Testing our Dedication to Torah - the Manna
Beshalach
This past Tuesday, many Jews around the world observed a popular Segulah for wealth. This Segulah is attributed to the Tzaddik Reb Menachem Mendel of Rimanov;
“On Tuesday of Parshas Beshalach one recites the Parsha of the Man, reading each verse twice in the Hebrew and once in the Aramaic Targum Onkelus”.
Many have the practise of following the Shulchan Aruch’s suggestion to read this passage each day. This is in order to strengthen our Bitachon, our trust in Hashem, particularly in the area of Parnasa.
In Parshas HaMan the Torah tells us “The nation will go out each day to gather their daily portion, in order to test them whether they go in way of My Torah (Torasi) or not.”
What is this test to see whether they go in the ways of Torah or not? and how does the Man do this?
Rashi explains that the Torah is simply referring to the laws of the Man; not to leave any over until morning or go out on Shabbos to try to collect it.
Whilst Torasi could mean My laws and therefore could be referring to the laws of the Man, the Targum translates it as Oraisi - a reference to the entire Torah.
What connection does the Man have to the Torah and how is the observance of Torah being tested?
At the end of the Parsha, Moshe is commanded to take a flask of the Man. It would be kept in the Kodesh Hakodoshim as a safeguard for all generations.
Rashi tells us that many generations later, the Novi Yirimyahu used this flask. When rebuking the Jewish people for their laxity in the study of Torah, the people defended themselves, saying that they had been too busy trying to earn their livelihood.
Yirmiyahu showed them the flask, emphasising that our Parnasa comes from Hashem and that He has many agents through which to provide Parnasa. Parnasa should not be used as an excuse for not learning Torah.
The struggles for Parnasa present a major and often valid obstacle to dedicating our time to study Torah.
The pauper who must labour all day long to feed his family has the challenge of never knowing where tomorrow’s meal will come from. “I truly want to learn more but I am so busy taking care of my most basic needs, just to make ends meet. How can I make time for learning?”
The wealthy businessman, with his many businesses, investments and estates to manage has the opposite argument. “I would really love to learn more, but I am too busy managing my business ventures, how can I make time for learning?”.
Technically we all have the obligation to toil in Torah day and night. However, our need to procure a Parnasa carries Halachic weight and is seen as justifiable grounds for sufficing with learning less.
But how can we tell if the time we need to spend at work is a genuine limitation or merely an excuse? Is it true that we cannot find the time? Or is it a convenient excuse to miss the shiur? The Man was the litmus test.
While living off the Man, both of the impediments of Parnasa did not exist. The Man fell daily, so that no one needed to worry, like the pauper, about their next day’s meal.
Likewise, no one could amass any more; only an Omer a day. Anything left over would melt. So no one could claim to be too busy with their business dealings and investments.
This is the meaning of the test “Whether they will go in the ways of My Torah or not”. Would Bnei Yisroel dedicate their time to Torah study when they were free from the yoke of Parnasa?
In today’s world, we have to work hard to make a living. Making time for a regular learning seder during the week is a real challenge.
The test of our dedication is how we devote our time to Torah study when the limitations of Parnasa are removed. How do we spend our public or end-of-year holidays when the office is closed? What do we do on those long Shabbos afternoons?
The Midrash tells us that the 3rd time the Man will be brought out is by Eliyahu Hanovi in the times of Moshiach. Then we will be truly be free from the worries of Parnasa and the sole occupation of the entire world will be to know Hashem through the study of Torah.
“On Tuesday of Parshas Beshalach one recites the Parsha of the Man, reading each verse twice in the Hebrew and once in the Aramaic Targum Onkelus”.
Many have the practise of following the Shulchan Aruch’s suggestion to read this passage each day. This is in order to strengthen our Bitachon, our trust in Hashem, particularly in the area of Parnasa.
In Parshas HaMan the Torah tells us “The nation will go out each day to gather their daily portion, in order to test them whether they go in way of My Torah (Torasi) or not.”
What is this test to see whether they go in the ways of Torah or not? and how does the Man do this?
Rashi explains that the Torah is simply referring to the laws of the Man; not to leave any over until morning or go out on Shabbos to try to collect it.
Whilst Torasi could mean My laws and therefore could be referring to the laws of the Man, the Targum translates it as Oraisi - a reference to the entire Torah.
What connection does the Man have to the Torah and how is the observance of Torah being tested?
At the end of the Parsha, Moshe is commanded to take a flask of the Man. It would be kept in the Kodesh Hakodoshim as a safeguard for all generations.
Rashi tells us that many generations later, the Novi Yirimyahu used this flask. When rebuking the Jewish people for their laxity in the study of Torah, the people defended themselves, saying that they had been too busy trying to earn their livelihood.
Yirmiyahu showed them the flask, emphasising that our Parnasa comes from Hashem and that He has many agents through which to provide Parnasa. Parnasa should not be used as an excuse for not learning Torah.
The struggles for Parnasa present a major and often valid obstacle to dedicating our time to study Torah.
The pauper who must labour all day long to feed his family has the challenge of never knowing where tomorrow’s meal will come from. “I truly want to learn more but I am so busy taking care of my most basic needs, just to make ends meet. How can I make time for learning?”
The wealthy businessman, with his many businesses, investments and estates to manage has the opposite argument. “I would really love to learn more, but I am too busy managing my business ventures, how can I make time for learning?”.
Technically we all have the obligation to toil in Torah day and night. However, our need to procure a Parnasa carries Halachic weight and is seen as justifiable grounds for sufficing with learning less.
But how can we tell if the time we need to spend at work is a genuine limitation or merely an excuse? Is it true that we cannot find the time? Or is it a convenient excuse to miss the shiur? The Man was the litmus test.
While living off the Man, both of the impediments of Parnasa did not exist. The Man fell daily, so that no one needed to worry, like the pauper, about their next day’s meal.
Likewise, no one could amass any more; only an Omer a day. Anything left over would melt. So no one could claim to be too busy with their business dealings and investments.
This is the meaning of the test “Whether they will go in the ways of My Torah or not”. Would Bnei Yisroel dedicate their time to Torah study when they were free from the yoke of Parnasa?
In today’s world, we have to work hard to make a living. Making time for a regular learning seder during the week is a real challenge.
The test of our dedication is how we devote our time to Torah study when the limitations of Parnasa are removed. How do we spend our public or end-of-year holidays when the office is closed? What do we do on those long Shabbos afternoons?
The Midrash tells us that the 3rd time the Man will be brought out is by Eliyahu Hanovi in the times of Moshiach. Then we will be truly be free from the worries of Parnasa and the sole occupation of the entire world will be to know Hashem through the study of Torah.