Bricks without straw is a phrase which refers to a task which must be done without appropriate resources.

[edit] Origin

In Exodus 5 (Parshat Shemot in the Torah), Moses and Aaron meet with Pharaoh and deliver God's message, "Let my people go". Pharaoh not only refuses but punishes the Israelites by telling his overseers, "Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves", but still requiring the same daily output of bricks as before. The Israelites complain to Moses and Aaron that they have now made things worse for them, and Moses in turn complains to God that every time he has gone to Pharaoh on behalf of the Israelites, things have gotten worse for them. God replies to Moses that the time will come when Pharaoh himself will actually drive the Israelites out of Egypt; and that on behalf of his covenant with the Patriarchs, God will redeem the Israelites "With a strong hand and an outstretched arm", so that they will know him.

The scripture gives no evidence of Moses or Aaron replying directly to the Israelites regarding their complaint, but only of Moses' discussing it with God, and God's reply, which Moses conveys to the Israelites.

[edit] Making bricks with straw

The ancient brick-making process can still be seen on Egyptian tomb paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (reproduced on page 22 of this pdf).