Double Bread on the Sixth Day and the Limits of Sabbath Travel

Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 16:28

"See that the LORD has given you the Sabbath" (Exodus 16:29). He said to them: Be careful, for the Omnipresent has given you the Sabbath. "Therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days" (Exodus 16:29). From here Rabbi Yoshiyah used to say: a double portion [the bread was doubled for them]. "Let every man remain in his place" (Exodus 16:29) — these are the four cubits [within which one may move]. "Let no man go out from his place" (Exodus 16:29) — these are the two thousand cubits [the Sabbath boundary beyond which one may not walk].

Themes