וְעַל שֻׁלְחַן הַפָּנִים יִפְרְשׂוּ בֶּגֶד תְּכֵלֶת וְנָתְנוּ עָלָיו אֶת הַקְּעָרֹת וְאֶת הַכַּפֹּת וְאֶת הַמְּנַקִּיֹּת וְאֵת קְשׂוֹת הַנָּסֶךְ וְלֶחֶם הַתָּמִיד עָלָיו יִהְיֶה (במדבר ד, ז).
In parshat Bamidbar we read about the task of the family of Kehat in the Mishkan - to carry the Aron, Menorah, Shulchan, Mizbeach HaKetoret and the Mizbeach HaNechoshet. Although Kehat was the younger brother of Gershon, he is mentioned first (Gershon, the bechor, is mentioned in next week's parsha – Naso), because their task of carrying the keilim was the most important (and the most hazardous). Before the Kehatim could transport the keilim, the Kohanim first covered them with their various coverings, to prevent the Leviim from inadvertently touching the holy keilim and perishing.
In this week's shiur, we will be discussing the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim during the 39 years of wandering in the desert, bringing numerous chidushim from sefer Meir Panim.
There are many questions regarding the Lechem HaPanim in the Midbar.
Firstly, how do we know there was Lechem HaPanim in the desert at all?
Secondly, if there was Lechem HaPanim in the Midbar, where did they get the solet to make 12 loaves of Lechem HaPanim each week for 39 years? (approximately 96 tons = 3.931kg X 12 loaves X 52 weeks X 39 years)
Thirdly, when they travelled through the Midbar carrying the Shulchan, was there Lechem HaPanim on the Shulchan or not?
Fourthly, if the Lechem HaPanim was on the Shulchan, the total weight of the Shulchan with the Lechem HaPanim, was over 250kg. This was carried by four Leviim, one on each end of the two poles, each lifting over 60kg and walking through the desert for miles. How is this possible?
Fifthly, the other three keilim in the Kodesh HaKodashim and the Kodesh, i.e the Aron, the Menorah and the Mizbeach HaKetoret, were covered by a techelet cloth and above that, a covering of Tachash skin. The Shulchan was covered by an additional cloth made of tola'at shani. Why was this extra covering necessary?
Sixthly, if there was Lechem HaPanim in the desert, why was it necessary at all? Am Yisrael were getting the Mann anyway. What purpose did the Lechem HaPanim serve in the desert? Why was the Lechem HaPanim not like the other Menachot Temidin - the Shtei HaLechem and the Omer - that were applicable only when Am Yisrael reached Eretz Yisrael?
Let us now answer these questions in turn and hopefully obtain a greater insight into the purpose of the Lechem HaPanim and also an important message for the upcoming chag of Shavuot.
There are four Menachot that are regarded as "Temidin", regular sacrifices brought at predetermined, fixed intervals. Let's begin from the least frequent to the most frequent.
The Korban HaOmer is brought once a year on the second day of Pesach (16 Nisan). It consists of newly harvested barley, ground into solet. It only began to apply after Am Yisrael settled in Eretz Yisrael. Similarly, the Korban Shtei HaLechem is brought once a year, on Shavuot and it consists of newly harvested wheat, ground into solet. It also only began to apply after Am Yisrael settled in Eretz Yisrael.
The Lechem HaPanim is made once a week (on Friday's) and is switched (on Shabbat) with the previous week's bread. The wheat for grinding the solet for the Lechem HaPanim, (unlike the Omer and Shtei HaLechem which had to be "chadash" – from the most recent harvest), could be newly harvested, or alternatively, it could also be "yashan", from a previous year's harvest, it could even be imported from chutz la'aretz! (Mishna Menachot 8, 1).
The Minchat Chavitin is brought daily together with the Korban Tamid, half in the morning and half in the evening. The same rules regarding the solet for the Lechem HaPanim (above) apply also to the Chavitin.
We know for sure that there was Lechem HaPanim in the Mishkan, because it is stated categorically in the passuk. After Betzalel completed the building of the Mishkan, parshat Pekudei lists all the components that he built and it says אֶת הַשֻּׁלְחָן אֶת כָּל כֵּלָיו וְאֵת לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים (שמות לט, לו). Later, during the inauguration of the Mishkan on the 1st of Nisan, Moshe assembles all the components and the passuk says וַיַּעֲרֹךְ עָלָיו עֵרֶךְ לֶחֶם לִפְנֵי ה' כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֶת מֹשֶׁה (שמות מ, כג).
