דברים פרק ח ג וַיְעַנְךָ וַיַרְ עִבֶךָ וַיַאֲכִלְךָ אֶת-הַמָּן וגו'
“And He caused you pain and He caused you to hunger and He fed you the Manna.”
How do these three concepts (pain, hunger and Manna) flow?
Medrash Hagodol Parshas Toldos
Bnei Yisrael only derived the pleasure of taste from the Manna, but not the visual pleasure of seeing a variety of food. This was their complaint "ein kol bilti el hamon eineinu" (Bemidbar 11,6). They considered it as if they had no food from the monotony of always seeing Manna. Similarly, we find by Yaakov in his old age when he was blind that he requested of Eisav to bring him food and prepare it. "Va'assei li MATAMIM" (Bereishis 27,4), "Prepare for me something TASTY," as he was blind and was limited to only the taste enjoyment of food and not the visual enhancement.
Ramban
He caused you pain through your difficult journey, as is written in Tehillim 102,24, "Inoh va'derech kochi.” He caused you to hunger by restricting you to a kosher diet. Only after stopping to eat non-kosher food are you ready to imbibe the heaven-sent Manna.
Rabbeinu Bachyei
He caused you to hunger so that you would totally use up any vestiges of earthly food and the pain was from the lack of potential additional food. Only then would you be ready for the Heavenly food, the Manna. We find that Moshe in preparation for ascending to heaven also separated himself from all worldly pursuits including food for six days, as is written, "Va'y'cha'sehu he'onon sheishes yomim" (Shmos 24,16).
Alshich Hakodosh
He caused you pain and hunger by feeding you Manna whose default taste has the flavour of honey and oil, as is written "V'taamo k'tzapichis biDVOSH" (Shmos 16,31), and "K'taam l'shad ha'SHO'MEN" (Bemidbar 11,8). The purpose of this limited diet was to purify you spiritually and to weaken your evil inclination.
Ramban and R"I of Vienna
He caused you pain and hunger through your lack of security of not having "bread in your larder." HaShem fed you Manna which fell on a daily basis and if left over from one day to the next would totally spoil (Shmos 16,20).
Ibn Ezra
The Manna did not satiate people as it was a light quasi-spiritual food. This was the complaint of the people when they said "v'nafsheinu kotzoh ba'lechem haklokeil" (Bemidbar 21,5).
Ohr Hachaim Hakodosh
He caused you pain and hunger by having you enslaved in Egypt and then having to travel in the desert. People who have suffered these experiences and deprivations cannot eat the same foods as one who has not gone through these experiences. A regular diet could be devastating for those with a weakened constitution. HaShem therefore fed you Manna, which is perfectly suited for even those who are weakened.
Nachal K'dumim on Parshas B'shalach
It is prohibited to derive benefit from something created through a miracle. This prohibition is lifted, as are most, when there is a need to use the object to alleviate a danger to one's life. Only because HaShem caused you pain and hunger and your lives were endangered were you allowed to eat the Manna.
Sanhendrin 99a
The days of Moshiach will be 40 years. It says here "va'Y'ancha va'Yar'ivecha", and it says (Tehillim 90) "Samchenu ki'Mos Anisanu" (like the years of our affliction). Just like Yisrael were in the Midbar for 40 years, so will be Yeimos haMoshiach will take 40 years (the affliction changes the basic nature of the physical and spiritual Galus to enable ideal entry into Eretz Yisrael).
Tzror HaMor
The people needed to begin their service of HaShem, learn Torah and do Mitzvos. However, their body was filled with food that did not prepare their minds for this service. Therefore, they needed to fast and purify their bodies. This is called pain and hunger in order to be fed the Manna which enabled proper physical and spiritual nutrient for the forthcoming service.
Yoma 75a
There are seemingly contradicting verses indicating that the Manna fell close to people's homes and far away. Also, there seem to be contradictions in verses regarding how prepared the Manna was for consumption. The Gemara answers that according to one's piety, the Manna that was his portion fell and was prepared. If one was very devout, the Manna would fall just outside his home and would be ready for consumption. If one was sinful, then the Manna fell further away and required grinding, etc. before being edible.
This situation was very fluid, changing daily if someone's level of mitzvah observance changed. If someone sinned and his next allotment of Manna fell far away, he was very embarrassed to go far afield to fetch it. Since there was no saving of Manna from one day to the next, he would either have to swallow his pride and make the long trek for his Manna or simply go hungry. Many opted to go hungry.
This is the meaning of "and He caused you pain and hunger." This concept might be the source for a well-known Yiddish expression:
"Men shtarbt nisht fun hunger; men shtarbt fun bushoh.”
“No one starves from hunger, only from embarrassment.”
Paa'nei'ach Rozo
These words of our verse were an indication to Esther to suggest to Mordechai to proclaim a three-day fast and in that merit, they would overpower Haman. "Va'yaancho" on the first day of the fast, "Va'yari'vecho" on the second day, and on the third day, "Va'yaachilcho es HAMAN." The letters of the word HAMON without their vowels can be read HAMAN.
Lubavitcher Rebbe
Bread from Heaven represents the inner Torah that is connected to hunger for more. Since this learning is about the manifestations of HaShem and not the actual essence, one’s hunger grows. Thus, Manna is food of hunger. However, the eating of Manna brings one to self-nullification that allows one to become a vessel to receive the life-force from the source beyond one’s normal level.
The Manna is equated to the affliction of Yom Kippur (see Yoma 74b) that also utilizes physical and spiritual affliction to receive a higher level of life-force.
