The Manna Passage as a Segulah for Livelihood

This short article traces the sources behind the custom of reciting Parashat HaMan — the Torah passage describing the manna in the wilderness — as a segulah (an auspicious spiritual practice believed to draw divine blessing) for livelihood, and in particular the practice of doing so on the Tuesday of the week when Parashat Beshalach is read.

The author of the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 1:5), known as Maran HaMechaber, writes: “It is good to recite the passage of the Binding of Isaac (Akedat Yitzchak) and the passage of the manna.” In his earlier work, the Beit Yosef (his commentary on the Arba’ah Turim), he explains the reason: “So that one will believe that all his sustenance comes to him through Divine Providence.”

Rabbeinu Bachya reinforces this point, writing:

“It is a tradition held by the Sages that whoever recites Parashat HaMan every day is assured that he will never come to lack sustenance.”

Rabbi Shimshon ben Rabbi Tzadok (known as the Tashbetz HaKatan, responsum 256) adds his own endorsement of these words: “And I personally vouch for this.”

An early source for this assurance is cited by the Prisha (Orach Chaim 1:5) in the name of the Jerusalem Talmud:

“These are the words of my teacher: In the Jerusalem Talmud, tractate Berakhot, it is stated: ‘Whoever recites Parashat HaMan every day is assured that his sustenance will not diminish.'”

(It should be noted, however, that this formulation does not appear in any versions of the Jerusalem Talmud currently available to us.)

The book Noheig KaTzon Yosef (Laws of Daily Conduct, section 34) also cites the Sefer HaYashar, attributed to Rabbeinu Tam, which states:

“Whoever recites Parashat HaMan every day — twice in the original Hebrew text and once in the Aramaic translation (shnayim mikra ve-echad targum) — is assured that his sustenance will not be lacking.”

The practice of reciting Parashat HaMan specifically on the Tuesday of the week when Parashat Beshalach is read has become a widely accepted and commonly observed segulah, associated with the name of the holy Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Riminov. That said, the calendar guide Davar Be-Ito noted that it did not include this segulah because its source was unknown to the editors; moreover, Jews who came from Riminov reported that they had never heard of it — not even before the Second World War. Likewise, the book Yalkut Menachem — a collection of the Torah teachings and talks of the holy Rabbi of Riminov — does not record this segulah.

However, in the 1991 edition of Yalkut Menachem (in the supplementary additions), it is stated that the source of this custom is the holy Rabbi Shalom of Stropkov, who was accustomed to say it in the name of the holy Rabbi of Riminov: that reciting Parashat HaMan shnayim mikra ve-echad targum on the Tuesday of Parashat Beshalach is a special segulah for livelihood.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Riminov was widely known for expounding Torah teachings on the theme of the manna at every opportunity, and through this he was said to draw abundance into the world. The book Menachem Tzion records that “for twenty-two years he expounded on Parashat HaMan every Shabbat.”

So remember the Tuesday of Parashat Beshalach, and recite Parashat HaMan — shnayim mikra ve-echad targum (twice in Hebrew, once in Aramaic translation). And pass the word to your friends — they, we can safely assume, also need a livelihood…

(This article is based on a piece published in the Kulmus supplement of the Mishpacha journal, Shevat 5772.)

Click here to recite Parashat HaMan.