(Exodus 16:13) says simply that "in the morning there was a layer of dew." But the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael saw in this plain statement a description of one of the most elaborate daily miracles in the Torah, a four-stage process that God repeated every single morning for forty years.
First, a north wind swept across the desert, clearing the ground of sand and debris. The wilderness floor was scoured clean as though prepared by invisible servants. Second, rain fell and washed the newly swept surface, removing any remaining dust. Third, the dew rose from the earth, coating the ground in a thin layer of moisture. Fourth, the wind returned and blew across the dew, shaping it into surfaces that gleamed like golden tables.
Only after this entire sequence was complete did the manna descend from heaven onto the prepared surface. The "layer of dew" mentioned in Exodus was not a random atmospheric event. It was the final stage of a divine catering operation, a tablecloth of gold laid out fresh each morning before the bread of heaven arrived.
The Mekhilta's purpose in detailing this sequence was to show that Scripture does not merely record what happened. It reveals how it happened. The verse could have simply said "manna appeared each morning." Instead, the mention of dew opens a window into the mechanics of the miracle, showing that God did not toss food at Israel carelessly. He prepared a banquet table in the wilderness every single day, wind and rain and dew working in concert like servants setting places before a royal feast.