You might think that this was a once off thing, only when the Mishkan was first built and inaugurated, but no. Later, in the parsha of the mekalel, the son of Shlomit bat Divri cursed Hashem and mocked the Lechem HaPanim, saying that it was cold and stale and not fit for a king! (Midrash Tanchuma, Emor, siman 23). Finally, in this week's parsha Bamidbar, detailing the transporting of the Shulchan (see above passuk), it categorically states that the Lechem HaPanim is on the Shulchan while it is being transported, וְלֶחֶם הַתָּמִיד עָלָיו יִהְיֶה (במדבר ד, ז).
Therefore, the answer to the first question is – yes, there was undoubtedly Lechem HaPanim during the 39 years that Am Yisrael were in the Midbar.
Regarding the second question, where did they get the solet to make the Lechem HaPanim from? It was not only the Lechem HaPanim (approximately 96 tons = 3.931kg X 12 loaves X 52 weeks X 39 years) it was also solet for the Minchat Chavitin (approximately 28 tons = 1.965kg X 365 days X 39 years). Making a total of 124 tons of solet used in 39 years for the Temidin. We are talking about solet after it was ground. Each isaron of solet was derived from one se'ah of wheat (a se'ah weighs 3.33 times an isaron). Therefore, in the 39 years in the Midbar, they required a total of 124 X 3.33 = 413 tons of wheat grains.
There are a number of possibilities where this vast amount of wheat came from.
The first is mentioned in the Midrash (Shir Hashirim Raba, parsha 4) אָמַר ר' יוֹחָנָן הַבְּאֵר הָיְתָה מַעֲלָה לָהֶם מִינֵי דְּשָׁאִים, מִינֵי זֵרְעוֹנִים, מִינֵי אִילָנוֹת. The well of Miriam had such an abundant supply of water, that some overflowed to the ground around it and caused a variety of seeds and trees to grow. Therefore, everywhere Am Yisrael went in the Midbar, in addition to the Mann, they had a constant supply of grains, fruit and vegetables.
Another possible explanation is that Am Yisrael purchased wheat/solet from travelling merchants or the local inhabitants, during their journeys through the various places in the Midbar.
Some opinions say that the olive oil for the Menorah and the solet for the Lechem HaPanim was provided by the עַנְנֵי הַכָּבוֹד (Tosfot Menachot, Targum Yonatan, Shmot 28).
Sefer Meir Panim (פרק טו, עמ' קעא) brings a chidush that Am Yisrael, when they left Egypt, took the wheat with them. Just like Am Yisrael took wood from the cedar trees planted by Yaakov Avinu for the beams of the Mishkan, so too did they take wheat from Egypt during the Exodus.
After the plague of בָּרָד, the passuk says וְהַחִטָּה וְהַכֻּסֶּמֶת לֹא נֻכּוּ כִּי אֲפִילֹת הֵנָּה (שמות ט, לב). Between the plagues of hail and locusts (which destroyed the remaining wheat), Am Yisrael harvested the required amounts of wheat to be used for Menachot in the Midbar. The Midrash Tanchuma (וארא, טז) says that the word אֲפִילֹת comes from the root of the word פֶּלֶא meaning miraculous. Meir Panim says that the miracle was that the wheat ripened early (Pesach time, instead of Shavuot time) so that Am Yisrael could harvest it to take with them and a second miracle was that it remained viable during the 39 years in the Midbar for making solet.
There is an amazing story in the Gemara (Chulin 7a) about R' Pinchas ben Yair who was on a mission to do פִּדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים. He reached the Ginai river and could not cross. R' Pinchas ben Yair commanded the river to split, which it did, allowing him to cross. In his party was a man transporting grains for Pesach. R' Pinchas ben Yair commanded the river to split a second time so that the wheat would not get wet and become chametz. Travelling with them was also an Arab merchant. R' Pinchas ben Yair commanded the river to split a third time to allow him to cross as well.
It is impossible to escape the parallels between this story in the Gemara and the splitting of Yam Suf - one splitting, but for three reasons. For the purpose of פִּדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים – to facilitate Am Yisrael going free from imprisonment in Egypt. Also to prevent the wheat they took from Egypt for the Menachot in the Midbar from getting wet and becoming chametz and finally to also allow the "arabs" with them to cross, the erev rav.
Regarding the 3rd question, while travelling through the Midbar, was the Lechem HaPanim on the Shulchan or not? From the passuk above וְלֶחֶם הַתָּמִיד עָלָיו יִהְיֶה it seems obvious that it was. However, the Gemara (Menachot 95a) says this is not as simple as it seems. The Gemara asks – "If the Lechem HaPanim was on the Shulchan while travelling between one place and another, how is it that the Lechem HaPanim was not nifsal for "yotzei" and "linah"?
