Parshat Beshalach 5781
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week’s parsha that after Keriyas Yam Suf Hashem brings Bnei Yisrael the mahn from heaven. Hashem tells Moshe (Chapter 16, Pasuk 4), Hineni Mamtir Lachem Lechem min Hashamayim V’Yatza Ha’Am V’Laktu Devar Yom Be’Yomo Le’Ma’an Anasenu Ha’Yelech Be’Sorasi Im Lo. Behold I will rain down upon you bread from the heavens and the people will go out and collect it on a daily basis. And why am I bringing you this mahn? In order to test you and see if you will go in the ways of My Torah or not.
Rashi explains that the mahn was a test for them since there were a number of Halachos connected with the mahn. They were not allowed to leave it over, they couldn’t go out and collect it on Shabbos, etc. Therefore, in giving Bnei Yisrael the mahn, Hashem was testing them to see if they would follow His Torah.
There are two difficulties with this explanation. Firstly, the word Le’Ma’an implies that this was the fundamental reason for the Mahn. If Hashem wanted to give them obligations and test them, there certainly were other means through which He could have tested them. How is this the basic reason Hashem gave Bnei Yisrael the Mahn? (See the Maharal in the Gur Aryeh who has a different girsa in Rashi for this reason). And further, how could the Torah state this was a test if they would follow His Torah if they hadn’t received the Torah yet?
Rabbi Akiva in the Gemara in Yoma 75B teaches on the pasuk in Tehillim (Chapter 78, Pasuk 25), Lechem Abirim Achal Ish, Lechem She’Malachei Ha’Shareis Ochlim Oso. The Mahn is the bread of the angels. Angels do not require physical nourishment; their sustenance was the spiritual nourishment of the Mahn. Similarly, Bnei Yisrael were given this spiritual sustenance at this point in their journey. Why were they now given the Mahn?
The Sfas Emes explains that eating the Mahn was a prerequisite for Bnei Yisrael receiving the Torah. In order to stand at Har Sinai before Hashem, Bnei Yisrael needed to first experience the purification of their bodies by turning the physical act of eating into a spiritual one. They received their sustenance directly from Him; Lechem min Ha’Shamayim. And even though all of our food is Min Ha’Shamayim, our food is provided to us in the physical world, many steps removed from Him. At the end of the day, it’s Lechem Min Ha’Aretz.
The Mechilta on our parsha says, Lo Nitnah Torah Ela L’Ochlei Ha’Mahn; the Torah was only given to those who ate the Mahn. According to this explanation, this statement is Davka. Only those who ate the Mahn and were in a state of spiritual purity were able to receive the Torah.
This is also why in the Haggadah, when we say Kamah Ma’alos Tovos etc. and we count all of the goodness we received from Hashem, we say V’He’echilanu es Ha’Mahn. And the Mahn appears right before Shabbos and receiving the Torah. This is because we are not only counting, but expressing the levels we ascended upon leaving Mitzrayim. And when we received the Mahn, we also received the Shabbos, as keeping Shabbos was fundamental to the mitzvah of the Mahn, as Rashi explains. But then we say, V’Kervanu Lifnei Har Sinai, V’Nasan Lanu es Ha’Torah. The Mahn was the necessary step before coming to Har Sinai and receiving the Torah. We needed to purify ourselves and eat the Mahn as the angels do, before we became worthy to receive the Torah.
This, therefore, is the meaning of Le’Ma’an Anasenu Ha’Yelech Be’Sorasi Im Lo. The Le’Ma’an of the Mahn, the reason Hashem gave us the Mahn, was in order for us to receive the Torah and see if we will fulfill the words of the Torah. The word Torah is not referring to the specific laws pertaining to the Mahn given to Bnei Yisrael now. Rather, it is referring to the tests of the Torah we were going to receive at Har Sinai. But in order to be worthy of the test, of being given the Torah and keeping it, we needed to first purify ourselves and be able to stand before Hashem at Har Sinai. And this was accomplished by eating the Mahn, as Chazal teach, Lo Nitnah Torah Ela L’Ochlei Ha’Mahn.
Good Shabbos
Print this article