The Chasam Sofer explains that leaders of Klal Yisroel are meant to defend the nation before Hashem and, in this way, to cancel harsh decrees against them. Therefore, it says that Hashem became very angry. And what was the cause of His anger? The fact that it was bad in the eyes of Moshe.
Since Moshe looked disapprovingly at the people’s actions and he did not attempt to defend them, as a leader should, Hashem became angry.
A Father Must Worry About His Son:
A young married man once came to the Sefas Emes of Ger zy”a and complained that his father, who was one of the Rebbe’s chasidim, did not want to help him with parnassah. A short while later, the Rebbe met this man’s father and he asked him why doesn’t help his son financially. The family defended himself by saying that he didn’t have the ability to help.
This occurred during the week of Parshas Behaaloscha, and the Rebbe told the father, “I will bring you a proof from this week’s Parshah that you are wrong. When Klal Yisroel complained to Moshe that they wanted meat, he told them, ‘Where should I get meat from?’ He then said, ‘Did I give birth to this nation?’
“Since he already said that he had no meat to give them, why did he have to add that he didn’t give birth to them? The answer is that we see from here that if he would have been their father, he would have had to find some way to provide for them. Saying ‘I don’t have’ would not have been a sufficient answer.”
