upon individuals while being elevated to an extent to also understand matters from Moshe’s more elevated perspective.
Hashem’s own rhetorical question to Moshe, “Is My Hand limited?,” addresses Moshe’s criticism of the Evil Inclination. Hashem is asking Moshe, “Do you really think I created defects in the world?” As the rabbis discovered centuries later when they tried to eliminate the Evil Inclination, without it the world would be desolate. (Arachin 32b).
Lastly, Moshe’s comments were, in fact, a prayer on behalf of the people. Moshe was arguing that the Evil Inclination was too strong and it, not the people, should be eliminated. This is reflected in Moshe’s statement where there seems to be a redundant request to kill: (וְאִם־כָּ֣כָה אַתְּ־עֹ֣שֶׂה לִּ֗י הָרְגֵ֤נִי נָא֙ הָרֹ֔ג אִם־מָצָ֥אתִי חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֶי֑ךָ וְאַל־אֶרְאֶ֖ה בְּרָֽעָתִֽי) The first use of the word to “kill” is Moshe’s request that if the current situation were to continue, Moshe did not want to continue on. The second usage of “to kill”: (הָרֹ֔ג אִם־מָצָ֥אתִי חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֶי֑ךָ וְאַל־אֶרְאֶ֖ה בְּרָֽעָתִֽי) is a request that if Moshe has found favor with Hashem, Moshe would like Hashem “to kill”— to eliminate— the Evil Inclination so that Moshe would not see it anymore. (Rashi notes on this verse that Moshe is speaking politely, referring to his evil rather than the evil in the people.) This request was rejected by Hashem. The Evil Inclination will not be eliminated by Hashem acting alone. The Evil Inclination will only be eliminated when we partner with Hashem. When we observe his mitzvot and walk in His ways, then His spirit will enter into us and the Evil Inclination will be eliminated (see Sukkah 52b and Yechezkel 36:27).
William S.J. Fraenkel received a Bachelors of Arts in Religion and a law degree from NYU and served as a Board member and officer of several orthodox shuls. The opinions expressed in this devar Torah are solely his own.
