In parshas BeShalach the
children of Israel complain to Moshe because they have no food. With Aharon,
Moshe replies, “This evening you will know that HaShem has taken you out of the
land of Egypt (Shemos 16:6). That evening a flock of tasty quail cover the camp
and in the morning they find fine flakes like a delicate frost on the ground
(Shemos 16:14). When they ask, “what is it”, Moshe replies that it is the bread
that HaShem is giving them to eat and instructs them to gather an omer
(about two quarts) on a daily basis for each person in the household. Because the
people asked, “What is it?” it was called “What” or in loshen Hakodesh (the
sacred language i.e. Hebrew), mun (מן). He continued it is
not to be stored to be eaten even for the next day. When some of the people do
precisely that they find that the manna has become rotten and wormy.
However when Friday came, what
they gathered, turned out to be a double portion. Moshe explained that they may
eat of it whatever they want and what remains is to be eaten on Shabbos. For
Shabbos unlike the other days of the week they will not have to go out in the
field to gather the manna and it will not go bad either.
It is possible to ask, what
does the mun have to do with letting the children of Israel know that HaShem
has taken them out of Egypt. The Chumash often calls Egypt the house of
slavery. Therefore to the extent that a person must slave for his basic
necessities it is as if he was in Egypt. If a person only needs to spend a
small amount of time gathering in their food; their clothes never wears out,
are always clean and fit nicely; and a shack provides adequate protection from
the elements, they certainly have left Egypt.
Another aspect of the manna is
that it displayed G-d’s presence and glory. The Ramban explains that the mun
was a very amazing miracle because it was an entirely new creation which until
then had never been in existence. It clearly showed that HaShem could prepare a
banquet in the desert, and through this it was possible to see the splendor of
the kingdom of heaven, because who could perform such a mighty act. Enjoying
the manna made a human being like one of the administering angels in that he
was truly delighting from the radiance of the Divine presence.
The Kli Yakar notes that when
G-d granted the request for food, that mun was given in the morning and that
meat was given in the evening. He explains that the manna was a spiritual food
in that it was related to the light of the intellect. From the side of morality
food is a necessity thus it was proper to ask for it. For these reasons the
experience of the mun was similar to the morning sunshine. The demand for meat
was an expression of crudeness and lust; as a result the request was not
proper. Consequently it was given in the evening at a time when it starts to
become dark.
In conclusion the manna
demonstrated the presence of G-d and that Israel had indeed left Egypt.
There were other lessons
taught by the mun as well. Food is a daily gift from G-d and often it cannot be
saved for the future. Likewise savings can evaporate. However at times we are
given a portion that we did not work for, so as to take a rest and enjoy the
pleasures of this world. In doing so, we testify to G-d’s creation of the
world, how He rested on the seventh day, and His love of His creation.
לע"נ, סבתא ,טויבע בת יואל לייב ז"ל
נלב"ע כה שבט תשכ"ג
Acknowledgements to websites: תורת
אמת, וויקיטקסט, http://dictionary.reference.com/
, http://www.chabad.org/, Wikipedia
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Blogger Hebrew
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