Bread from Heaven

12 Shevat 5782

“Moses said, This is the thing that the L‑rd commanded: Let one omerful of it be preserved for your generations, in order that they see the bread that I fed you in the desert when I took you out of the land of Egypt.” (Shemos 16:32)

Rashi brings a story from Mechilta to explain this verse: “In the days of Jeremiah, when Jeremiah rebuked them, [saying] ‘Why do you not engage in the Torah?’ They would say, ‘Shall we leave our work and engage in the Torah? From what will we support ourselves?’ He brought out to them the jug of manna. He said to them, ‘You see the word of the L‑rd’ (Jer. 2:31). It does not say ‘hear’ but ‘see.’ With this, your ancestors supported themselves. The Omnipresent has many agents to prepare food for those who fear Him.”

“To illustrate from the soul of a human being: When a man utters a word, this single word is as absolutely nothing even when compared only to his articulate soul as a whole, which is the soul’s middle ‘garment,’ namely its faculty of speech, since this faculty can produce an infinite number of words.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 20)

How much more so can Hashem, the Creator and constant Sustainer of the whole world provide infinite sustenance to those who fear him. The world is not a separate entity, G‑d forbid, that Hashem left to its own devices after He created it. He constantly directs and recreates every little thing that exists on this earth. It is all nullified to Him, so much so that it can be considered part of Him. We and our livelihood are not separate entities from Hashem, G-d forbid. In fact, it is all one. The more we acknowledge this, the easier it will be for us to channel Hashem’s blessing into our lives.

“He has kept us alive, and did not allow our feet to falter.” (Tehillim 66:9)

As the Rebbe explains, it is no coincidence that the first mention of the obligation to observe Shabbos is in connection with the Manna. By keeping Shabbos every week, we reaffirm that our entire existence is dependent on Hashem, He is the one who keeps us alive. “On the face of it, it might seem that ceasing work one day a week would lessen one’s income; but the Jew knows that his earthly labor is only the channel through which G‑d chooses to supply him what is essentially ‘bread from heaven’” (Lubavitcher Rebbe, Likutei Sichot, vol. 16, pp. 173–182).