Comentario sobre Exodo 16:25

ויאמר משה אכלהו היום AND MOSES SAID, EAT THAT THIS DAY etc. — In the morning, when they had been accustomed to go forth and gather it, they came to enquire, “Shall we go out or not?” He replied to them, “What you have in your possession eat (אכלהו היום)”. In the evening they again came before him and asked him, “How is it now about going out?” He answered them, שבת היום “Today is the Sabbath”. He saw that they were worried believing perhaps the Manna had stopped and would not again fall; he therefore said to them, “Today ye shall not find it [in the field]”. What reason was there to say “Today”? — Today you will not find it, but tomorrow you will find it (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 16:7).

אכלוהו היום, at fixed times, from this date onward.

אכלהו היום כי שבת היום, "eat it to-day for to-day is a Sabbath, etc." Why did Moses have to command the people to eat the manna? Perhaps this was because he had previously told them to leave aside what was left to keep it till the following morning. He had not spelled out to them that they not only could keep it but were also allowed to eat it. Although we do not have Moses on record as having forbidden the consumption of any left-over manna on other days, it seems evident from the verses about the way to treat the manna on the Sabbath that he must have forbidden the left-overs. Perhaps the prohibition of such left-overs stems from the same consideration as the prohibition to consume meat from sacrificial offerings after the time limit allocated to such a sacrifice has expired. Compare Chulin 114 where our sages state that "anything which I have declared as rejected by Me, you must not eat." Moses' emphasis on "eat it to-day," clearly indicates that it was not to be eaten after to-day. Moses added the words "for to-day is a Sabbath," in order that the Israelites should not form the impression that the prohibition to eat yesterday's manna on the morrow also applied to the Sabbath.

In the morning, when they were accustomed. . . Rashi is answering the question: How does [“For today is Shabbos”] give a reason for the preceding statement, [“Eat it today”]? If they asked, “Shall we eat it or not?” then Moshe needed only to answer, “Eat it today.” Whereas if they asked, “Shall we go out or not?” then Moshe’s answer is understandable. Moshe was saying, “Eat what you have, for today is Shabbos and you will not find it [if you go out].” Possibly, they were misled by Moshe’s instructions (v. 23): “Whatever is left over, put aside for yourselves,” and Rashi explains this as, “For storage.” So they thought it meant for long term storage — as in, “It shall be stored away for you for all your generations” — rather than meaning they should [set it aside to] eat the next day. That is why they inquired about going out and not about eating.

(Exodus 16:25) "And Moses said: Eat it today. For it is Sabbath today. For it is Sabbath today to the L rd. Today you shall not find it in the field": Because they were wont to go out in the morning (to gather the manna), they said to him: Moses, our teacher, shall we go out in the morning? Moses: "Eat it today." They: Since we did not go out in the morning, shall we go out at twilight? Moses: "for it is Sabbath today to the L rd." And why did Moses say "Today you will not find it in the field"? They said: The hearts of our fathers failed at that time. They said: Since we did not find it today, perhaps we will not find it tomorrow? Moses, (therefore,) said to them: This day you will not find it, but you will find it tomorrow. R. Elazar b. Chasma says: He said: In this world you will not find it, but in the world to come, you will find it. "And Moses said: Eat it today. For it is Sabbath today. Today you shall not find it in the field": R. Zrika said: From here (we learn to eat) three meals on the Sabbath. "And Moses said: Eat it today, etc.": R. Yehoshua says: If you merit observing the Sabbath, the Holy One Blessed be He is destined to give you three festivals: Pesach, Atzereth (Shavuoth) and Succoth. Thus, "Eat it today, etc." ("Eat it today," followed by [26] "Six days shall you gather it":) R. Elazar Hamodai says: If you merit observing the Sabbath, the Holy One Blessed be He is destined to confer upon you six goodly "measures": Eretz Yisrael, the world to come, the new world, the kingdom of the house of David, the Kehunah and the Leviyah. Thus, "Eat it today, etc." R. Elazar says: If you merit observing the Sabbath, you will be saved from three dire punishments: the day of Gog and Magog, the pangs of the (advent of the) Messiah, and the great day of judgment.

