Michael Pollan writes in his introduction to The Omnivore’s Dilemma that the act of eating is not merely a means of physical sustenance, but an act with ethical, political, and even spiritual implications. He writes:
“...how and what we eat determines to a great extent the use we make of the world--and what is to become of it. To eat with a full consciousness of all that is at stake might sound like a burden, but in practice few things in life can afford quite as much satisfaction” (Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals 11).
According to Pollan, the food choices we make signify how we relate to the agricultural and natural world, thereby making the choice of what food to eat a matter of great significance. In Parashat Beshallah, our commentators ascribe great spiritual significance to the act of receiving and eat the manna, the food-source that will nourish the Israelites throughout their journey to Canaan. When describing the giving of the manna, God adds a mysterious inclusion to his instructions regarding how to gather the food each day (emphasis mine):
“I will rain down on you bread-from-heaven; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day that I may prove them whether they will walk in My law or not” (Shemot 16:4).
Regarding this statement, our commentators asked what was the connection between the giving of the manna and the question of whether or not the Israelites will follow God’s laws. Our commentators’ answers show how the manna is a symbol of how the Jewish people can form a relationship with the mitzvot in the past, present, and future.
The Sefat Emet’s commentary argues that God provided manna for the Israelites because Abraham provided bread for the three angels-in-disguise who came to visit him in Sefer Bereishit. He writes:
“On the manna: the Midrash claims that Israel merited the manna because of the food that Abraham our Father had given to the ministering angels. The manna first came to them in Alush (Bemidbar 33:14), because Abraham had said to Sarah “knead (lushi) and make cakes” (Bereishit 18:6). The Torah hints that Israel’s souls were so purified that they could eat the food that sustains the angels. This came about because of Abraham, who himself had become pure enough to feed the angels. “He stood over them beneath the tree and they ate” (Bereishit 18:8). The deeds of the patriarchs were so holy, and the Shekhinah so dwelt in their midst, that the angels ate of their food. Of this, Scripture says: “Go eat of My food” (Mishlei 9:5) [for the manna is called “bread from heaven”] (Sefat Emet, Shemot Commentary 2:84).
According to the Sefat Emet, providing the manna is a form of what is known in Torah commentary as midah-kneged-middah, or “measure-for-measure,” where our previous acts, good or bad, are reflected in future rewards and punishments. Using this principle, the Sefat Emet argues that because Abraham provided God’s emissaries with bread, God will provide the Israelites with “bread from heaven” when they journeyed in the desert, an example of how past actions lead to rewards in the present.
The Ramban writes in his commentary that God deliberately wanted to send the Israelites on a circuitous route to Canaan so that he could test their loyalty, yet this route required that God provide a regular food source so that his people would not starve. The Ramban states:
“For it was a trial for them not to have food of their own and not to have any alternative but the manna which they had hitherto never seen nor heard of from their fathers, coming down daily, and they hungering for it; in spite of all this they obediently followed the Almighty, and thus He spoke to them (Deuteronomy 8:2): “And you shall remember all the ways which the Lord your God led you forty years in the wilderness, in order to afflict you and prove whether or not it was in your heart to keep His commandments or not.” For he could have led them through cities round about, yet He led them in a serpent and scorpion infested wilderness where their only bread would come from heaven in order to test them and promote their ultimate well-being, that they should always keep faith with Him” (Ramban on Shemot 16:4).
According to the Ramban, sending manna sent a message to the Israelites in the present, reminding them that God would provide necessities on their journey, yet that gift required that the Israelites reciprocate through obedience to God’s commandments in the short-term and the long-term.
Finally, Rabbi Aaron of Toledo writes in his Divrei Hafetz that the example of the manna should inspire us to not waste time when looking for opportunities to study Torah, which is the why the Torah specifically connects the giving of the manna with following God’s law. He writes:
“You are always ready with an excuse that you cannot delve into the studies of Torah, since, “If there is no flour, there is no Torah”- and you are too busy earning your livelihood, But here I will test you and “I will make bread rain down for you from heaven” and we will see if now you will want to learn Torah- “That I may prove to them whether they will walk in My law or not”” (Divrei Hafetz on Shemot 16:4, Rabbi Aaron of Toledo).
In this commentary, while the deeds of the Israelites in the Torah vis-a-vis receiving the manna are important, how we follow the Israelites’ example in our own observance is a more difficult test with even greater rewards. In turn, the manna of our past is a symbol of our potential growth in the future.
Next week, our school will be celebrating Tu B’Shevat, and many of our students will learn about what this holiday can teach of us about making food choices that reflect a commitment to environmental care. While each of the three approaches focus on a different aspect on the experience of the Israelites receiving manna from God, each of the commentaries attempt to draw a connection between how the physical sustenance that the Israelites received in the desert was a reflection of a broader ethical core that they demonstrated in the past, or needed to continue demonstrating in the present or future. May each of us embrace the Torah’s challenge, and see our food choices as matters of great spiritual importance, merging the physical and the divine together with each and every bite.
Shabbat Shalom!
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