Draw Near Before the LORD and the Glory in the Cloud

"And Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Draw near before the LORD" (Exodus 16:9). Rabbi Yehoshua says: "Draw near" because the Divine Presence was revealed. Rabbi Elazar of Modiin says: "Draw near" in order to receive judgment. "And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke": what does Scripture teach by saying "and it came to pass"? It teaches that just as the Omnipresent decreed, so it was. "And they turned toward the wilderness": Rabbi Yehoshua says, they did not turn until the divine might was revealed. Rabbi Elazar of Modiin says, they turned only on account of the deeds of the fathers, as it is said "the wilderness": just as a wilderness has in it neither iniquity nor sin, so the early fathers had in them neither iniquity nor sin. "And behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud" (Exodus 16:10). Rabbi Yose ben Shamua says: Whenever Israel sought to stone Moses and Aaron, immediately the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. There it says, "And all the congregation said to stone them with stones" (Numbers 14:10), and here it says the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And why all this? The Omnipresent said to them: Better that the pillar of cloud be stricken and that Moses and Aaron not be stoned.