"ויהי ביום השביעי יצאו מן העם ללקט ולא מצאו"
“On Shabbat some people went out to pick manna and they did not find any.” (16:27)

QUESTION: The word “matza’u” — “find” — is used in regard to finding a lost object. Since no manna was lost, should not the text read, “velo hayah” — “and there wasn’t any”?

ANSWER: Moshe told the Jews that on Friday there would be a double portion of manna, one for Friday, and one for Shabbat when no manna would be delivered. Datan and Aviram, the infamous troublemakers, thought this would be a good opportunity to “prove” to the people Moshe’s dishonesty. Friday evening they secretly distributed manna in the field and invited people to come with them Shabbat morning to collect it. The birds, upon hearing this evil plan, quickly ate it up. Consequently, when Datan, Aviram, and their followers came out to the fields, they did not find any manna.

(ר' מאיר מפרימישלאן זצ"ל)

* * *

QUESTION: What is the reason for the custom to put out food for the birds on Erev Shabbat Shirah?

ANSWER: On Shabbat Shirah, when we read about the manna that Hashem provided for the Jewish people, it is customary to put out food for the birds on Erev Shabbat as a reward for the Kiddush Hashem they brought about.

(ר' מאיר מפרימישלאן זצ"ל)

* * *

Alternatively, the Maharal of Prague would instruct the teachers of young children to gather their students in the shul yard on Shabbat Shira and relate to them the story of Kriat Yam Suf — the splitting of the sea. They were also to tell the children that at that time Hashem performed a miracle and trees with beautiful fruit grew in the sea (see Midrash Rabbah 22:1). When the Jews sang the Shirah, the birds sang and danced. The Jewish children picked fruits from the trees and fed the birds. To commemorate this event, we put out food for the birds Erev Shabbat Shirah.

* * *

The teachers would give them kasha (buckwheat) to throw to the birds. And afterward the Maharal would bless the children and also the parents that they should merit to see their children embark on Torah, marriage and good deeds.

(ספר השיחות תש"ב ע' 73 - לקוטי שיחות ח"ב ע' 522)

* * *

Some have the custom to feed wheat to the birds on Shabbat Shirah.

(מגן אברהם שכ"ד, ז' וספר תוספת שבת מר' רפאל ז"ל מייזליש)

It is the custom of Chabad to eat kasha on Shabbat Shirah.

(היום יום י"ז שבט)

This custom is based on the pasuk: “Hasam gevuleich shalom cheilev chitim yasbi’eich” — “He has made peace within your borders; He satiated you with the finest of wheat” (Psalms 147:14). Thus, on Shabbat Shirah, when we read that Hashem emancipated the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage and prepared them to be in their own geographical boundaries and also the boundaries of Torah, it is customary to eat wheat (buckwheat).

The word “beshalach” (בשלח) is an acronym for the words "בשבת שירה לאכל חטים" — “On Shabbat Shirah to eat wheat (buckwheat).”

(עוללות אפרים)