That feeling resonates deeply in a powerful passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 16. It explores the fraught relationship between God and the Israelites, focusing on their repeated rejection of divine counsel.
The passage begins with a stinging question from God: "Until when will this people provoke Me?" It's a cry of frustration, echoing the words in Proverbs (1:25, 1:30): "You nullified all my counsel and are unwilling to receive my rebuke." The Hebrew word used here, vatifre’u, isn't just about rejecting advice. It suggests a corruption, a spoiling of all the good that God intended. It’s like being given a precious gift and deliberately breaking it. : God descended to deliver them from Egypt (Exodus 3:8), but they resisted even then, clinging to their idols. As Ezekiel (20:5-8) reminds us, God called on them to abandon those idols, but they refused. Then, at the Red Sea, they were "defiant" (Psalms 106:7), immediately ruining the divine plan.
The text continues with a vivid image. Imagine thousands upon thousands of angels descending, each Israelite receiving two – one armed for protection, the other placing a crown upon their head. Rabbi Yehuda of Tzippori even suggests they were armed with weapons, while Rabbi Simai says they were adorned in royal purple garments, inscribed with the ineffable name of God. These garments would have been an invincible protection, shielding them from evil and even the angel of death. But when they sinned, Moses commanded them to remove their ornaments (Exodus 33:5-6), and they were stripped of that divine protection.
Then comes a particularly striking Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interpretation. Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili paints a scene where the angel of death protests to God, "Was I created in the world for nothing?" God replies that the angel's domain is over idol worshippers, but not over this chosen nation. This connects to the idea of freedom, ḥerut in Hebrew. The Torah, the very words of God, were ḥarut, engraved on the tablets (Exodus 32:16). Rabbi Yehuda says this meant freedom from kingdoms, Rabbi Nehemya says freedom from the angel of death, and Rabbi [Yehuda Hanasi] says freedom from suffering.
But within forty days, the Israelites corrupted this counsel. They built the Golden Calf.
The passage then takes a somber turn, quoting (Psalms 82:6-7): "I had said: You are divine, like beings on High, all of you… yet as men [adam] you will die." God intended them to be immortal, like the ministering angels, but their actions condemned them to mortality, like Adam. Adam, who was given one commandment and failed. As Genesis (1:27) says, "God created man in his image," intending for him to live and endure like God. But Adam's sin led to the decree: "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).
The text doesn’t stop there. Even the manna, the miraculous food that sustained them in the wilderness for forty years, became a source of complaint. They ate the "bread of the mighty" (Psalms 78:25), which the Midrash interprets as meaning it became "limbs" – perfectly nourishing them. Yet they grumbled, "Our soul loathes this insubstantial bread" (Numbers 21:5). It's a powerful illustration of ingratitude.
And what about the spies sent to scout the land of Canaan? God, in God's mercy, even manipulated events to protect them. According to Bamidbar Rabbah, in every province the spies entered, the leader would be struck dead, distracting the inhabitants and preventing them from harming the spies. But the spies, focusing only on the death they witnessed, returned with a negative report: "A land that consumes its inhabitants" (Numbers 13:32). They saw only death where God had provided protection.
The passage closes with a lament, comparing Israel to a vineyard that yields only inferior grapes (Isaiah 5:4). God had hoped they would be "like grapes in the wilderness" (Hosea 9:10), a source of sweetness and delight. Instead, they became "like Sodom" (Deuteronomy 32:32).
So, what does this all mean for us? Perhaps it's a reminder to appreciate the gifts we've been given, both big and small. To recognize the divine hand in our lives, even when things seem difficult. And, most importantly, to avoid the trap of rejecting wise counsel, especially when it comes from a place of love and care. It’s a warning against squandering the potential for greatness that lies within each of us. After all, who wants to be remembered for dropping the ball when they could have caught it and run towards the end zone?
