Manna

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The Wanderings of Bnei Yisrael in the Desert
Rabbi Yaakov Medan
A review of various biblical sources indicates that the wanderings of Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness had additional significance, aside from the need to circumvent the land of the Pelishtim and the punishment decreed on the nation as result of the sin of the spies. These sources mainly point to the wilderness as a place with no means of subsistence. It is there that Bnei Yisrael learn that it is God Who feeds and sustains them. This lesson discusses the wandering in the desert as depicted in the prophecy of Amos, who describes the trek entirely from a social perspective, in terms of justice and righteousness.
What?!
Parashat Beshalah
Rabbi Ezra Bick
The manna symbolizes emunah and faith in God; this essential connection is mirrored in the link between the manna and Shabbat. The quail signifies something different, and the distinction between the manna and the quail is the key to understanding the parasha.
Of Divine Tests and a Knowing Heart (Audio)
Rabbi Chanoch Waxman | 31 minutes
Is the manna a practical necessity? Or a miraculous sustenance? If it is a Divine test, what is the purpose of such a test, and of possible affliction? Uncomfortable parallels with Egyptian affliction of the Israelites arise. The paradigm of the "Divine Test"—the Akeida, is also examined. Grappling with these issues results in highlighting the important connection between commandments and communal memory.
Parashat Ekev
Rabbi Ezra Bick
Life in Eretz Yisrael can lead to the illusion that one has the power and resources to guarantee one's continued welfare. To prevent that illusion, we are required to remember the affliction of being without a physical basis for food, even when we had food. There is no real basis for existence other than "the utterances of the mouth of God."
The War against Amalek
Rabbi Menachem Leibtag
Bnei Yisrael were unprepared for their redemption from Egypt, and God places them in various situations of peril, encouraging Bnei Yisrael to raise their spiritual level high enough to enable that process to continue, and work toward real independence from their captors.
The Problem of Macharat HaShabbat
Rabbi Chanoch Waxman | 36 minutes
What does the term Macharat HaShabbat mean? Many classical commentaries deal with this famous question, which holds practical implications for the counting of the omer and the holiday of Shavuot. By comparing the korban haomer with the episode of the manna in the desert, we can learn about Shabbat and our constant dependency on God.
The Shmita Year and its Connection to Shavuot and Har Sinai
Rabbi Menachem Leibtag
תאריך פרסום: תשע"ד | |
What is the first real Shabbat of the Jewish people? And how does it connect to the Omer, to the brit at Har Sinai, to Shavuot, and to the Shemitta cycle? We begin by examining the meaning of “omer” by looking at the texts in which the word appears. After placing the test of the “manna” into the timeframe of Bnei Yisrael’s journey from Egypt to Har Sinai, what emerges is a crucial tool for the nation’s development and relationship with God, which is later symbolized and commemorated in rituals which are now ever more meaningful-- especially now that we understand more about the agriculture of the Land of Israel.
Shabbat in the Book of Yirmiyahu
Rabbi David Sabato
In this unique prophecy, Yirmiyahu discusses the breach of the covenant of Shabbat. While the Torah and other prophecies connect immorality with the destruction of Jerusalem, Yirmiyahu stresses the importance of the observation of Shabbat as a condition for the people's continued existence in their country due to its nature as a national covenant with a most public nature. This prophecy is compared the prophecy in chapter 7, as well as to the prophecies of the other prophets regarding Shabbat.
The Illusion of Reality
Rabbi Ben-Tzion Spitz
Miracles in the Book of Joshua
Dr. Ruth Walfish | Hour and 8 minutes
The book of Yehoshua is the point of transfer from a miraculous supernatural existence that Bnei Yisrael experienced in their years of sojourn through the desert to a more mundane, natural existence in the Land of Israel. This lecture points to a number of parallel events that occurred in both the desert and in the beginning of the book of Yehoshua, and draws comparisons between them, illustrating this gradual transition from the supernatural to mundane.
The Manna and the Paschal Sacrifice
Prof. Jonathan Grossman
What is the nature of Bnei Yisrael’s complaints in the desert?

Bnei Yisrael were under the mistaken impression that as opposed to the "Hand of God" which they witnessed in Egypt, they now find themselves under the care of Moshe and Aharon, who have taken them into "this desert." Does the "Hand of God" extend into the wilderness, or does the Almighty reign only in populated areas such as Egypt? The people associate their food shortage with their religious perspective, viewing Moshe and Aharon as the ones who took them from Egypt, and thus responsible for their hunger. God has no control over the wilderness; that is why there is no food.

Therefore, the manna came to rectify this false theological belief. Each morning, the people experienced first-hand the Almighty's providence in the desert. The people were warned strictly not to take more than was required for each day. Indeed, each day they had no choice but to trust that God would provide their needs, that He would sustain them for forty long years of wandering through the empty wilderness. Gradually, the realization of God's providence in the desert would become self-understood, no longer the subject of any question or confusion.

As the manna fell from the sky, the people were shown that God's descent to sanctify His nation extends beyond the borders of Egypt and into the wilderness. The heavenly bread reminds the nation of the paschal sacrifice, of the Shekhina's appearance and its obvious intervention in Egypt. This reminder occurs consistently, each morning, as the head of each household collected just enough provisions for one day. Each morning, the manna reinforced the notion that God supervises the entire world, and specifically over His nation, providing for them in all places and under all circumstances.
Beshalach - Tefilla and Action
Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 30 minutes
Bnei Yisrael are standing at the Sea, and they see the Egyptian forces coming. They call out to God, praying. Moshe tells them that God will fight for them, and that they are to proceed. How are Bnei Yisrael supposed to go if Moshe has not yet been commanded to split the sea? And how are we to understand the predicament of “Moshe’s hands were heavy” during the war with Amalek? And where does the story of the manna fit in? We find some interesting parallels to Korban Tamid. The connections between the successive stories in Beshallah, model different aspects of the idea that God demands tefilla combined with action.
Rav Yosef Kara
Dr. Avigail Rock
Mahari Kara, an apparent student of Rashi, maintained both a loyalty to and at the same time a strong independence of Rashi.

