Midrasch zu Schemot 16:29

The Holy One, blessed be He, observed and sanctified the Sabbath, and Israel is obliged only to observe and sanctify the Sabbath. Know that it is so! Come and see! for when He gave them the Manna, He gave it to them in the wilderness during forty years on the six days of creation, but on the Sabbath He did not give (it) || to them. Wilt thou say that He did not have power enough to give it to them every day? But (the fact was) the Sabbath was before Him; therefore He gave to them bread for two days on the Friday, as it is said, "See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days" (Ex. 16:29). When the people saw that Sabbath (was observed) before Him, they also rested, as it is said, "So the people rested on the seventh day" (Ex. 16:30).

[Another interpretation (of Cant. 5:16): HIS PALATE (i.e., what he says) IS MOST SWEET.] R. Aha said:⁷¹Gen. R. 10:9. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, when he gives a donativa⁷²In classical Latin the word is donativum in the singular and refers to a gift by the emperor to each soldier. {i.e., a valuable gift}, he does not give a stativa⁷³The Latin word means “stationary camp.” {i.e., a good rest}; and, when he gives a stativa, he does not give a donativa.⁷⁴The point here is that an emperor only bribes a soldier with a donativa before going into battle or at the start of a march. But the Holy One gives a stativa and gives a donativa. He has given the Sabbath rest, and he has given a double portion of bread. What is written (in Exod. 16:29)? OBSERVE THAT THE LORD HAS GIVEN YOU THE SABBATH; [HE THEREFORE GIVES YOU BREAD FOR TWO DAYS ON THE SIXTH DAY]. Ergo (in Cant. 5:16): HIS PALATE (i.e., what he says) IS MOST SWEET.

(Exod. 16:29:) OBSERVE THAT THE LORD HAS GIVEN YOU THE SABBATH. What is the meaning of OBSERVE (re'u)? R. Isaac said: OBSERVE (re'u) how you reply to the peoples of the world. So if they say to you: Why do you keep the Sabbath? What miracles were done for you? OBSERVE THAT THE LORD HAS GIVEN YOU THE SABBATH. Say to them: On every day there came down one portion of manna; but on the day before the Sabbath, two portions. It is so stated (in Exod. 16:5): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS ON THE SIXTH DAY, THAT WHEN THEY PREPARE WHAT THEY BRING, IT WILL BE TWOFOLD…. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TWOFOLD (MShNH)? If you say two, is it not already so stated (in Exod. 16:22): TWO OMERS APIECE? Hezekiah bar Hiyya said that it was different (MShNH) in its taste, in its aroma, and in its appearance. And not only that, but on every day, whoever had some of it left over from evening until morning caused a stench; yet concerning the Sabbath, it is written (in vs. 24): IT DID NOT HAVE A STENCH. Ergo, they gathered bread TWOFOLD (in the sense that it was different). [(Exod. 16:22:) THEN ALL THE PRINCES OF THE CONGREGATION CAME AND TOLD MOSES.] At that time he remembered that he had forgotten to tell them the section of Torah on the Sabbath, as the Holy One had told him. As soon as they came and spoke to him, Moses said to them (in vs. 23): THIS IS WHAT THE LORD HAS SPOKEN: TOMORROW IS A COMPLETE REST, A SABBATH HOLY TO THE LORD…. Jeremiah said (in Jer. 2:29): WHY DO YOU COMPLAIN AGAINST ME…? Even Moses, when I told him to tell them the section of Torah on the Sabbath, forgot and did not tell them. (Ibid., cont.:) ALL OF YOU HAVE SINNED AGAINST ME. R. Judah says: The Holy One honored the Sabbath in that on every day the manna came down, but on the Sabbath it did not come down. It is so stated (in Exod. 16:27): AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT ON THE SEVENTH DAY SOME OF THE PEOPLE WENT OUT TO GATHER < MANNA > AND FOUND NOTHING. Moses said to them: Whoever takes an omer per capita should not take more than that, as stated (in Exod. 16:19–20): LET NO ONE LEAVE ANY OF IT <UNTIL MORNING >. BUT THEY DID NOT HEED MOSES, AND <CERTAIN> PEOPLE LEFT SOME OF IT <UNTIL MORNING >. These were Dathan and Abiram.⁷⁷Below, Exod. 8:7; Exod. R. 1:29; 25:10. R. Joshua [of Sikhnin] said in the name of R. Levi: When they left some manna, worms came out from their tents (i.e., the tents of Dathan and Abiram) and entered the tents of Israel. So the Holy Spirit cries out and says over them: Do you think that you act in secret without it being revealed to me? (Jer. 23:24:) IF SOMEONE HIDES IN SECRET PLACES, SHALL I NOT SEE HIM? <SAYS THE LORD>…. The Holy One said: In this world you have eaten manna through the merit of your ancestors; but in the world to come I will feed you cattle, <i.e.,> Ziz and Leviathan. You will eat through your own merit. Thus it is stated (concerning Leviathan in Job 40:30 [41:6]): SHALL TRADE ASSOCIATES MAKE A BANQUET OF HIM? SHALL THEY DIVIDE HIM UP AMONG MERCHANTS?

According to Rabbi Levi: If all of Israel were to keep Shabbat properly for even a single day, the Messiah ben David would come. Why? because it is equivalent to all of the commandments, as it is said (Ps. 95:7) "for He is our God, and we are the people He tends, the flock in His care. O, if you would but heed His charge this day:"

Thus you learn that even the dead are aware of the Sabbath day. R. Joshua the son of Hanina declared: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: “Keep the Sabbath, for it is equal to the entire law.” About the Sabbath, it is written: Keep the Sabbath day (Deut. 5:12), and concerning the law it states: Ye shall diligently keep the commandments (ibid. 6:17). The Sabbath was given through Moses: See that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath (Exod. 16:29), and similarly, the law was given through Moses.