“Until when will this people provoke Me” – this is what is written: “You nullified [vatifre’u] all my counsel and are unwilling to receive my rebuke” (Proverbs 1:25). “They disdained all my rebuke” (Proverbs 1:30). What is vatifre’u? It is, rather, all the good that I counseled in your regard, you corrupted it and nullified [ufratem] it, as it is stated: “Vatifre’u all my counsel.” “I descended to deliver you from the hand of Egypt” (Exodus 3:8), but you did not do so.22This is a reference to God's call that they should abandon the idols of Egypt, and the refusal of the nation to do so in Egypt. See Ezekiel 20:5–8. You came to the sea and immediately ruined the plan, as it is stated: “They were defiant at the sea, at the Red Sea” (Psalms 106:7). With thousands of thousands and myriads of myriads of angels I descended for your benefit, and I would give each and every one of you two angels, one would gird him with his weapon and one would place a crown on his head. Rabbi Yehuda of Tzippori said: They tied weapons upon them. Rabbi Simai says: They dressed them in royal purple garments with the ineffable name engraved on it. All the days that it was in their possession, no evil matter would affect them, neither the angel of death, nor another matter. When they sinned, Moses said to them: “Now remove your ornament” (Exodus 33:5). At that moment, “the people heard this evil tiding” (Exodus 33:4). What is written: “The children of Israel were stripped of their ornament” (Exodus 33:6). What did the Holy One blessed be He do at the giving of the Torah? He brought the angel of death, He said to him: 'The entire world is in your domain, except for this nation that I chose for Me.' Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili said: The angel of death said before the Holy One blessed be He: 'Was I created in the world for nothing?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: 'I created you so you can bereave idol worshippers, but you have no license over this nation.' See the counsel that the Holy One blessed be He counseled in their regard, that they will be alive and enduring: “But you, who cleave [to the Lord your God, all of you live today]” (Deuteronomy 4:4). Likewise it says: “The writing was the writing of God, engraved [ḥarut] on the tablets” (Exodus 32:16). What is ḥarut? Rabbi Yehuda says: Freedom [ḥerut] from the kingdoms. Rabbi Neḥemya says: From the angel of death. Rabbi [Yehuda Hanasi] says: From suffering. See the counsel that the Holy One blessed be He counseled in their regard, and they immediately corrupted that counsel within forty days. That is why it is stated: “You nullified all my counsel” (Proverbs 1:25). The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘I said that you will not sin, and you will live and endure like Me, just as I live and endure for all eternity. “I had said: You are divine, like beings on High, all of you,” (Psalms 82:6), like the ministering angels that do not die. But after all that greatness, you sought to die; “yet as men [adam] you will die” (Psalms 82:7), like Adam the first man, whom I commanded one mitzva for him to perform it, and he would live and endure forever,’ as it is stated: “Behold, the man has become as one of us” (Genesis 3:22), and likewise: “God created man in his image” (Genesis 1:27) – that he would live and endure like Him. ‘But he corrupted his actions, nullified My decree, and ate from the tree. I said to him: “For you are dust [and will return to dust]” (Genesis 3:19). You, too, I said: “I had said: You are divine,” but you corrupted yourselves like Adam. “Yet, as Adam you will die.” Who caused this for them? “You nullified all My counsel.”’ The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘With the benefit that I brought upon you, with that, you infuriate. They came to the wilderness and I fed them manna for forty years, and not one of them needed to relieve himself for those forty years. Rather, they ate the manna and it became flesh for them,’ as it is stated: “Men ate the bread of the mighty [abirim]” (Psalms 78:25).23This is expounded as though it said eivarim, meaning limbs. With it they infuriated Him. One says to the other: ‘Do you not know that we have not relieved ourselves for several days, and a person who does not relieve himself for four days or five days, he dies.’ “And our soul loathes the insubstantial [hakelokel] bread” (Numbers 21:5), as it was light in their intestines. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘With what I benefitted them, they infuriated Me,’ as it is stated: “What more is there to do for my vineyard [that I did not do in it]?” (Isaiah 5:4).24In this metaphor, the Holy One blessed be He is the owner of the vineyard and Israel is the vineyard. The spies went and saw the land. You find that every place that Israel goes, it is recognized, as it is stated: “All who see them will recognize them” (Isaiah 61:9). The Holy One blessed be He said: If the Emorites see them, they will recognize that they are Israel and will kill them. Rather, what will I do? In each and every province that the spies would enter, the head of the province would be stricken, or its king would be stricken, so they would be occupied in taking their dead out and would not pay attention to the spies, so they would not kill them. But they infuriated with it; when they came to Moses, and to Israel, they said: ‘What is the land?’ Every place that they entered, they would see dead people, what benefit is there? “A land that consumes its inhabitants” (Numbers 13:32) – the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I believed that you would become like the patriarchs, “Like grapes in the wilderness” (Hosea 9:10), but I did not believe that you would become like Sodom, as it is stated: “For their vine is of the vine of Sodom”’ (Deuteronomy 32:32). “Why did I hope to produce grapes and it produced inferior ones?” (Isaiah 5:4). That is why it is stated: “Until when will this people provoke Me?”