When you take a korban out of the area where it may be eaten, it becomes passul because of "yotzei" – the fact that it is outside the area where it may be eaten, disqualifies it as a korban. For example, some korbanot may only be eaten in the Azara by the Kohanim. Other korbanot, such as the Toda, may only be eaten in the city of Yerushalayim. If you remove the korban from its designated area, it becomes passul. If the Shulchan was travelling through the desert, it certainly was "outside the Azara!" and therefore it should be passul.
Similarly, the korbanot had a designated timeframe within which they may be eaten. The Lechem HaPanim from the previous week that was switched on the Shulchan on Shabbat, had to be eaten until midnight on Motzei Shabbat, otherwise it passed the limit of "linah", the designated time frame.
The Gemara there comes to the conclusion that all the while that the Lechem HaPanim was on the Shulchan, neither "yotzei" nor "linah" applied. From this it would appear that if the journey was more than seven days - the Lechem HaPanim had to remain on the Shulchan until they reached their next destination, for if it was removed during the journey it would immediately become passul.
The 4th question relates to the technicalities of exactly how the Shulchan with the Lechem HaPanim on it was transported. The Shulchan with the Lechem HaPanim and all their accessory keilim (pans, side supports, pipes, etc.) was all considered "one integral package" and had to be transported together as a unit. This means that not only were there twelve loaves of Lechem HaPanim on the Shuchan while it was being carried around, but also the pans for baking the Lechem HaPanim, a second set of bowls for the Levonah, etc.
The Shulchan was pretty crowded as it is, with the Lechem HaPanim and the two bowls of Levonah alone. Where exactly did they place the additional accessory keilim? Were they on top of the bread, under the bread? The Ramban and R' Bachyei say that they were above the two stacks of Lechem HaPanim, however this is problematic. The weight of the (solid gold) pans, bowls, side supports etc. on top of the breads would break the breads. If they were below the breads, then the Lechem HaPanim would not be "on" the Shulchan, there would be a חֲצִיצָה between them, something that is not acceptable.
It is very difficult to understand the opinion of the Ramban and R' Bachyei as they do not correlate with the reality (the weight, fragility and balance) of the various components. Only when you experiment with components of the Shulchan (built to scale), real bread (baked in the required shape), all stacked on the Shulchan - can you really grasp the reality. This is part of what we do in our experimentation in the Machon.
Meir Panim (פרק י, עמ' קד) offers a different explanation where the accessory keilim were located – on a shelf below the surface of the Shulchan tabletop - a shelf resting on the "misgeret", that spanned the four legs.
Once you have the components and bread built/baked to scale, it becomes possible to calculate the total weight of the "package" – over 250kg.
The keilim were transported by the family of Kehat manually – carried in their hands (on their shoulders). Unlike the other components of the Mishkan transported by Gershon and Merari – on wagons.
To raise the Shulchan in the air and carry it, there were two בַּדִּים, poles, one on each side of the Shulchan. These were connected to the Shulchan by rings welded onto the four legs. One Levi would stand at each end of the pole and the four together, would raise it in the air.
250kg split four ways is about 62kg per person, certainly a challenging task for anyone to lift, but not impossible, especially if the Kehatim were stalwart characters. However, there is a difference between hoisting this weight in the air for a brief moment, (like a weightlifter) and lugging it around for hours on end as they walked through the desert. That is not physically feasible (unless perhaps they did it in teams, in tandem).
Meir Panim (פרק יג, עמ' קלט) suggests that just like the Aron carried its carriers, by a miracle, so too did the Shulchan. The passuk says וְנִשָּׂא בָם אֶת הַשֻּׁלְחָן (שמות בה, כח), implying that it was not the Leviim who carried the Shulchan, but that the Shulchan carried itself (with some kind of anti-gravity mechanism), like the Aron.
In our 5th question we asked why the Shulchan was the only vessel in the Kodesh Kodashim/Kodesh covered by a cloth dyed red with tola'at shani. Meir Panim (פרק טו) brings how the Korban Lechem HaPanim is atonement for the sin of Adam and Chava and reflects the passuk אִם יִהְיוּ חֲטָאֵיכֶם כַּשָּׁנִים כַּשֶּׁלֶג יַלְבִּינוּ אִם יַאְדִּימוּ כַתּוֹלָע כַּצֶּמֶר יִהְיוּ (ישעיהו א, יח). However, it also has bearing on our 6th question.
