שמות, פרק ט״ז, פסוק ל״ה

For four decades in the barren wilderness, the Israelites survived on a continuous, daily supply of heavenly bread. This sustained provision stands as one of the greatest and most enduring miracles experienced by the nation. Unlike other miraculous interventions, such as the quail which appeared only briefly and then vanished, the daily and highly visible arrival of the Manna left no room for doubt regarding its divine origin, proving definitively that it was not a human deception [שד״ל, אבן עזרא, הדר זקנים].

This miraculous sustenance replaced ordinary wheat bread [ספורנו] and served a profound dual purpose. First, by freeing the people from the exhausting daily burdens of securing a livelihood, it allowed them to dedicate their time entirely to studying and internalizing the Torah. Second, the prolonged period in the desert under this divine provision gave the land of Canaan time to recover. Upon hearing of the Israelites' approach, the Canaanites had deliberately destroyed their own crops, cut down their trees, and blocked their water springs. The extended delay in the wilderness provided the necessary time for the land's natural resources to be restored [ריב״א].

Historical records note that this heavenly food sustained the nation for forty years. Chronologically, however, the actual duration falls short by about a month, as the Manna began to fall in the middle of the second month of their journey and ceased in the first month of the fortieth year. The primary approach among commentators resolves this discrepancy by explaining that the dough the Israelites brought out of Egypt, which sustained them for that initial month of travel, miraculously took on the taste of the Manna, thereby integrating that first month into the forty-year count. Alternatively, it is understood that scripture often rounds numbers; when only a fraction of time is missing to complete a full decade, the complete number is recorded [רבנו בחיי, תורה תמימה].

The conclusion of this daily miracle was not sudden but unfolded as a gradual geographic transition. As the Israelites approached their final destination, they first reached the inhabited regions east of the Jordan River, such as the plains of Moab. In these settled territories, they began to supplement their diet with local produce while still eating the Manna. It was only later, upon crossing the Jordan River and physically entering the borders of Canaan at Gilgal, that the heavenly bread ceased entirely, and the nation transitioned to eating exclusively from the produce of their new land [רש״י, ספורנו, אבן עזרא, חזקוני].

This transition period involved two distinct phases of consumption. The first phase consisted of gathering fresh Manna that fell daily from the sky, a routine that continued reliably throughout the life of Moses. However, on the day of his passing, the heavenly bread stopped falling. From that day until the middle of the following month, the Israelites survived on a surplus of Manna they had previously gathered and stored [אור החיים, מלבי״ם, שפתי כהן]. This final phase contained a hidden, additional miracle. Under normal circumstances, any Manna left overnight during the week would immediately rot and breed worms. Yet, the supply stored after the death of Moses remained perfectly preserved for over a month without spoiling [ברכת אשר].