“And Moses said: Eat it today, for today is a Shabbat for God, today you will not find it in the field” (Exodus 16:25). This verse is part of the extensive instructions Moses gave the children of Israel about the manna, the “bread from heaven,” that sustained them throughout their forty year sojourn in the desert. Moses told the people not to expect the manna to fall on Shabbat, instead a double portion would fall on Friday so that they could prepare for Shabbat in advance. In the verse mentioned above, the word “today” appears three times, the basis for the tradition of eating three meals on Shabbat. A more extensive investigation of the word “today,” which we will now conduct, reveals other key aspects of the Shabbat.
One of the keys to fully taking advantage of the spiritual treasures available on Shabbat is being in the moment, the “today” alluded to in the verse. For this reason, the Sages teach us that on Shabbat we must refrain from thinking about the past or making plans for the future. By adhering to this advice, we wipe past and future from our minds and are able to live in the eternal present of Shabbat. Shabbat is characterized as “pleasure,” and a good measure of this pleasure is derived from simply experiencing life as it unfolds without the heavy burdens of the past and future.
The Hebrew word for “today” (hayom) has the numerical value of sixty-one. In Jewish law – especially the dietary laws of kashrut – this number is very significant. When certain foods become mixed together (either a forbidden food with a permitted one or two types of food which may not be mixed together), the question becomes at what point does the mixture become forbidden? If the ratio between the two foods is less than 1:60, the smaller amount becomes nullified in the larger amount and (presuming the larger amount is permitted) the mixture is permitted. This number represents the concept of nullification both in Jewish law and in spiritual matters. On Shabbat we live in the day, nullifying any thoughts of past or future.
The Hebrew word for “I” (ani), the ego, also has the numerical value of sixty-one, as does the Hebrew word for the seemingly opposite state of being, “nothingness” (ayin). The ego according to Chassidut is rectified, and elevated through a constant process of self-nullification. The goal is not to obliterate the ego, but rather to purify it of selfishness, jealousy, greed, and the desire for honor and power. Ideally one should strive to experience both the rectified “I” and a sense of spiritual nullification at each and every moment.
Amazingly, the Torah relates exactly when the people complained about a lack of food, and God, in response, began providing them with manna. This all occurred on the fifteenth day of the second month, exactly one month, or sixty-one meals after they had left Egypt (see Rashi on Exodus 16:1)! Only after the Jews had run out of the dough and matzah that they had taken from Egypt were they open to the new possibilities inherent in the desert.
From this we learn a critical spiritual and material lesson. Often in life, we only become open to new possibilities or to considering a fresh perspective when circumstances change and we cannot go on as we have been. Empty and searching for alternatives, we are open to new possibilities. Only when the Jews’ ongoing reality in the desert was nullified did they demand something new to fill the vacuum, and God responded accordingly. From this we learn a crucial lesson: in order to receive Divine assistance – “bread from heaven” – we need to be “open receptacles.”
Thus, in order to truly receive Shabbat we need to feel that the six days of the week have really ended, so that we are ready to be imbued with an entirely new energy. Shabbat provides a spiritually conducive atmosphere in which we not only rest physically but also gain a respite from the psychological and emotional pressures of the week. This atmosphere allows the essential and pure self to be simultaneously revealed and nullified in the “today,” the spiritual pleasure of God’s immediate presence and light.
