Manna in the Modern World A Divine Test Reimagined

Imagine waking up tomorrow morning and stepping outside to find manna—miraculous, divine food—waiting for you. No shopping, no cooking, no carb counting. Just pure sustenance, tailored to your body’s needs. A food so perfect it leaves no waste, no imbalance, no excess. A food that, according to Midrash, could taste like anything you desired. But would this be a blessing or a challenge?
For the Israelites in the wilderness, manna was a test—not of hunger, but of faith and discipline. They were forbidden from hoarding it, forced to rely on daily divine provision. It was given “measure by measure,” ensuring each person received precisely what they needed. It eliminated gluttony because it was impossible to over consume. No matter how much one gathered, they ended up with only what they required.

But what if manna fell today? Would it function the same way? Would it adapt to modern nutritional needs? And if so, what would that mean for people with diabetes, metabolic disorders, or food allergies? Could it naturally regulate blood sugar, offering the ultimate low-glycemic, insulin-balanced nourishment? Would it remove the burden of self-management, or would it demand an entirely new level of faith—trusting a divine food source rather than medicine and science?

In a world obsessed with food choices, diet trends, and consumption, manna would dismantle entire industries overnight. No more supermarkets, no more fast food chains, no more obesity epidemics. Would humanity even want such a food? Or would we reject it because it denies us the illusion of control?

The Midrash tells us that manna tasted like whatever the eater desired. Would that mean people could manipulate it to unhealthy ends—thinking of sugar-drenched confections and causing their own imbalance? Or would manna automatically respond to the true needs of the body rather than the wants of the mind?

More importantly, if manna reappeared today, would we even recognize it? Would we test it in laboratories, question its nutritional content, and ultimately reject it for not conforming to human-defined health standards? Or would we embrace it as the ultimate divine reset, a chance to return to a world where food is about sustenance, not indulgence?

Perhaps the reason manna no longer falls is not because God stopped providing—it’s because we stopped being able to receive it.

Manna was never just food. It was a mirror of human nature. If it fell today, would we pass its test?