(ה) Chapter 5
Now, in order that we should be able to have these aspects of spiritual refinement during the weekdays and enjoying connecting to Hashem on Shabbos, this is through the power we received from the Munn.
Regarding the Munn it says (Shemos 16:13-15): “In the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew evaporated, they saw on the ground of the desert something thin sandwiched between two layers of dew, and they called it Munn because they didn’t know what to call it. And Moshe said to them: This is the bread that Hashem has given you to eat.”
We see from this that the Munn was connected to the spiritual level represented by “dew” that never stops coming down onto the ground every day, unlike rain which only comes down occasionally.
This represents the aspect of divine revelation which comes from an “Isarusa de’leilya-An Initiative from Hashem who is Above”, which is higher than divine revelation that comes from “Isarusa de’lesata- An Initiative from the Jewish People who are Below”.
Dew always descends on the ground every morning as a gift from Hashem. Since Hashem is giving dew from His Own initiative, it never stops. It isn’t dependent on us deserving it, only on Hashem’s kindness which never stops. Rain, however, only comes to us as a result of our prayer and good deeds; as the Torah tells us that the first rain after the creation of the world only came down because of Adam’s prayers (Bereishis 2:5). Since it depends on our initiative, we only get it when we deserve it; and it sometimes stops when, G-d forbid, we are not deserving (Melachim I 17:1).
So, dew represents how Hashem gives us from His own kindness, and rain represents how Hashem gives us depending on our efforts.
In terms of spiritual revelation of Hashem, we also have two corresponding ways that Hashem shines His Light to us:
- Like “dew” which comes from Hashem’s own initiative. It is called “An Initiative from Above”, since it just comes from Hashem’s own initiative to reveal His Light to us.
- Like “rain” which comes only after our initiative to connect to Hashem through prayer and good deeds. It is therefore called “An Initiative from Below” meaning that we begin the process of our own initiative below in this world, and only afterward is there a corresponding revelation of Hashem's Light to us.
Munn is comparable to dew in that it was a gift from Hashem to the Jewish People out of His own kindness. Every Jew received the Munn they needed from heaven every day, regardless of how deserving they were. That is why the Munn came sandwiched between two layers of dew.
Ultimately, Hashem desires our prayer and good deeds, our “Initiative from Below”. The primary purpose of Hashem’s initial revelation to us as an “Initiative from Above” is to give us the spiritual strength to be able to work on ourselves until we can connect to Him from our own initiative and make our “Initiative from Below”. This was the purpose of the Munn that came in dew, to give us spiritual strength to elevate our souls to connect to Hashem from our own initiative.
And from this Munn and dew a person draws strength to achieve “an Initiative from Below”, because the idea of “bringing down the dew” (daily prayers between Pesach and Shemini Atzeres) is that this descent of the dew to us as an “Initiative from Above” is for the purpose of an ascent, to raise up the soul to connect to Hashem with an “Initiative from Below”.
Now, regarding the Munn it is said (Shemos 16:4): “every day they will receive only what they need for that day, in order to test them to see if they will go in the ways of My Torah or not.” And the test was (Shemos 16:19): “Each person may not leave over from that day’s Munn until the next morning.”
For our Sages have said (Sota 48b): “Whoever has bread in his basket and is worried about the next day is among those whose faith is ‘immature’,” meaning that this person’s recognition of Hashem is immature.
