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Ramban on Numbers 10:35/רמב"ן על במדבר י׳:ל״ה
אוַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרֹן – עָשָׂה לוֹ סִימָן מִלְּפָנָיו וּמִלְּאַחֲרָיו, לוֹמַר שֶׁאֵין זֶה מְקוֹמוֹ. וְלָמָּה כָּתַב כָּאן? כְּדֵי לְהַפְסִיק בֵּין פֻּרְעָנוּת לְפֻרְעָנוּת, כִּדְאִיתָא בְּכָל כִּתְבֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ (שבת קטז), לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ״י (רש״י על במדבר י׳:ל״ה). וְלֹא פֵּרַשׁ לָנוּ הָרַב מַה הַפֻּרְעָנוּת הַזּוֹ שֶׁהֻצְרַךְ לְהַפְסִיק בָּהּ, כִּי לֹא נִזְכַּר כָּאן בַּכָּתוּב פֻּרְעָנוּת קֹדֶם ״וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרֹן״. וּלְשׁוֹן הַגְּמָרָא שָׁם: פֻּרְעָנוּת שְׁנִיָּה ״וַיְהִי הָעָם כְּמִתְאוֹנְנִים״ (במדבר י״א:א׳), פֻּרְעָנוּת רִאשׁוֹנָה דִּכְתִיב ״וַיִּסְעוּ מֵהַר ה'" (במדבר י׳:ל״ג), וְאָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁסָּרוּ מֵאַחֲרֵי ה'. וְכָתַב הָרַב בְּפֵרוּשָׁיו שָׁם: בְּתוֹךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים לְמַסָּעָם הִתְאַוּוּ תַּאֲוָה הָאסַפְסוּף לְהִתְרַעֵם עַל הַבָּשָׂר כְּדֵי לִמְרֹד בַּה'. וְאֵלּוּ דִּבְרֵי תֵּימַהּ, שֶׁהֲרֵי פֻּרְעָנוּת ״וַיְהִי הָעָם כְּמִתְאוֹנְנִים״ כְּתוּבָה רִאשׁוֹנָה וְשֶׁל תַּאֲוָה שְׁנִיָּה, וּשְׁתֵּיהֶן סְמוּכוֹת. אוּלַי סָבַר הָרַב שֶׁנִּכְתְּבוּ שֶׁלֹּא כְּסִדְרָן, רָמַז עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנָה בְּאָמְרוֹ "מֵהַר ה'", כִּי שֶׁמָּא מֵעֵת נָסְעָם חָשְׁבוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּן, וְהִפְסִיק וְכָתַב אֶת הַשְּׁנִיָּה וְאַחַר כָּךְ חָזַר לָרִאשׁוֹנָה. וְאֵין בָּזֶה טַעַם אוֹ רֵיחַ. אֲבָל עִנְיַן הַמִּדְרָשׁ הַזֶּה מָצְאוּ אוֹתוֹ בָּאַגָּדָה, שֶׁנָּסְעוּ מֵהַר סִינַי בְּשִׂמְחָה כְּתִינוֹק הַבּוֹרֵחַ מִבֵּית הַסֵּפֶר. אָמְרוּ: שֶׁמָּא יַרְבֶּה וְיִתֵּן לָנוּ מִצְווֹת. וְזֶהוּ ״וַיִּסְעוּ מֵהַר ה'״, שֶׁהָיָה מַחֲשַׁבְתָּם לְהַסִּיעַ עַצְמָן מִשָּׁם מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא הַר ה'. וְזֶהוּ פֻּרְעָנוּת רִאשׁוֹנָה, וְהִפְסִיק שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיוּ שָׁלֹשׁ פֻּרְעָנֻיּוֹת סְמוּכוֹת זוֹ לָזוֹ, וְנִמְצְאוּ מֻחְזָקִים בְּפֻרְעָנוּת. וְקָרָא הַחֵטְא "פֻּרְעָנוּת" אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא אֵרַע לָהֶם מִמֶּנּוּ פֻּרְעָנוּת, וְשֶׁמָּא אִלְמָלֵא חֶטְאָם זֶה הָיָה מַכְנִיסָם לָאָרֶץ מִיָּד:
1AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN THE ARK SET FORWARD. “He [the Eternal] made for this section [i.e., this verse and the following one] a special mark in front of it and behind it [by placing two inverted letters nun at the beginning and end of it] in order to indicate that this section is not in its proper place.142 etc. This section, beginning with And it came to pass when the ark set forward …, should have followed on there. Why then was it written here? In order to separate between [the narrative of] one punishment and that of another punishment, as is stated in the Chapter of ‘Any of the Holy Scriptures.’”143 This is Rashi’s language. But the Rabbi did not explain to us what is this [first] “punishment” from which it was necessary to separate [the later verses], for there is no “punishment” mentioned here in Scripture before the verse, And it came to pass when the ark set forward. The language of the Gemara there is:144, 116 a. “The second punishment is [the section], And the people were as murmurers.145 The first ‘punishment’ is that which says, And they set forward from the mount of the Eternal,141 on which Rabbi Chanina said: This teaches us that they turned aside from the Eternal.” On this [statement of Rabbi Chanina] the Rabbi [Rashi] wrote there in his commentaries: “Within three days of their journeying the mixed multitude … fell a lusting146, Verse 4. complaining about the [lack of] meat, in order to rebel against G-d.” But these are astonishing words, for the “punishment” stated in the verse And the people were as murmurers [… and the fire of the Eternal burnt among them etc.]145 is written first,145 and that of the lusting is second,146, Verse 4. and they are both next to each other [so why did Rashi mention the sin of the lusting following upon their journeying as the first “punishment,” since that of the murmurers is closer to it]? Perhaps the Rabbi [Rashi] thought that these episodes were not written in their [chronological] order, and that He [already] alluded to the first [punishment] in saying, [and they set forward] from the mount of the Eternal,141 for perhaps they already intended to do so [to demand meat] from the time that they set forth on that journey; but He made a break [by writing the section of the ark], and then wrote the second [punishment, i.e., that of the murmurers], and afterwards He went back to [relate the actual realization of their original intention to ask for meat, namely] the first punishment. But there is neither rhyme nor reason in this [explanation].But the meaning of this interpretation [of the Rabbis that they set forward from the mount of the Eternal indicates a punishment, is based on that which] they147, (see Preface to Vol. I, pp. vii-viii). found in the Agadah, that “they set forward from Mount Sinai with joy, just like a child who runs away from school, saying: ‘Perhaps He will give us more commandments [if we stay]!’” This then is the sense of the expression, And they set forward from the mount of the Eternal,141 meaning that their intention was to remove themselves from there because it was the mount of the Eternal. This is the first “punishment” [i.e., the first sin, as explained further on], and then He interrupted [with the section on the ark] in order that there should not be three punishments one after the other, so that it would have established a basis for further punishment.148 He called the [first] sin “punishment” even though no actual punishment occurred to them because of it, [but since they deserved to have been punished, it is called a “punishment”]. Perhaps were it not for this sin of theirs He would have brought them into the Land immediately [and so there was indeed a “punishment”].