They've just been liberated from slavery in Egypt, they're being miraculously fed with manna – that heavenly bread that just appears each day – and, according to the lore, they're basically free from all the usual worries about survival.

So, what should they be doing? Devoting themselves to the study of Torah, of course! Immersing themselves in divine wisdom, learning about their new covenant with God. You know, the important stuff.

But human nature is human nature, right? As we find in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, they started to slack. And what happens when they slack? Well, punishment arrives swiftly in a particularly brutal form: lack of water.

Now, this wasn't the first time they'd worried about water. Back at Marah, there was that whole incident with the bitter water that Moses had to sweeten (Exodus 15:22-26). But this time, it wasn't just a fear of thirst. This was the real deal. They were parched.

And who do they blame? Poor Moses, naturally.

They "unreasonably cast reproaches upon their leader," as Legends of the Jews puts it. It’s right there in Exodus 17:3: "Wherefore is this, that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, and our children, and our cattle with thirst?" Can you hear the desperation in their voices? The panic?

Moses, ever the patient leader (though probably reaching his breaking point), tries to reason with them. "As often as you quarrel with me, you tempt God," he says, according to this legend. "But God performeth wonders and excellent deeds for you, as often as you dispute with me, that His name may sound in glory throughout the world."

Think about that for a second. Moses is saying, "Look, your complaining isn't just annoying me. It's testing God. But even when you mess up, God uses it as an opportunity to show his power and make His name known." It's a pretty remarkable statement.

It makes you wonder, doesn't it? How often do we complain, even when we're surrounded by blessings? How often do we focus on what's lacking, instead of appreciating what we have? And how often does our complaining, our lack of faith, prevent us from seeing the miracles that are happening all around us? Maybe, just maybe, our struggles are also opportunities for something greater. Maybe they are opportunities to show the world the strength and resilience of the human spirit.