Beha'alotekha | Shabbat and Manna

There is an intimate connection between the miraculous manna which sustained the Jewish people during our time in the desert and the Sabbath day.  Indeed, our first encounter with Shabbat as a people was in connection with the manna, as a double portion of manna fell on Friday but none fell on Shabbat  (Shemot chapter 16.)  This connection is reflected in various customs, particularly that of covering the challot above and below during Kiddush (lit. "sanctification" – the prayer recited over wine prior to eating) to recall the manna which was wrapped in a protective covering of dew (See SA OC 271:9 and Mishna Berura.)

But our Sages indicate that the bond between Shabbat and the manna is far older than this.  At the very beginning of Bereshit (2:3), when the Torah relates that God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, Rashi writes that He blessed it with manna (because a double portion fell on Friday in preparation for Shabbat) and sanctified it with manna (because on Shabbat itself no manna fell at all - Shemot 16:22-23.)  The very first Shabbat of creation is reminding us of the manna, in a very paradoxical way - it is blessed because there is manna, and sanctified because there is not!

The Zohar confronts this paradox, asking, "Since there is no food on that day, what blessing is there?"  The Zohar answers that exactly because no manna falls on Shabbat, the other six days receive their sustenance from the Sabbath day.  The Zohar goes on to explain that for this reason it is necessary to eat three meals on Shabbat, so that our sustenance will be blessed on the weekdays as well (Zohar Yitro, II:88a.)

RECEIVING SUSTENANCE FROM GOD IN BODY AND SPIRIT

An interesting comparison from the Talmud can help illuminate this abstruse passage.  Our parsha describes the taste of the manna as "leshad", which Onkelos translates as  "kneaded" with oil, from the root "lash" (Bamidbar 11:8.)  But this term could also be translated as "like a breast", from the root "shad".  Thus the manna is likened to mother's milk, which is an all-encompassing food.  It is the only food an infant requires, and the only food he craves; furthermore, by eating it he achieves closeness with his mother.  Likewise, the manna was the only food the Jews needed and wanted, and it created a sense of closeness to God (Rashi based on Yoma 75a.  This is one instance where God is implicitly likened to a mother, and not to a father.)

MOTHER'S MILK AND THE SOURCE OF ECONOMIC BLESSING

One interesting quality of mother's milk is that "demand creates its own supply" - the more the infant eats, the more milk is produced.  As the infant grows, more milk is produced, and it also changes its composition to reflect the growing child's changing needs.

Of course it is true that milk production depends on glands and hormones.  But if we want to know how much milk will be produced, studying the eating habits of the infant will tell us much more than studying the functioning of these glands - whose purpose is precisely to satisfy the needs of the sucking infant.  In normal circumstances, the best way to increase the amount of milk is not to tinker with the physiology of the mother but merely for the infant to eat his or her fill and let nature take its course.

We can gain an understanding into the words of the Zohar if we look at economic production in a parallel fashion.  It is true that goods and services are produced by business establishments, but their production is principally determined by their function, which is to provide sustenance to the human race so that we may properly serve God. 

Our primary day of "suckling", of receiving our livelihood directly from God, is on Shabbat.  This is the time when material comforts most directly serve holiness, fulfilling the mitzva of oneg Shabbat – Shabbat Enjoyment.  So this day, more than any other, will determine how much material blessing will be sent to the six days of work.  The factory and field are the means of production, but they are not the source of production.  They are merely the receptacles which enable us to collect the blessing which descends upon us from on high, like a fisherman's net which collects but does not create the fish that are his livelihood. 

The comparison of our natural everyday sustenance to the miraculous manna reminds us that economic institutions are only the proximate sources of our livelihood; the ultimate source is the blessing of God.  We are worthy of this blessing when we use our possessions in His service and in the performance of His commandments.