V. 25. אכלהו היום כי שבת היום לד׳. Während sonst nur das heute durch Fleiß Errungene zu genießen war, ist am Schabbat ohne vorgängige Nahrungstätigkeit zu genießen; denn diese Untätigkeit ist keine sträfliche, selbstgewählte Trägheit, sie ist eine gottgebotene, gottgeweihte, und daher von so positivem, hohem Wert wie gottgebotene Tätigkeit. Zugleich wird damit der Genuss am Schabbat selbst eine מצוה, eine von Gott gebotene, Gott zugewendete, den Menschen selbst beglückende und veredelnde Tat. Die Unterordnung des Nahrung suchenden Menschen unter Gott soll nicht Verkümmerung des irdischen Daseins bringen, im Gegenteil, sie soll ihm eben den Genuss des irdischen Daseins erhöhen und selbst seinen sinnlichen Genuss also in den Kreis sittlich freier, Gott dienender Handlungen erheben, dass er selbst mit seinem sinnlichen Genuss sich Gott nahe fühle. In dieser Erhebung des sinnlichen Genusses zu einer Gott dienenden, Gott geweihten Tat liegt eines der charakteristischen Unterscheidungsmerkmale der jüdischen Gotteslehre. Überall ist der Gedanke an die Macht der Götter ein niederschlagender, und das heitere Lächeln hat den Zorn der Gottheit zu fürchten. Der jüdische Gedanke an die Macht Gottes ist ein aufrichtender, an ihm ringt sich der Mensch in seiner Winzigkeit empor, in den Dienst dieser Macht eingetreten mit seiner Schwäche, nimmt er gleichsam Teil an dieser Macht, findet sein kleines irdisches Dasein Bedeutung und Schutz in dieser Macht und es erfüllt ihn das Bewusstsein, dass sein großer Gott sich freut an der Freude seines kleinen Geschöpfes. Daher knüpft sich denn auch an diese Stelle das Bedeutsame des dritten Mahles am Schabbat. Nicht um uns das Leben zu verkümmern, hat uns Gott das Gewinnen und Schaffen der Genussesmittel am Schabbat untersagt, sondern um diesem Schaffen und Genießen erst durch die Unterordnung unter Gott die menschenwürdige Weihe und Bedeutung zu geben. Und wohl ist ein solcher Sinn und dessen Gewinnung geeignet, den Menschen über alle Leiden unangetastet emporzuheben, die sonst Gottes erziehende Waltung, einem solchen Sinne Bahn brechend, über den jüdischen Kreis, über das Individuum, über die politisch- soziale Gesamtwelt, läuternd und reinigend herbeiführt: אמר ר׳ שמעון בן פזי אמר ר׳ יהושע בן לוי משום בר קפרא כל המקיים שלש סעודות בשבת ניצול משלש פורעניות מחבלו של משיח ומדינה של גיהנם וממלחמת גוג מגוג מחבלו של משיח כתיב הכא יום וכתיב התם הנה אנכי שולח לכם את אליהו הנביא לפני בא יום וגו׳ (Schabbat 118 a) — היום לא תמצאהו וגו׳. Auf dem Felde sollt ihr es heute nicht finden, aber in eurem Hause. Nicht weil ihr heute nichts essen sollt, sondern weil ihr es heute nicht vom Felde auflesen sollt, lässt Gott es heute nicht fallen. Da מצא nicht nur ein zufälliges Erreichen: finden, sondern auch ein absichtliches: suchen bedeutet, wie מצא את החצים Sam. I. 20. 36. נח מצא חן und sonst, so kann es auch geradezu heißen: heute sollt ihr es nicht auf dem Felde suchen, und wäre dann hier das, wie aus V. 28 ersichtlich, gegebene Verbot des Auflesens ausdrücklich ausgesprochen, welches sonst nur im שבתון V. 23 allgemein enthalten, oder in dem folgenden ששת ימים תלקטהו durch den Gegensatz ausgedrückt wäre.

'כי שבת היום לה, this entire day is a Sabbath in honour of G’d. It was permitted to eat any manna left over from Friday on the entire Sabbath. However, if any was left over after the Sabbath it could not be eaten anymore.

In the evening they again came before him and asked him. . . This was because they reasoned: perhaps it is only for the Shabbos meal that we should not go out to gather, but for the [post-Shabbos] night meal, we should go out. This is because Friday prepares for Shabbos, but not for the weekday. Therefore, they asked Moshe again.

The last words in the verse may also be understood as the rationale for the people not being able to find manna in the field on that day. In other words: "the reason you will not find manna in the field to-morrow is that to-morrow is a Sabbath for G'd." We may have an allusion here to what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said in the Zohar second part page 88: "The food supply for the six weekdays descends from the celestial spheres on the Sabbath; this supply then descends further on a daily basis." Moses only excluded the manna from being found on the Sabbath in our world, i.e. בשדה, in the celestial world it could be found on the Sabbath.

היום לא תמצאוהו, on the entire Sabbath you will not find any manna on the ground anywhere just as you did not on this Sabbath.