What does the Torah mean when it writes, "va'Ta'al Shichvas ha'Tal; v'Hinei..."?
Rashi #1, Rashbam and Targum Onkelos: Such is the nature of dew, that when the sun shines, it draws the dew from wherever it is, uncovering whatever lies underneath it. 1 Likewise here, the sun drew the top layer of dew, thereby revealing the Manna that lay beneath it.
Rashi #2 (citing Midrash Tanchuma): Normally, food comes from the ground and dew from the sky. Here, dew came from the ground and bread from the sky! 2 When the dew ascended to the air, it revealed the Manna that had fallen.
Targum Yonasan: Clouds 3 rose and brought down Manna which they placed on to the layer of dew.
Rashi: If one fills an eggshell with dew, covers it and places it in the sun, the dew will rise into the air.
For Gur Aryeh's comments, see below (16:14:1.1:1 and note.)
See Na'ar Yonasan.
What is the meaning of the word "Mechuspas"?
Rashi #1 and Ramban (citing Targum Onkelos: It means 'revealed.' 1
Rashi #2: It means 'boxed in' between two layers of dew. 2
Rashbam: From the context, it appears to mean 'spread out.'
Targum Yonasan: It means 'evenly-shaped', as if it was shaped with a ruler. 3
Yoma 75b #1: It is the acronym of 'she'Nimo'ach al Pas ha'Yad' - The Manna was so soft that it melted on the palm of the hand. 4
Yoma 75b #2: The Gematriya of 'Mechuspas' is two hundred and forty-eight - because the Manna became absorbed in the two hundred and forty-eight limbs of the body of the person who ate it - and he did not need to defecate.
What is the meaning of "ka'Kefor al ha'Aretz"?
Rashi #1 (citing Targum Onkelos), Ramban #1 and Targum Yonasan: It means like frost on the ground. 1
Ramban #2 (citing Targum Onkelos #1): Like pitch 2 (k'Gir - ground and scattered on the floor of the desert), 3 and like frost 4 on the ground.
Ramban #3 (citing Targum Onkelos #2): Thin, lying in piles (Degir) like frost on the ground. 5
Rashi: To which Targum Onkelos adds 'k'Avnei Gir' (like black chalk-stones) - though this is his own addition, which is not based on any word in the Pasuk. Ramban disagrees with Rashi's translation of 'Avnei Gir;' see the following answers.
Ramban: As in Parshas Noach, "mi'Bayis u'mi'Chutz ba'Kofer" (Bereishis 6:14) - in connection with Noach's boat.
The Ramban defines "Avnei Gir" as a white substance that grows on stones that can be ground and used as a better-quality whitener than lime.
As in Tehilim 147:16.
See Ramban as to why this version is preferable.
Having described the Manna as thin, why does the Torah need to add "Dak ka'Kefor"?
Rashi: The Torah is informing us that not only was the Manna thin, but that, in its thinness, it lay attached to the ground like frost.
Seforno: To teach us that it lay in one thin layer, and not piled up layer upon layer.
Targum Yonasan: To teach us that the Manna was thin and evenly-shaped, and it was as thin as frost.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "[Alternatively,] as our Sages interpreted - The dew rose up from the earth to the air; and when the layer of dew ascended, the Manna was revealed." But how is this Midrashic interpretation any different from Rashi's initial explanation?
Gur Aryeh: Midrash Tanchuma (20) points out that Hashem reversed the normal world order here. Ordinarily, dew descends from heaven, and bread grows from the earth; whereas in the case of the Manna, the dew arose from the earth, and the bread fell from heaven. 1 (In other words, the dew that covered the Manna originated in the earth, and it later ascended further to reveal the Manna. According to Rashi's first explanation, however, the dew was ordinary dew from Heaven; it was only noteworthy in its function - to cover the Manna until the morning sun rose).
Gur Aryeh: Heaven and earth work together to facilitate both dew and bread. Bread by natural means comes from the earth; the Manna, however, was not under the restrictions of nature! Now that the heavens would be providing the bread, by default the earth would produce the dew.
Rashi writes: "[Onkelos translates], 'Da'dak k'Gir ki'Glida Al Ar'aa' (thin like chalk, like ice, upon the earth) ... meaning, 'thin as frost, spread out thinly and congealed like a coating of ice.'" What is Rashi trying to explain?
Gur Aryeh: The word "Dak" in this context does not mean that the Manna was fine, like sand or earth; 1 but rather, that it was spread in a thin layer as opposed to a thick one. 2 We see this from its being compared to frost, which does not consist of fine grains, but rather is a congealed (albeit thin) coating.
As in "Ketores Samim Dakah" (Vayikra 16:12).
Compare to Gur Aryeh regarding the "thin cows" of Pharaoh's dream, at the beginning of Parshas Miketz (see Bereishis 41:3:0.1:1 ). (EK)
Rashi writes: "Ka'Kefor - ... [Onkelos translates as] 'Da'dak k'Gir...' [Gir] is a type of black dye.... The term 'k'Gir' in Onkelos' translation is an insertion into the Hebrew; it has no [corresponding] word in [the text of] the Pasuk." But what would have led Onkelos to add this word?
Ramban #1: Onkelos is offering two alternate translations for the word "Kefor;" a. An applied covering or coating. 1 He translates it "k'Gir" - i.e., like the white 2 lime used for plastering walls. The Manna resembled lime both in its white color, and its being scattered upon the earth like smashed lime-stones. b. "Kefor" means frost; 3 thus he translates "ki'Glida."
Ramban #2: The correct Girsa in Onkelos is not "k'Gir, ki'Glida," but rather "Degir ki'Glida" - a verb meaning "it was heaped up or piled up like ice."
Gur Aryeh: It is unusual that the term "Dak" is repeated. Onkelos understands that the second time comes to add an additional meaning - that the Manna would easily melt. 4 To illustrate this, Onkelos compares it to lime-stones, which crumble and melt into lime (as in "Avnei Gir" - Yeshayah 27:9).
Ramban: As in "v'Chafarta Osah... ba'Kofer" (Bereishis 6:14).
Ramban is disagreeing with Rashi - who wrote that Gir is black, whereas Manna is white (below 16:31), and that the Manna resembled Gir in consistency but not in color.
Ramban: As in "Kefor ka'Efer Yefazer" (Tehilim 147:16).
Gur Aryeh: Chazal (Yoma 75b) come to this same meaning by interpreting the word "Mechuspas" as 'Nimo'ach Al Pas' (it would dissolve on the palm of the hand) - which made it a delicacy.
