When the dew had
evaporated, there on the surface of the desert was a fine flaky substance, as
fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they asked each
other, "Man hu? [What is it?]" because they didn’t know what it was.
Moshe answered them, "It is the bread which Adonai has given you to
eat." (Shemot / Exodus 16:14-15; CJB)
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| Challah Photo by Aviv Hod (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
It is not
unusual for us to have guests to our Erev Shabbat (Sabbath eve, being Friday
evening) dinner table. Many who join us are believers in the Messiah, but from
non-Jewish backgrounds. I would say for most this would be their first taste
(no pun intended) of Jewish culture. Before the blessings we explain what's
what, but there is one interesting element of dinner of which I usually ask
people to guess what it is. On the table every week we have two loaves of
challah. Challah is an egg bread that is specially braided for Shabbat and
festivals. But why two?
Many of the
people to whom I ask this question are well-versed in the Bible. But to my
recollection I don't remember anyone guessing without a really clear hint. For
those hearing or reading this who don't know, I won't keep you waiting any
longer. The double portion of challah is to remind us of the double portion of
manna that was provided to the people of Israel on the sixth day of each week
during their forty years of wilderness wanderings.
Every day of
the week during that time the people of Israel would wake up to discover a
flaky substance covering the ground. The first time they encountered it they
said "man hu", or in English, "what is it?" Thus they
nicknamed it "man" (the "a" is pronounced more like the
"a" in "dawn" than the "a" in "fan") usually
pronounced "manna" in English. When God instructed the people
concerning the gathering of manna, they were only to take as much as they
needed, any extra would go bad. But on the sixth day, in preparation for
Shabbat, the day of rest when no manna would be provided, they were to gather
twice as much. The extra amount would not go bad the next day. So we have two
loves of challah on our Erev Shabbat table.
I don't
blame anyone for not guessing. Once you know, then the connection is obvious.
But until then, the only clue is that it's a double portion of bread. But unless
one has manna on their mind, the association is not easily made.
God wanted
the Jewish people to have manna on their minds, however. This miracle bread
from heaven was geared to teach us a lesson about God's provision even after
the days of manna were over. The lesson was made the most dramatic, not on the
morning on which it appeared, but on the first Shabbat following its initial
days. We read that contrary to God's instruction, some of the people went out
to gather and found none. One might think that's no big deal. After all there
was no manna to gather, but that's not the way God saw it:
Adonai
said to Moshe, "How long will you refuse to observe my mitzvot and
teachings? Look, Adonai has given you the Shabbat. This is why he is providing
bread for two days on the sixth day. Each of you, stay where you are; no one is
to leave his place on the seventh day" (Shemot / Exodus 16:28-29; CJB)
The
provision of manna was intentionally designed by God to not only teach us that
God provides but that he provides according to his instructions. It is more
important to learn to obey God than to expect his provision. I am not saying
that God's generosity in providing for our needs should be thought of lightly.
It's more that because God provides, we should all the more make sure to pay
careful attention to his instructions.
This is what
Moses taught near the end of his life as he reflected upon the manna when he
said,
And
he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know,
nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live
by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Devarim / Deuteronomy 8:3; ESV)
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