Numbers 11:12

That You say [lit. will say]. That You say to me, ‘carry it in your lap.’ Where did He say this to him? “Go, lead the people.” And it says, “He commanded them (Moshe and Aharon) to [lead] Bnei Yisroel” [even] on condition that they stone you and insult you.

To the land which You swore to their forefathers. You tell me to carry them in my lap.

Have I made or borne all this people as from the womb? are they my children, that Thou saidst to me in Mizraim, Bear the toil of them with thy strength, as the instructor of youth beareth, until they be carried into the land which Thou hast sworn unto their fathers?

DID I ‘HARITHI’ ALL THIS PEOPLE? In the opinion of Onkelos [who rendered it: “Am I ‘the father’ of all this people?” the word harithi] is like [the expression] beyond the blessing of ‘horai’ (my progenitors), for a father is called horeh [of the root haroh, “to conceive” or “become pregnant”] because it is he who causes conception and brings about the pregnancy [of the mother]. Thus Moses is saying: “Am I their father [who has caused their conception], or am I their mother who has given birth to them?” — is thus explained as referring to the separate functions of father and mother. But the masters of the plain meaning of Scripture. interpreted the verse in the opposite manner: “Am I their mother who was pregnant with them and gave birth to them?” Similarly, ‘Vatahar’ eth Miriam v’eth Shammai means “she was pregnant with them and gave birth to them.” “Or am I their father who begot them?” [the word y’lidetihu being] like: ‘vayoled Noach’ (and Noah begot); thy father that ‘y’ladecha’ (begot thee), and other similar expressions. And Moses said, as ‘ha’omein’ carrieth the sucking child, [the word ha’omein] being a reference to the [nursing-] father or mother. In my opinion the whole verse is a figurative reference to the mother, and the meaning thereof is as follows: “Have I conceived all this people and have I given birth to them?” Moses mentioned it in this way [speaking as the mother] because it is the woman who suffers the pain of raising children, remembering what she suffered for them from birth, pregnancy, and conception. But Moses said omein [in the masculine] since he is speaking of himself as a nursing-father, since he is not an omeneth (a nursing-mother).

ילידתיהו, as in Genesis 10,26 ויקטן ילד את אלמודד, where the Torah does not mean that the man Yoktan gave birth to Elmoded, but that he raised Elmoded as if he had given birth to him, or simply that his sperm begat him. Such an indirect “birthing” is no less significant, as G’d in Deuteronomy 11,31 describes the Israelites as “inheriting” the Canaanites. They had certainly not been direct descendants so that the term “inheriting” would seem appropriate. Nonetheless, seeing that Noach was the progenitor of mankind after the deluge, in an extended, sense the Israelites could view themselves as the “heirs” of the Canaanites. [I have elaborated on the author’s words. Ed.]

ילידתיהו, there are two vowels chirik here, seeing that the active mode מפעל, miphal, of this type of verb is like the causative mode מפעיל, maphil, and the Torah had to make sure we understood what mode Moses is using. On the other hand, with roots such as ישב, which describe a direct activity of the body, we do not find this pattern of two chiriks, but a patach instead. The same applies to roots such as ישן or ירד.

האנוכי הריתי, true, a natural father knows how to guide his children even if they have differences of opinions among them. The reason such a father can be successful is that all his children know that he loves them all and has their best interests at heart. But these people do not put their trust in me at all; they suspect me and constantly provoke me to see what I would do for them.

כי תאמר אלי שאהו בחיקך, that You should say to me: “carry them in your bosom;” Moses implies that if he had not been commanded to carry on in his position, he would by now have quit.