61. " and (remember) when you said: ` o' moses! never can we (always)
endure one sort of food, so beseech your lord for us,
to produce for us of what the earth groweth, its pot-herbs, and
cucumbers, garlic, lentils, and onions '. he (moses) said:
` would you have in exchange what is worse for what is better?
enter a city, thus you shall get that which you demanded! '
abasement and humiliation were stamped upon them
and they incurred wrath from allah;
that was because they went on rejecting allah's signs
and slaying the prophets unjustly.
that was because they disobeyed, and went on transgressing."

commentary :

demanding a variety of food
to continue the description mentioned in the former verses about
the different bounties allah bestowed on the children of israel, here
in the verse under discussion, the unthankfulness and ingratitude of the
israelites for those great favours is illustrated.
the verse indicates how obstinate they were, so much so that
perhaps no people can be found in the history of the human race
similar to them from the point of being ungrateful for divine favours.
at first it says: " and (remember) when you said: ` o' moses! never
can we (always) endure one sort of food, ..."
"...so beseech your lord for us, to produce for us of what the earth
groweth, its pot-herbs, and cucumbers, garlic, lentils and onions'. ..."
but in reply to them: " he (moses) said: ` would you have in
exchange what is worse for what is better?..."
now that it is so: "... enter a city, thus you shall get that which you
demanded! '..."
then, the qur'an adds that: "... abasement and humiliation were
stamped upon them, and they incurred wrath from allah;..."
"...that was because they went on rejecting allah's signs and slaying
the prophets unjustly. ..."
"...that was because they disobeyed, and went on transgressing."

why were the israelites stamped with abasement and humiliation?
as the above verse indicates, they incurred humiliation and
wretchedness because of two things : the first was because they went on
disobeying the orders of allah and straying from the path of
monotheism to that of infidelity.
the second factor was that they used to kill the righteous and
apostles of allah. this hard-heartedness and heedlessness of the
divine laws and even against most human laws, that even today clearly
continues among the jews, might be the cause of that humiliation and
abasement.
right now, as we are writing these lines, the territory of lebanon
is being invaded savagely by this hard-hearted tribe where thousands of
men and women, among whom are innocent, old persons, infant babies,
hospital patients and the like, are unjustly and tyrannically being slain in
a pitiable way. their bodies are lying lifelessly on the ground in wait of
burial. we are sure that this tribe will certainly have to pay the penalty
for their cruelty in the future.