Beshalach
I’d like to discuss a few miracles which happened with the mon. Midrash Tanchuma brings, come and see how cherished Yisrael is before Hashem that He changed the creation of the world for them by making the top to be the bottom, and the bottom to be the top. Originally, bread would come out of the ground, from wheat, and the dew would descend from the heaven. Whereas by the mon-bread, it was the exact opposite. The mon descended from the heaven, and the dew ascended from the ground, as it states, “ותעל שכבת הטל.” Also, the mon tasted like anything one thought and wanted to eat, and it was light and it absorbed in their limbs, there were no excretions.
Moshe and Aharon told the entire Bnei Yisrael, “ובקר וראיתם את כבוד ה’, and in the morning you will see the honor of Hashem.” The Ramban explains that there was a great wonderous thing by the mon. It was not like the Slav-bird which Hashem blew from the sea, which is a normal thing that happens. Rather, the mon was created for them now, as a new creation in the heaven. Moshe said, “You will see Hashem’s great wonders in the morning when the mon will descend.”
The passuk states, “וילקטו המרבה והממעיט, and they collected, those who collected a lot and those who collected a little.” Rashi explains that a great miracle happened. Although some people collected a lot while other people collected a little, when all of them came to their houses and measured what they collected, miraculously, each of them found a measure of an omer per person. Not one person had any extra nor any less than the amount per person for each family.
Hashem told Moshe, “And it will be on the 6th day, and they shall prepare, אשר יביאו והיה משנה על אשר ילקטו יום יום.” Rashi explains that on the 6th day, after they bring the mon home, they will find it to be double the measure of the amount which they collected each day. This is as the passuk states, “and it was on the 6th day, לקטו לחם משנה, they collected double bread.” When they came home and measured how much they collected, they found it to be double. In place of one omer per person, they found it to be 2 omers per person; one for the 6th day and another for Shabbos. Hashem gave bracha in their house that the omer which they collected filled a double size omer to suffice for 2 days. The Ibn Ezra infers that it doesn’t state, “מצאו לחם משנה, they found double bread,” rather “לקטו לחם משנה, they collected double bread.” On Friday the mon came down double and Moshe told them to collect double. Moshe said, “on Shabbos it won’t fall, and the double amount that you collected is for Shabbos.” What a wonderous experience Klal Yisrael had in the Midbar. The first 5 days of the week, the mon descended the same amount each day, on the 6th day, it descended double, and on Shabbos it did not descend at all! Rashi brings b’shem Midrash Agada that לחם משנה hints that it was “משונה, different;” on Shabbos day the mon changed for praise by having a nicer smell and better taste.
Moshe warned them not to leave over until the morning. The passuk states, “and men left over until the morning, וירם תולעים ויבאש, and it became infested with worms and it smelled foully.” Rashi says the order of things are first things rot and smell, and afterwards worms come. The passuk is not in the sequence of events. The Ramban says that this would be true if the mon naturally became spoiled like other things. Since the mon was miraculous, it became spoiled miraculously, so it could be that the worms came first and afterwards it smelled. Shemos Raba asks, “is there such a thing that first worms come and afterwards the thing becomes spoiled?” Rather, Hashem wanted to show Dason and Aviram’s actions to people, so that they won’t smell the spoiled mon’s foul odor and throw it away. During the entire night the worms piled up row upon row and only afterwards did it smell. Let us learn from miracles of the mon that Hashem sustains each and every single person!