Mahari Kara’s exegetical principals include:
- Loyalty to the peshat, much more so than Rashi, feeling no obligation to cite any derash at all. In this, his commentary may be considered trailblazing.
- A great sensitivity to literary technique and style including lashon nofel al lashon, alliteration, paronomasia, rhythm and meter, literary structure, and connective associations.
- He delineates exegetical principles that may be applied elsewhere in Tanakh including pre-emption and parallelism.
Mahari Kara makes two basic assumptions about peshat and derash:
- Even the Sages, who wrote the midrashim, believed that peshat is the essence. The aim of derash is only for ethical purposes, and not to provide an explanation missing in Tanakh.
- Tanakh does not require external facts in order to explain it; it cannot be that the verse speaks ambiguously and relies on Midrashic material in order to be understood.
Radak - Rav David Kimchi
Dr. Avigail Rock
The Radak — R. David Kimchi — was born and active in Provence, in southern France, near Spain. The Radak was a member of a family of Spanish grammarians and exegetes. Like R. Avraham ibn Ezra, the Kimchi family brought the fundamentals of linguistics and grammar from Spain to France.

Despite the fact that Radak sees himself as a pashtan, he does not hesitate to cite derash. However, when the Radak quotes these sources, it is obvious that he has a distinction between peshat and derash.

Two principles guide the Radak in citing Midrashic sources:
- When it is difficult to resolve the peshat without the derash.
- For the lovers of derash - in order to explain the text and engage his readers.
The view of the Radak is that the Torah is not a historical tome. Those stories of the Patriarchs which have been selected to put into the Torah with all of its details must fulfill one criterion: teaching a moral lesson.

Just as one may learn from the positive acts of the forefathers, so one may learn from their negative acts. The Radak does not engage in apologetics; instead, he writes explicitly that the narratives which describe the negative acts of the Patriarchs have been written in order to help us avoid this sort of behavior.

The Radak points out consistently that the Torah often uses repetitious language, not because each word introduces new meaning, but because the verse seeks to stress the significance of a given issue. This view stands in stark contrast to that of Rashi, who argues that generally speaking, one must assign meaning to every word, as there cannot be any redundancy in the biblical text.
Ramban
Part 2
Dr. Avigail Rock
This lesson is dedicated to a number of philosophical topics that recur throughout the Ramban’s commentary on the Torah.

Maaseh Avot Siman Lebanim – The events that transpire with the forefathers is an omen for the children.

This historical view of the Ramban is of great significance, not just in the field of exegesis, but also because it has such a clear polemical anti-Christian aim. Indeed there is an allusion to the future in the stories of the forefathers, but the allusion is for Israel’s future — what is decreed upon their seed — but not for others, who are not of their seed.

The Superiority of the Land of Israel

The superiority of the Land of Israel predates Avraham and to the People of Israel. The overturning of Sodom was due to the superiority of the Land of Israel. As opposed to the other lands of the worlds that are managed by angelic representatives of God, the Land of Israel is managed by God directly.

The main significance of the fulfillment of commandments is in the Land of Israel.

Nissayon – Test

The test is designed to serve not the Tester, God, but rather the one who is being tested. The nissayon in the Torah is an opportunity which is provided for the righteous to apply in practice their dedication to God and to earn a reward for this. In this way, they will receive a reward not only for their potential dedication, but for their actual dedication as is described with regard to Akeidat Yitzhak and the mann.
Why was Adam Prohibited from Eating from the Tree of Knowledge?
Rabbi Gad Eldad
Why was the Tree of Knowledge forbidden? Was humanity meant to be no different from the animals, with no special intellect? We shall attempt to seek an answer to this question within the plain text itself.

Fascinating linguistic parallels allude to a connection between eating manna in the desert and eating from the Tree of Knowledge. The Torah offers an alternative or substitute for the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, in the form of the manna.

The gap between these two types of eating teaches us that knowledge is not merely a neutral item of consumption that comes to satisfy an intellectual desire. It must be acquired on a moral platform, with an understanding of its place in the life of the human race, with all its risks and opportunities.
Parshat Beshalach Part 5: The 'Manna': A Training Experience, Forever
Rabbi Menachem Leibtag | 35 minutes
This podcast deals with the beginning of Bnei Yisrael’s journey through the desert, the miracles that occurred along the way and the mitzvot that were given to them at Marah. Through a discussion of the goals of miracles in general and the purpose of the mitzvot given at this point, we can understand that they are all intended to prepare Bnei Yisrael for their encounter with God at Mt. Sinai.

Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com
Parshat Beshalach Part 6: What's So Evil About Amalek?
Rabbi Menachem Leibtag | 30 minutes
This podcast concludes Parshat Beshalach with the eternal law to remember Amalek and a discussion about what makes them so evil. We also discuss the significant parallels between the laws of Shmitta in the Land of Israel and the manna in the desert, leading up to the covenant at Sinai.

Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com
From Sinai, Back to Sinai
Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom | 54 minutes
Through a two-part discussion of the sequential narrative of the book of Exodus, and specifically the date of Matan Torah relating to the manna and the story of Moshe at the burning bush, we can gain a deeper understanding of Moshe as the representative of God.

Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com
Complaints
Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky
Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder
Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky