Heavenly Marketing
בְּשִׁבְרִי לָכֶם מַטֵּה לֶחֶם וְאָפוּ עֶשֶׂר נָשִׁים לַחְמְכֶם בְּתַנּוּר אֶחָד וְהֵשִׁיבוּ לַחְמְכֶם בַּמִּשְׁקָל וַאֲכַלְתֶּם וְלֹא תִשְׂבָּעוּ (ויקרא כו, כו).
In the Gemara (Megila 31b), we read how Ezra HaSofer decreed that prior to the festival of Shavuot, we read the קְלָלוֹת in parshat Bechukotai and prior to Rosh HaShana, the קְלָלוֹת in parshat Ki Tavo. What is the reason for this? Abayei in the name of Reish Lakish says - כְּדֵי שֶׁתִּכְלֶה הַשָּׁנָה וְקִלְלוֹתֶיהָ. Both Rosh HaShana and Shavuot are in essence a "new year". On Rosh HaShana HKB"H blesses us with parnasa for the upcoming year and on Shavuot, חַג הַבִּכּוּרִים, HKB"H blesses the פֵּרוֹת הָאִילָן. By reading the קְלָלוֹת prior to these two festivals we are "leaving behind" the curses and starting the "new year" with a blessing.
There are 49 קְלָלוֹת in parshat Bechukotai, reminiscent of the 49 levels of טֻמְאָה that we distance ourselves from, one day at a time, starting from יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם, until we finally reach the 50th day, Shavuot, Matan Torah - free of impurity and all the curses.
Nobody likes the curses. There are different minhagim regarding who to call up for the aliyah of the curses. In some shuls, the gabai is called up, in some shuls the Rav, each according to their own minhag. The ba'al koreh reads the curses sotto voce and at a faster pace than the regular reading.
Every year when we read the קְלָלוֹת, there was always one passuk that I could never understand - our passuk above. "Ten women will bake their bread in one oven". For most people, this passuk raises no eyebrows, but for a baker like myself, it is a really "strange" curse. The question I always asked myself is "What kind of a curse is this?" It doesn't seem like a curse at all.
To understand this, we need some background, some baking "folklore".
Until the Roman era, ovens to bake bread were small. The reason for this is engineering and architecture related. Until the Romans came along, if anyone tried to build a large oven, it would not support its own weight and would collapse. The Romans were the first nation in the world to introduce the arch as a central feature of their architecture. The arch is a very sturdy structure architecturally speaking. In terms of physics, it transfers the weight placed on it to the base of the arch. This means that if you have something of tremendous weight that needs support, one of the best ways to do this is to build the supports in the shape of an arch. Using this structure, the Romans built large span bridges and aqueducts to transport vast quantities of water from one place to another.
Another Roman application was building large ovens for baking bread. These ovens are mentioned in the Gemara (פסחים לא,ב; עבודה זרה לה, ב וכו') and are called פוֹרְנִי. If you build the roof of the oven in the form of an arch, it will support the enormous weight of the concrete and earth above it. To build an arch, you begin by laying the foundation bricks on either side of the arch, anchoring them well. You then support the two halves of the arch from below with some kind of arch shaped wooden or steel frame, upon which you successively lay the bricks, working your way to the center. When you reach the center, you insert the final, central brick, called the "keystone". Once the keystone is in place, it is possible to remove the wooden/steel frame from below and the arch remains standing, almost as if by magic. I experienced this personally while building our bakery oven. You may see pictures of this here.
This enabled the Romans to construct much larger ovens than was previously possible. A consequence of this was that instead of each person having a personal oven in their own back yard, the village built one large communal oven, using the municipal taxes, that could be used by everyone in the village to bake their bread. Each family was allotted specific days and times to come bake their bread in the village oven, together with other families from the village. The women would prepare the dough at home, shape it and let it rise and then they would walk down the road to bake it in the communal oven. To distinguish your loaves from the other loaves baked at the same time in the oven, each family made a special marking in the crust of the bread, an incision (the professional baking term for this is "scoring"). This is the origin of the distinctive incision patterns made on many famous breads, like baguette, Jewish rye bread etc.
It was an enjoyable social occasion, with the women being able to get out of the house for a few hours, chat with their neighbors and exchange news. In fact, this whole episode in baking folklore is regarded with romantic nostalgia. It ended with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, where baking bread left the realm of the home and entered the realm of the factory. In fact, the Romans themselves began this shift in mindset when they started building larger ovens. Around this time, we see the emergence of the first industrial bakeries, like in the city of Pompeii, where fossilized archeological remains of the volcanic eruption reveal the existence of commercial bakeries on almost every street corner.
We don’t need to go back thousands of years, but merely a hundred years ago, before electrical platas. In Jewish communities around the world, each family would take their pot of cholent to the local bakery before Shabbat and leave it in the huge oven to remain hot until the following day.
I grew up with this romantic, nostalgic baking folklore and always dreamed of the day that I would have such a magical oven of my own to bake bread, a dream that reached fruition 15 years ago.
Understandably, when I always read that passuk in this week's parsha "Ten women will bake their bread in one oven" the question I immediately asked is - "How is this a curse? It is a good thing, an enjoyable experience!" However, the Torah lists it as one of the curses and we need to understand why.
Then it dawned on me. It all has to do with marketing! How did the Romans manage to change a major behavioral pattern in the world - to discard the traditional baking of bread, each woman in her own home and switch to a communal form of "ten women baking in one oven"? Somewhere, some talented copywriter came up with some good lines of "copy" that managed to sway their audience and following that, most of the world and rewrite history to such an extent that today the concept of "ten women baking in one oven" is "nostalgic", even "romantic".
Therefore, to understand why this is in fact a curse, we need to examine the essence of authentic Jewish marketing, contrasted with the fallacious marketing of the goyim.
The first time we encounter marketing in history is before mankind was created. The "marketing" was done by HKB"H Himself. On the sixth day of Creation the passuk says וַיֹּאמֶר אֱ-לֹקִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ. The Mefarshim (Rashi etc.) ask why in the plural נַעֲשֶׂה, and not in the singular אֶעֱשֶׂה? They explain that HKB"H, before creating man, exhibited derech eretz and first consulted with the angels whether to create man or not.
The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Breishit 1, 26) describes the repartee between HKB"H and the angels. HKB"H asks the angels "Should I create man?" to which the angels respond "What is man?" HKB"H explains what man is, that he is part animal but also has a spiritual neshama. That man is capable of sinning and descending to the lowest depths but also capable of ascending to highest heights. When the angels heard that man will sin, they advised against creating him saying - מָה אֱנוֹשׁ כִּי תִזְכְּרֶנּוּ וּבֶן אָדָם כִּי תִפְקְדֶנּוּ (תהילים ח, ה). When HKB”H heard the response of this first group of angels He “burnt them with His finger”. This repeated itself with a second group of angels - same "marketing pitch", same response and same consequence. When HKB"H asked a third group of angels, they replied “What good did it do that the first two groups advised against it? The entire world is Yours, HKB”H. Do whatever You will in Your world!”
From this we learn the modus operandi of authentic Jewish marketing. The first thing HKB"H says to the angels is that man is basically an animal and subsequently has the capability of sinning and descending to the lowest depths. One can almost imagine how HKB"H, as it were, played them a fast forwarded YouTube(TM) clip of all the iconic reshaim in history – Kain, Enosh, Nimrod, Eisav, Amalek, Pharaoh, Bilam, Menashe, Agag, Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, Titus, Hitler, Sinwar, etc", followed by a clip of all the iconic gedolim in history "Avraham+Sarah, Yitzchak+Rivka, Yaakov+Rachel/Leah, the Twelve Tribes, Moshe, Yehoshua, the Shoftim, David HaMelech, Shlomo, the Nevi'im, Mordechai+Esther, the Tanaim, Amoraim, Rishonim, Acharonim, etc."
I have a simple question. If you want to sell a car, what is the first thing you "pitch", the good or the bad? The good of course! You show how the car accelerates from 1-100 in half a second, the streamlined contour of the car as it winds down a country road with luscious forest on either side, a snow topped mountain in the background, deep blue sky above, an attractive blonde sitting next to you in the front seat, wind blowing through your hair, with the roof down, inspiring music in the background. You can almost see the car smiling, the trees smiling, the mountain smiling, even the angels above smiling. Then you see a compelling slogan on the screen – "Ferrari – Because you only live once!"
What you certainly don't show in the advert is that the on-board computer is only guaranteed for 2 years and that in the last two releases there were three recalls due to a defect in the rack and pinion mechanism. How in the early road tests, 0.5% of the cars' batteries spontaneously combusted. You don't show that the pollution emission rating is quite far down in the red scale. If anyone wants to know that, they can read the fine print, or better still, search online for consumer reviews.
What if there is nothing good about the product you are trying to sell? I remember cigarette adverts from my youth, before the dangers of nicotine became common knowledge. What possible good features can you pitch for a cigarette? There are none. So instead, you show a picture of a healthy looking, attractive young couple on a yacht, anchored off a palm lined white beach in the Caribbean, lying back lazily sipping champagne and taking a puff of Peter Stuyvesant(TM) filters. As if by smoking a Peter Stuyvesant(TM) you will end up young and attractive, lazing on a beach somewhere and not old and decrepit with stained fingernails and lung cancer, gasping for every breath.
That is marketing of the goyim – emphasize the attractive, downplay or cover up the drawbacks.
That, however, is not authentic Jewish marketing.
When Yaakov had to "pitch" Eisav to get him to sell the bechora and Eisav asked "What good is the bechora to me?" If Yaakov would have used the marketing of the goyim, he would have replied "What is the bechora? How can I even begin to describe it! It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to achieve ultimate closeness to HKB"H! Can you even begin to imagine the elation of being in such proximity to the Shechina? It is a joy that cannot be described in earthly terms!"
Instead, what did Yaakov say? "Do you know what the bechora is? It means having to be in a constant state of טַהֲרָה, to refrain from earthly matters and pleasures and be constantly on call when HKB"H requires you. And if you think the rewards are instantaneous, forget it. You only truly reap the rewards after you die!"
So, you can say this is not a good example. Yaakov wanted to dissuade Eisav from keeping the bechora, he wanted him to relinquish it, so he emphasized the downside. However, that is not true. Yaakov was simply following the blueprint that HKB"H Himself employed with the angels above.
HKB"H repeated the same marketing blueprint before Matan Torah. Before HKB"H offered the Torah to Am Yisrael, He first offered it to all the other nations. "What is written in the Torah?" the nation of Yishmael asked. "You shall not steal", was the reply. "Us, not steal? it is part of our DNA to steal. We cannot accept the Torah!" "What is written in the Torah?" asked the nation of Edom. "You shall not kill", was the reply. "Us, not kill? It is part of our makeup to kill, we live by the sword!" We cannot accept the Torah!" And so on with every other nation.
What kind of a "salesman" is that? If you want to sell the Torah, why not first emphasize the good, amazing things in the Torah, like "Someone who has not witnessed Simchat Beit HaSho'eva has never experienced true joy in their life!" Like "Someone who observes the Torah will get to bask in the glory of the Shechina for all eternity in front row seats in Gan Eden!" Why start off by emphasizing the very thing that is most difficult and off putting for them?
The answer is because that is authentic Jewish marketing. You give the whole truth, starting with the most difficult-to-digest parts.
When someone wants to convert to Judaism, what is the first thing we say to them? "Why do you want to be Jewish? Do you know how miserable it is to be a Jewish person in the world? How everyone hates us and persecutes us? Better to remain a gentile and enjoy all the pleasures of the world in complete freedom!" If they persist, you then introduce to them the "drudgery mitzvot", those that require extensive effort with little apparent benefit.
What kind of salesmanship is that? If you want to convince someone to convert, why not select the most inspiring and uplifting mitzvot to begin with?
R' Yoel of Satmar used to (jokingly) say "If the goyim knew what pleasure we Jews derive at not having to say Tachanun (on days like Pesach Sheini, on days there is a brit in the shul, etc.), they would all be breaking down the doors to convert!"
If you want to convince someone to convert, why not show them a YouTube(TM) video of the Simchat Beit HaShoe'va celebration, or a simulation of Hakhel in the Beit HaMikdash? What could be more inspiring and enticing than that?
Authentic Jewish marketing is describing the entire picture, davka beginning with the hardships and ending with the happy end.
There is a method in Torat HaRemez called אתב"ש. It is a pairing of each letter in the alphabet with the letter on the opposite end. א-ת, ב-ש, ג-ר, ד-ק etc. For any word, its אתב"ש encoding is like a "mirror" image. It reflects the full spectrum - beginning and end. For example, the אתב"ש of the word לך is כל (Meir Panim, פרק יד, עמ' קנב).
Avraham began his journey with לך, a series of trials and hardships לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ, a leap of faith into the unknown. Avraham ended his life with כל. After he passed the 10th and final nisayon, the passuk says - וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַה' בֵּרַךְ אֶת אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל.
This is authentic Jewish marketing. No glossy brochures with smiling trees and smiling mountains. It is the full picture, the entire truth, starting davka with the things that are most difficult, the things that are least "marketable".
"Ten women will bake their bread in one oven" has in modern times assumed nostalgic, romantic associations, because it is the marketing of the goyim. They have taken an "inferior" product and tried to mask the curse inherent in it. How do you market something that is inherently deficient? You ignore the essence and instead concentrate on the "ambience" surrounding it, the yacht and the palm lined beach.
In Eretz Yisrael during the period when the Beit HaMikdash existed, there was such abundance that the concept of ten women baking in one oven was unfathomable! Each person had to work only two hours a day to make a parnasa, (the minimum hishtadlut). We enjoyed such incredible natural bounty that it cannot possibly be comprehended in modern times. There were no weeds that invaded crops, no pests that infested them, there was such prodigious produce that there was enough grain in the stores of Yerushalayim to last the population for 21 years (which the zealots burned). The flavor of the food was incomparable to what we consider "food" today. People grew their own food, they prepared it themselves in their own home, fresh as fresh can be, no preservatives, E-127, or E-563, etc. required.
Everyone had a vivid perception and understanding of the umbilical link between our closeness to HKB"H and our prosperity. It was a tangible cause and result effect. Sin=no rain=no food. Faith=rain=prodigious food.
If you ask a six-year-old today where a chicken comes from, they will tell you – "from the supermarket shelf, already portioned out". I teach baking classes and it is incredible how adults, intelligent adults, have absolutely no clue how their food is made. We have lost something intrinsic to our Emunah and that is our umbilical connection to our source of food, both here on earth and Above.
How did we lose it? Through marketing "goyim style".
"Communal ovens are the latest craze! Feeling cooped up? claustrophobic? Take a welcome break, out of the house, for a few hours this week to catch up on all the local gossip! Take your toga and come spend some quality time with your neighbors – baking bread! This week we are instituting an ongoing competition for the most creative scoring pattern in the crust of the bread. The winner each week will win 2kg of flour!"
Fast forward 2000 years …
"Tired after a long day in the office? No energy to mix dough, wait for it to rise, bake it, too exhausted to shlep to the butcher for a kilo of fresh mincemeat? Try Wonder-O hamburger TV dinners. Let us bake the bun for you, tenderize and season the meat to perfection. Simply pop it in the microwave for 5 minutes and viola!" Followed by a bunch of smiling kids happily munching on Wonder-O burgers and a catchy jingle "Wonder-O, Wonder-O, healthy food on the go!"
What is wrong with that? The Wonder-O company is making lots more money, the doctors and pharmaceutical companies are making a lot more money treating ulcers and high blood pressure. TV stations are making a lot more money from the advertising, your kids are happily humming "Wonder-O" as they play TV games!
The problem with it is that it is not telling you the full picture. It is only showing you the yachts and the palm lined beaches, sipping champagne. It is not showing you a few years down the road, the stained fingers and teeth, the lung cancer, the Wonder-O heart attacks and obesity. It is deceptive and its underlying purpose is to sever the umbilical link we have with our Creator. "Ten women baking bread in one oven" is not nostalgic or romantic, it is a curse.
Once, when I was younger and more stupid, I innocently believed that "ten women baking bread in a communal oven" was nostalgic and romantic, until, as they say in Hebrew – the asimon (payphone coin) fell. Instinctively I always knew that I wanted to bring people closer to HKB"H through the medium of food. It starts with introducing people to real, unadulterated food, food without the marketing of the goyim. It continues with teaching people how to prepare such food themselves in their own homes. When someone smells the aroma of good, real bread baking in their own home, it is a preview of Gan Eden. However, it does not end there. אִם אֵין קֶמַח, אֵין תּוֹרָה, אִם אֵין תּוֹרָה, אֵין קֶמַח, the bread alone is insufficient. We need to understand the spirituality behind the food and through that acquire a greater understanding of HKB"H and His world.
Authentic Jewish marketing shows the full picture, beginning with the "tougher" side davka.
On the passuk אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם (ויקרא כו, ג), Rashi says הֱווּ עֲמֵלִים בַּתּוֹרָה עַל מְנָת לִשְׁמֹר וּלְקַיֵּם. Studying Torah is not a "glossy brochure". If you want to truly merit the blessings, you have to be עֲמֵלִים בַּתּוֹרָה. Living a Torah life is a long, tough slog. It begins with לֵךְ, leaving your comfort zone and is followed with numerous pitfalls along the way. However, if you keep at it, it ends with כֹּל, with HKB"H blessing us בַּכֹּל. Beware "glossy brochures" or promises that have the word עַכְשָׁיו in them – this is the marketing of the goyim and is never the full picture, it is a deception.
The passuk that speaks about the ten women baking in one oven is Vayikra 26:26. Twenty-six is the gematria of י-ק-ו-ה. Hashem's name is doubly connected to this passuk, reflecting the above principle – HKB"H is with us in the beginning of the journey and He is with us in the end - the full picture. All He asks is that we be with Him every step along the way, like He is with us.
Rosh HaShana is a new year, the day on which it is decided what parnasa you will make during the upcoming year. Shavuot is also a new year, it is the day when HKB"H blesses the פֵּרוֹת הָאִילָן., referring to the עֵץ הַחַיִּים, the Torah. On Shavuot, Matan Torah, HKB"H decides what your Torah study will look like in the upcoming year, what chidushim you will discover, how your childrens' Torah study will look in the upcoming year. If we use Shavuot to show HKB"H our love for Torah, that we are willing and prepared to be עֲמֵלִים בַּתּוֹרָה, then the curses will cease תִּכְלֶה הַשָּׁנָה וְקִלְלוֹתֶיה and we will experience a new year filled with the blessings of the Torah, the fruits of our labor and the Geulah.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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