Every Shabbat table boasts a goblet of wine and two loaves of bread -- challah. Why do we have two loaves? Our Parshah teaches that, in the desert, G-d gave our ancestors a daily portion of manna. On Friday He gave them two portions, one for Friday and the other for Shabbat. We mark this miracle by placing two loaves of bread on our Shabbat table.
Three Unique Qualities of the Manna
- Everyone came home with the standard measurement of Manna regardless of how much or little he gathered in the field.
- All Manna that was left uneaten by sundown would spoil.
- There was, however, one exception: the portion left over after sundown, on Friday. That remained fresh to be eaten on Shabbat.
Three Lessons
Everything in Torah carries a moral lesson that is eternal. Eternal lessons are as relevant today as they were on the day that they were written. What is the relevant moral lesson to be derived from the Manna's three qualities?
- Our lot is determined in heaven, and we all receive our share. Working overtime will not increase our allotment, and working under-time will not decrease it either.
- All money not utilized by the end of our lifetime -- by "sundown" -- will go to waste, because we cannot take it along.
- There is, however, one exception: money that is saved for the Shabbat meal -- i.e., used for the purpose of a Mitzvah. That money will never go to waste, and will earn its owner eternal reward in the World to Come.
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