The 6th and final question we asked is why it was necessary for the Shulchan and the Lechem HaPanim in the Midbar at all? The Lechem HaPanim has a dual purpose – to atone for the sin of Adam and Chava and also to serve as a conduit that distributes HKB"H's abundance from Heaven through Am Yisrael and via them to the rest of the world.
When Am Yisrael received the Torah, it seems that the Lechem HaPanim became superfluous. By saying נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע, Am Yisrael atoned for the sin of Adam and Chava and reset the world to its state during the six days of Creation. The Lechem HaPanim was no longer needed for that purpose.
Similarly, prior to Matan Torah, HKB"H started to give Am Yisrael the Mann, also known as Lechem Abirim, food of the angels. Another name for Lechem HaPanim is Lechem Abirim. The Mann served the purpose that the Lechem HaPanim was designed for, as a tangible testament to HKB"H's dominion over everything, including our parnasa. When Am Yisrael saw the Mann every day and ate the Mann with all its miraculous properties, nothing could top that as a visual aid, not even the Lechem HaPanim. So, the question remains – why did we need the Lechem HaPanim at all in the Midbar?
The answer given in Meir Panim (פרק טו, עמ' קעד) is that until Matan Torah, the Lechem HaPanim was indeed superfluous. However, following Matan Torah, Am Yisrael sinned with the egel. The sin of the egel was closely related to parnasa. The ox, שׁוֹר is a symbol of material prosperity. Yosef is called שׁוֹר because he was the material provider - בְּכוֹר שׁוֹרוֹ הָדָר לוֹ (דברים לג, יז). This is why Am Yisrael (some say the erev rav) chose the egel as the symbol, because it symbolized the "new" source of prosperity now that Moshe was seemingly dead (the yetzer harah showed Am Yisrael Moshe's coffin floating in the air) and they thought that the Mann, in Moshe's merit, would cease.
The sin of the egel was primarily parnasa related. It reflected a total lack of understanding where our parnasa really comes from. Not from Yosef, not from Moshe and certainly not from the zodiac sign of an ox. Our parnasa comes directly from HKB"H. This is the essence of the Lechem HaPanim and its second main purpose.
Once the sin of Adam HaRishon had been repeated (with the egel) and once it became necessary to have a visual, tangible testament to HKB"H's dominion over prosperity in the world, HKB"H commanded Moshe to build the Shulchan and place the Lechem HaPanim on it.
The Shulchan and Lechem HaPanim are the antidote to the sin of the egel. In parshat Emor it describes the amount of solet in each loaf of Lechem HaPanim שְׁנֵי עֶשְׂרֹנִים יִהְיֶה הַחַלָּה הָאֶחָת (ויקרא כד, ה).
שְׁנֵי עֶשְׂרֹנִים יִהְיֶה הַחַלָּה הָאֶחָת in gematria is שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת אֲבָנִים כָּרִאשֹׁנִים (שמות לד, ד) .
The Shulchan and Lechem HaPanim atone once again for the sin of Adam and Chava and now also, for the sin of the egel. Therefore, they are covered by a red cloth.
If Matan Torah was intended to reset the world, why was it necessary for Am Yisrael to leave Egypt with wheat to make solet for the korbanot, the Tamid and the Lechem HaPanim - that both atone for sins - if there was no longer to be any sin?
This has to do with the two timelines of the Geulah – בְּעִתָּהּ אֲחִישֶׁנָּה. If Am Yisrael would have not sinned with the egel, it would have been אֲחִישֶׁנָּה and the wheat would have been used to make solet for the korban Toda, the only korban that will persist after the Geulah. However, failing that, HKB"H wanted there to be a failsafe, in case Am Yisrael would sin, to have the remedy – the Lechem HaPanim and the Tamid/Chavitin. Just like HKB"H created various things בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת after Adam and Chava sinned to serve as a failsafe to ensure the eventual Geulah.
As we approach Shavuot this coming week, we, Am Yisrael, once again have the opportunity to reverse everything, to say נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע as one person, כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד, and bring about the Geulah.
Unfortunately, as things look right now, barring some miracle from HKB"H, the כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד part does not look like it is going to happen in the immediate future. We have to pray for a miracle, that HKB"H will soften our hearts of stone and allow us all to do tshuva, as one, and merit the Geulah. Meanwhile we all need to continue doing our own personal hishtadlut, each in our own way, that all together will combine to tip the scales in our favor.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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