B"H
Friday, Shevat 16, 5781 / January 29, 2021
The main themes of this week’s Parsha, B’shalach, is about the splitting of the sea, and how the Jewish people crossed through it on dry land, while the Egyptians, who were chasing after them, drowned. In the Parsha the Torah records the song which Moshe and the Jewish men sang praising G-d for this great miracle, while Miriam led the women in song. We also read about the manna – bread from heaven, which G-d gave the Jewish people each day during their forty years in the desert.
Q. How many days after the Exodus from Egypt did the miracles of the splitting of the sea happen?
A. The splitting of the sea took place on the seventh day after the Exodus.
Q. On Passover we celebrate the Exodus. Do we celebrate the miracle of the splitting of the sea?
A. Yes. On the seventh day of Passover, known as Shvii shel Pesach, we celebrate the miracle of the Jewish people walking through the sea on dry land.
Q. How many people left Egypt at the time of the Exodus?
A. About six hundred thousand men (ages 20-60). There were the women, children, the elderly and a multitude of people from other nations that left with them. It is estimated to be a few million people.
Q. The reason we eat matzah on Passover is because the Jewish people left Egypt in such a hurry that their dough didn’t have time to rise. How long did the matzah last them?
A. The matzah lasted them for one month. G-d then sent them the mann (manna) “Bread from heaven”.
Q. Why was the “bread from heaven” called “Mann” (“Manna”)?
A. When they first found the Manna it looked unfamiliar to them. They asked, "Mann Hu” - “What is it?" In response Moshe told them, "This is the bread which the L-rd has given you to eat." Moshe instructed them, "Gather of it one Omer [a certain measurement] per person according to the number of your people in one's tent shall you take."
The Torah tells us that if one collected more or less than the prescribed measurement of an Omer, when they brought it home each one had exactly an Omer per person. The name "Mann" is derived from their puzzling expression "Man Hu" ("what is it?"). Mann also means food.
Lesson of the manna: The story of the manna, where each person received exactly the same amount, no matter how much or how little they collected, teaches us that G-d provides each one of us according to our needs. One cannot get hold of more than their share which G-d allotted for them.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montrealcandle lighting time: 4:39 / Shabbat ends: 5:45