An Omer a Head and the Duty to Feed Your Household

Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 16:16

"This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: gather of it every man according to his eating" (Exodus 16:16). They said: when Nahshon son of Amminadab would go out to gather, he and the members of his household would gather much, and the poorest in Israel would gather little; but when they came to measure, it was "an omer a head, according to the number of your persons." They said: one who eats this measure is healthy and blessed; less than this, his bowels are disordered; more than this, he is a glutton. "Every man for those who are in his tent you shall take." From here we learn that a man is obligated for the sustenance of his wife and his children.

Themes