Beshallach 5774

Manna is a gift from God – a nourishing, tasty food that falls from the sky to satisfy the people’s hunger.  God’s only demand is that we gather a double portion on Friday, enough to eat for two days, and refrain from gathering on Shabbat.  “Mark that God has given you Shabbat; therefore God gives you two days’ food on the sixth day.  Let everyone remain where he is:  let no one leave his place on the seventh day.”  So the people remained inactive on the seventh day.”  (Exodus 16:29-30).

Many traditions tell us to work harder: the stories of the Three Little Pigs and the Ant and the Grass Hoper, among many others, promote industriousness.  While the Jewish tradition similarly encourages work (“six days a week you shall labor…”), it also requires that we consider what our effort, and indeed, our lives, are for.  If we merely toil, then what good does it do us?  We have forsaken the bounty and beauty of God’s creation, spurned human relationship, rejected joy for treasure.  Weeks roll on, one into the next, and we have nothing to show for them but a bank account that, miraculously, never grows at all.  We wake to the thought “what do I have to do today?” rather than gratitude and wonder.

In our day, many work twice as hard to earn a half as much.  No one feels secure in their job.  How tempting, then, to devote ourselves entirely to our labor – to store up as much manna as we can, while we can.

But let’s remember to live, too.   Life is better when we savor our time, connect with other people, enjoy our surroundings, and cease from our worries and our labors.  Let us pledge to do something – even a little thing – to make this Shabbat meaningful, an antidote to the stresses we feel.  After all, it’s not just a suggestion.  It’s a commandment.