Shabbat Shira

Why Do People Feed the Birds on Shabbat Shira?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

Indeed, there is a custom to feed the birds n Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat on which the Torah portion of “Beshalach” is read.

There are two primary reasons for this custom.

One reason is to recall that in the desert the Jewish people received a portion of Mann each day. Mann was a bread that G-d would rain down each morning which sustained the Jewish people during their forty years in the desert. The Jewish people would gather apportion for each member of the household every morning.

However, the Mann was not sent on Shabbat as “gathering” is one of the forbidden labours of Shabbat. Instead, the people were commanded to gather a double portion every Friday that would suffice for both Friday and Shabbat. They were warned not to attempt to seek out Manna on Shabbat morning as there would be none and doing so would anger G-d. To remember this double gathering every Friday morning we begin each Shabbat meal with two loaves of bread, usually Challa bread, to recall this double portion.

Unfortunately, there were two troublemakers, Dasan and Aviram, who tried to “disprove” the fat that there would not be any Mann on Shabbat. They woke up very early on Shabbat morning and took their portions of Mann and scattered it around the camp so when the Jews would wake up it would appear as if indeed Mann did fall that day and that Moshe had lied about there not being any.

In order to save Moshe embarrassment, Hashem sent birds to eat up every last crumb of Dasan and Aviram’s Mann, which they did, and no Mann was to be found Shabbat morning just as Moshe had said.

In order to reward their birds for helping save the honor of Moshe we feed them on Shabbat Shira.

Another reason to feed the birds is because we are told that the birds sang the Shira, the praise to Hashem after the Egyptians were drowned, along with he Jewish people. Feeding the birds is a reward for their participating in praising Hashem.

Nevertheless, most authorities oppose the custom of feeding the birds on Shabbat as one is not permitted to feed animals that are not one’s own on Shabbat. (OC 324:7 and commentaries).

As such, one who wishes to follow the custom of feeding the birds on Shabbat Shira should put the bread crumbs or other bird feed outside slightly before sunset on Friday in order to avoid any possible Shabbat violation.