It was impossible to collect more mon than an omer per head. If five people were at home, one couldn't bring home more than five omer. This is as the pasuk (we quoted above, 16:18) states, ...המרבה העדיף ולא בעמר וימדו "And they measured in an omer, and whoever took more had nothing extra..."
It was also impossible to leave over from one day to the next. First of all, it was prohibited to do so, as it states (16:19) ויאמר בוקר עד ממנו יותר אל איש אלהם משה, "And Moshe said to them, 'No man may leave over from the [mon] until morning." Furthermore, it wouldn't help to leave over until the next day because the mon would spoil, as it states (16:20, regarding Dasan v'Aviram who left over the mon for the next day) עלהם ויקצף ויבאש תולעים וירם משה, "And the mon became infested with worms and it stank and Moshe became angry with them."
Bnei Yisroel couldn't gather a lot of mon, and they couldn't leave over mon from one day to the next. This situation worried the people. What will be if mon doesn’t fall on the following day? Would they and their families go hungry?!
This situation was actually beneficial for the Jewish nation because it taught them to trust in Hashem. The Gemara (Yoma 76.) says, "The students asked Reb Shimon Bar Yochai, 'Why didn't the mon fall for the Jewish nation once a year?' Reb Shimon replied, 'I will answer with a mashal: A king had an only son. The king would give him parnassah once a year, and the son would only see his father once a year. The king began distributing parnassah every day, and his son had to come daily. The same is true with the Jewish nation. If a person had four or five sons, he was afraid that perhaps tomorrow there would be no mon, and they would die from hunger. This brought everyone to devote their heart to their Father in heaven."
The Rabbeinu B’Chaya (introduction to Beshalach) writes, "The man didn’t fall in one day, enough for the upcoming month or two. Each day, the man fell enough for that day. Why? To train them in bitachon. Every day they had to raise their eyes to their Father in heaven..."
This situation continues to occur in our times. Parnassah is always a struggle, for our good, as it trains us to remember Hashem, trust in Him, and pray to Him. In the end, Hashem gives us what we need, each day at the right time.
Rabbeinu b'Chayei teaches that the mon began falling before matan Torah. This is because the mon trained the nation to have emunah and bitachon, which are the crucial qualities that the Torah wants to teach us.
Rashi (16:1) writes that the Jewish nation ate matzah, which they took with them when they left Mitzrayim, for one month (from the fifteenth of Nissan until the fifteenth of Iyar). The following morning (the sixteenth of Iyar), the mon fell. This was three weeks before Mattan Torah (which was on the 6th of Sivan). The Rabbeinu b'Chayei explains that this prepared them for matan Torah, which is primarily about recognizing Hashem.
It states (16:4) לחם לכם ממטיר הנני משה אל 'ה ויאמר הילך אנסנו למען ביומו יום דבר ולקטו העם ויצא השמים מן לא אם בתורתי, "Hashem said to Moshe, 'Behold! – I shall rain down for you food from heaven; let the people go out and pick each day's portion on its day so that I can test whether they will follow My Torah or not."
Rebbe Mendel of Riminov's Explanation
Rebbe Mendel of Riminov zt'l explains: The Torah clarifies that it will only rain דבר ביומו יום, enough mon for one day. Why is that? The answer is stated in the next words, אנסנו למען: this was a test, to teach the nation that parnassah comes from Hashem.
The pasuk concludes, בתורתי הילך, "to follow My Torah." Because awareness of Hashem is the ultimate purpose of the entire Torah.
The Brisker Rav's Perspective
The Brisker Rav zt'l received a street in Warsaw as a dowry present from his father-in-law for his chasunah. He was very wealthy at the time, and he hired someone to take care of his money. This person stole all the money.
It was a difficult time for the Brisker Rav, and he reviewed and studied Shaar HaBitochon from the Chovos HaLevavos five or six times. At this time, he said, "I used to think that someone who owns a street in Warsaw is wealthy. Now I know that someone who learns Shaar haBitachon from Chovas HaLevavos five or six times is the wealthy one."
The Brisker Rav zt"l would raise funds each month to help support Torah scholars in Yerushalayim who dedicated their lives to studying Torah. When he didn’t raise enough, he borrowed money to pay them. Seeing how difficult it was for the Brisker Rav to raise the money, a wealthy person suggested, "The Rav should find a very wealthy person who can give you a quarter million pounds. That way, you will have peace of mind for a few months."
"Chas Veshalom!" the Brisker Rav replied. "Even if someone would give me millions, I wouldn’t accept it. I don’t want to earn more than I need for each month."
The Brisker Rav explained that the responsibility to raise the money monthly forced him to turn his eyes heavenward and to trust in Hashem. If he would receive a quarter million pounds, he would have some respite, but he would lose his trust in Hashem.
There were times when people wanted to give the Brisker Rav large sums of money, but he wouldn’t accept it. He would tell them, "I already have enough for this month," and he wouldn’t take it.
We aren't on this level. If someone would offer us a quarter-million pounds to help us with our financial struggles, most of us would accept it. Nevertheless, we should learn from the Brisker Rav that if we don’t have extra money and have tests and parnassah struggles, we should take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen our bitachon and trust that Hashem will take care of all our needs.
The Chovas HaLevavos, in his introduction to Shaar HaBitachon, writes, "Someone who has bitachon... will be calm and won't have any worries, similar to a chemist who knows how to turn silver into gold, and how to transform copper into silver. He will be even calmer..."
Based on these words, the Brisker Rav zy"a explained the pasuk (Tehillim 27:14) אל קוה 'ה אל וקוה לבך ויאמץ חזק 'ה, "Trust in Hashem, strengthen your heart, and trust in Hashem." This pasuk implies that the reward for having bitachon is having more bitachon. The Brisker Rav asked, why isn't there a different reward for bitachon? Why should the reward for bitachon be more bitachon?
But the Chovas HaLevavos showed us that the calmest and most tranquil person in the world is someone who has bitachon, so what reward can possibly be given to someone who has bitachon? Should we provide him with wealth? The reward would be far less than the bitachon he had before it. Therefore, the only reward for bitachon is more bitachon.
The Brisker Rav explained this to a wealthy man. The rich man exclaimed enthusiastically, "That's a gut vort!" The Brisker Rav asked him, "If it is good, perhaps you should also follow its advice. Perhaps you should do less business and dedicate more time to learning Torah?"
