Abarbanel What was the trial with which God tested them when he gave them bread to eat each day? On the contrary, far from being a test, it constituted an extraordinary example of kindness! |
מה הניסיון שינסה אותו בתת להם לחם לאכול דבר יום ביומו, והיה ביום הששי... וזה היה חסד גדול, ולא ניסיון? |
For it was a trial for them not to have food of their own and not to have any alternative but the manna which they had never seen or before, nor had they heard of it from their fathers, coming down daily, and they hungering for it – in spite of all of this they obediently followed the Almighty…
Even the food on which we subsist is not within our power that we should feel satisfied and have our fill, but we have to yearn for it and wait for it, perhaps it will be forthcoming, and behold there is nothing but the expectation of the manna…
Seforno To test him – when he is provided for without any suffering… |
ספורנו ד"ה למען אנסנו: כשיהיה מתפרנס שלא בצער.... |
As the rabbis stated: Praiseworthy is a person who can stand up to all his trials, because there is no created being whom God does not test: A rich person is tested to see if he or she is generous to the poor; a poor person is tested to see if he or she can survive difficult times…
המצווה – בין מקרא להלכה, מאת רב יהודה ברנדס (בקובץ "מסע אל ההלכה"), 160-161
עיקרה של שבת זו הוא ביהמנעות מן הצורך ללקט מן. נראה שליקוט המן הוא סמל לכל הפעילות של האדם היוצא בבוקר למלאכתו...האיסור אינו חל על מלאכות ספציפיות, אלא על המכלול של "יום עבודה," במשעותו המקובלת גם היום בחברה הישראלית הכללית, ובמשמעות הנהוגה בתרבויות ובדתות אחרות שיש בהן יום שבתון שבועי.
Commandments – from Text to Law, by Rabbi Yehuda Brandes, pp.160-161
The essence of this Shabbat is in refraining from the need to gather manna. It seems that gathering manna is a symbol for all of a person’s actions in going out to work in the morning…the prohibition is not about specific activities, but has to do with the general idea of a “work day,” in its generally accepted meaning in Israeli society today, and in the sense in which it is used in other cultures and religions that also have a weekly day of rest
Cassandra Misreads the Book of Samuel & Other Untold Tales of the Prophets, by Gidon Rothstein, pp. 17-18
When they reached the dewy spread of daily victuals, Rock looked back at the camp. The first lights of dawn were breaking the black of the horizon, the pillar of fire at camp’s edge beginning its transformation into cloud…
Rock took his portion in silence and went to the corner of the tent…Closing his eyes, he brought to mind a morning cake he had once seen the Royal Baker himself prepare. Thinking hard, he bit in, delighted at the taste of honey dribbling down his throat, an almost perfect replica of the fluffy bread-cake.