Mon and Shabbat- Their Flavor Is Up To Us

The Taste of Mon, The Taste of Shabbat

In Beshalach we are introduced to the miracle of mon- the bread from Heaven that would sustain the Jewish People during their time in the wilderness (they don't know it yet, but it will end up being 40 years.) There are many miracles associated with the mon. One of the miracles is that everyone could only collect what they needed for that day- except on Friday. Friday they collected a double portion, for the mon did not fall on Saturdays.

Chazal tell us that on all other days of the week, if the Jews would try to hoard any mon for the next day, it would spoil overnight. Shabbat, however was different. On Saturday, the mon did not fall. It would appear then that on Fridays one was allowed to save mon for the next day.

It emerges then that Shabbat is the day most associated with the mon for the Jews as they leave Egypt. Their first taste of freedom and their first observance of Shabbat as a nation are tied into an extra taste, an extra amount, of mon. What is the relationship between mon and Shabbat?

I'd like to focus on just one of the miracles associated with the mon. According to some, mon tasted like whatever you wanted it to taste like. All you had to do is think about what flavor you want and the mon miraculously would acquire the your desired taste

Shabbat is so linked to mon because it shares this quality. Our Shabbat experience "tastes" like whatever you want it to taste like. Shabbat can be a day indistinguishable from the rest of the week. It can be a day that we sleep all day. It can be a day that we rue all the things that we are prohibited from doing.

Or it can be a day of family and friends, Torah study, relaxation, appreciating what we have and re-charging our batteries and souls for what is yet to come.  Shabbat can be a day on which we unplug from our cell phones and reconnect with others, ourselves and Hashem.

The Torah teaches us that on Shabbat we had extra mon- because they share an important lesson:  Like mon, Shabbos is experienced based on how we want it to taste.

Perhaps this is what it means when we say that Bnai Yisrael were tasked with:

 "V'Shamru Bnei Yisrael et Hashabbat,- to guard the Sabbath

 And also "La'asot et Hashabbat"- to make the Sabbath.

What does this mean for us to “make the Sabbath”? I thought God made the Sabbath!

V'Shamru includes the “do’s and don’ts”, the fixed, rigid contours of Shabbat commanded by God in the Torah.

La'asot et Hashabbat- refers to how each of us experiences the taste of Shabbat. Just like the mon, how Shabbat ultimately tastes for us and our family is entirely up to each of us.