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They gathered it
morning by morning, each one according to his eating capacity, and [when]
the sun grew hot, it melted. It came to pass on the sixth day that they
gathered a double portion of bread, two Omers for [each] one, and all the
princes of the community came and reported [it] to Moshe. So, he said to
them, “That is what HASHEM spoke, Tomorrow is a rest day, a holy Shabbos
to HASHEM. Bake whatever you wish to bake, and cook whatever you wish to
cook, and all the rest leave over to keep until morning” (Shemos
16:21-24)
The reception of
MANN as a daily diet was not just a practical, albeit miraculous solution
to sustaining a nation in the desert until they were ready to enter the
land. It was part of an important training program. The Talmud tells us,
“Ain HaTorah Nitna Ella L’Ochlei MANN” – “The Torah is only given to
eaters of MANN”. What does that mean?
Was it just the
purifying quality of this heavenly bread that prepared their bodies to
receive the Torah or is there more? How do we become recipients of the
Torah?
The Chovos
HaLevavos, in his introduction to the Gate of Trust in HASHEM, spells out
a few basic principles that explain the dynamics of Bitachon and how “it
works”. Not only how Bitachon works but that Bitachon works. The first
postulate is that it is impossible for a person to be free from worry
unless he relies on HASHEM. This bold statement is calling out for an
explanation. Bitachon is not sitting back passively and watching things
happen. It is a division of labor, a working relationship built on trust.
I need to stay
focused on my job, whatever is in my sphere of influence, and my Partner,
HASHEM, takes care of everything and everyone else in the world. I cannot
do my job if I am constantly bombarded by concerns about how everything
and everyone else will be managed or controlled. It’s distracting at a
minimum and ultimately maddening to bear the burden of a world over which
you have no control. In the end, a person will not be able to do his
primary job which is to first develop himself and then influence his
family and friends.
He will be so busy
being global that he will fail to be local, and it gets worse. The second
postulate of the Chovos HaLevavos is that if one is not relying on
HASHEM, then, by default, he is relying on something or someone else. It
may be his good looks, his glib tongue, his rich uncle, Uncle Sam, a
political connection, or public opinion. So, we see that a person has a
natural trait, an instinct, a need to trust. The only question is, in
what or whom he is trusting?!
The Chovos
HaLevavos then states something that only he could say with certainty,
and it explains a lot, and maybe everything. He states that HASHEM places
the person into the limited capacity of whatever he believes in and
trusts. Let’s see how far a person can go with his good looks alone.
If one relies on
his money or popularity then he is left vulnerable and insecure. Whatever
he is placing his trust and hope in, whatever he is relying on becomes
his boss, his god. This is what he is dedicated to working for and
protect and to satisfy at all costs.
Can a person have
all of these good things and still rely solidly on HASHEM? Yes! How so?
There is a Hallacha that a person is not allowed to lean on a lectern, a
Shtender when Davening, Shmona Esreh. What is the standard that defines
leaning on? If the person estimates, if the Shtender would be suddenly
removed, would he remain stable or would he fall?! What if I didn’t have
my money or friends anymore? Would I – could I still stand happily before
HASHEM or would my world crumble?
Now, what was the
purpose of this stuff called MANN? It was a training ground for the
entire Jewish People to realize that we are absolutely reliant on HASHEM.
We can have everything but if we don’t have HASHEM then we have nothing.
If we have nothing else but we have HASHEM then we have everything. Now
we can each focus on our job, learning Torah and doing Mitzvos, and
raising a next generation to do the same, because while we are busily
engaged in our job, everything else is reliably being catered and managed
and perfectly ordered by our capable Partner.
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