Or HaChaim on Deuteronomy 8:3/אור החיים על דברים ח׳:ג׳

1 ויענך וירעבך, "He afflicted you and made you suffer hunger, etc." Why did Moses link the afflictions to G'd feeding the Israelites the manna? Does this not project the idea that manna was something of low rank, its only function being to save the Israelites from the pangs of hunger? How can we reconcile this with the many complimentary descriptions the Torah makes about the manna extolling its superiority as heavenly food? The Sifri in its commentary on Numbers 11,7 insists that the reason for that whole verse was to extol the virtues of the manna! Moreover, we are told in Yuma 75 that manna is the food of the angels based on לחם אבירים אכל כל איש, "each man ate the bread of heroes" (Psalms 78,25). I believe that here too Moses spoke of the excellence of the manna. There are two kinds of foods. Some foods are absorbed without negative side-effects by both healthy and sick people. The reason is that these foods do not contain any harmful impurities (additives). The entire food is capable of being digested by our system and is absorbed by our various organs. Such food reinforces our health. There are other kinds of food which, while good for the healthy person, pose a danger for the sick and may even cause his death. This is the reason our verse speaks of ויענך וירעבך ויאכלך, "He afflicted you, He starved you, and He fed you." The afflictions Moses speaks of refer to the tedium of the journey through the desert. The words "He starved you," refer to the absence of food; it is a well known fact that as a result of the discomfort experienced while wandering in the desert bodily functions such as those of the digestive tract are impaired. If, under such circumstances, a person consumes the kind of food which is difficult to digest it will certainly harm him. Even if such a person eats such food only because he is very hungry it is liable to make him sick. We know from daily experience that when a person suffers afflictions he detests the thought of food even if according to his regular meal times he should be very hungry. Moses therefore speaks of G'd feeding the Israelites the manna, the kind of food which even people who suffer from afflictions can eat without danger to their health. This is something quite independent of the fact that manna tasted pleasantly, "like wafers with honey."