וְעָשִׂיתָ שֻׁלְחָן עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים אַמָּתַיִם אׇרְכּוֹ וְאַמָּה רׇחְבּוֹ וְאַמָּה וָחֵצִי קֹמָתוֹ. (שמות כה, כג)
In this shiur I am going to reveal many things that you didn't know about the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim, which features in this week's parsha, together with the other keilim in the Mishkan.
Most of us have no clue what the Shulchan in the Mikdash was for. It is a nice anecdote and "curiosity" for most people – an ornate golden table, laden with twelve spectacular (most people don't realize how spectacular they truly are until they have seen them with their own eyes) loaves of Showbread (the common English translation for Lechem HaPanim), before G-d.
If these breads were for the purpose of "display", then we can understand the English translation "Showbread", breads on show/display. Unfortunately, the English translation completely misinterprets the true purpose of the golden Shulchan and its twelve loaves.
The true purpose of the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim is - to control the global economy. If you thought you understood economics, even a little, then read on and you will realize that you know absolutely nothing. If you don't understand economics, also read on, because this shiur teaches about real economics, not the kind you learn about in Harvard business school. It is critical for every human being to have an understanding of the economics presented in this shiur.
HKB"H created our world, עוֹלָם הַזֶּה, a materialistic, physical world. There are certain mechanisms that infuse energy into this physical world and keep it running like a well-oiled machine.
To understand how they work we first need to learn two concepts יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן and יֵשׁ מִיֵּשׁ.
Before HKB"H created our world in the six days of creation, nothing, אַיִן, existed - except HKB"H Himself (according to one Gemara - Pesachim 54a, HKB"H created seven things [or He had the thought to create them] before creating our world – Torah, teshuva, etc.). During the six days of creation HKB"H created all the elements that were necessary for this world (and the worlds surrounding it) to exist and to function – chaos (yes, chaos), darkness, light, heaven, earth, land, sea, flora, the galaxies, fauna, humans, rest, etc. HKB"H created something new from nothing - יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן. These creations never existed before HKB"H created them, they were completely new things that previously never existed. The building blocks that comprised them also never existed before, they were all created new.
Following the six days of creation, HKB"H has never and will never create anything יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן ever again. This is not to say that HKB"H no longer creates anything, He does, but these are all creations that are "created" from existing creations, יֵשׁ מִיֵּשׁ, they are a kind of "extension" of an existing creation. HKB"H takes something that already exists as the basis for the new creation.
Even things that do not normally exist in nature (what we call miracles), like the plague of hail in Egypt, where fire was encased in ice. This was also a יֵשׁ מִיֵּשׁ creation, because it built upon something that already existed – fire already existed as did ice. HKB"H took these "building blocks" as it were and crafted from them a "new" creation, or more accurately a new "variation" of a creation.
A perfect example of creation that HKB"H continues to perform every day, multiple times a day is – life. Every day around 365,000 new human beings are created around the world (World Population Review). These new human beings are not created out of thin air, they are created יֵשׁ מִיֵּשׁ, using existing building blocks HKB"H already created in the six days of creation.
The Gemara (Nida 31a) says שְׁלֹשָׁה שׁוּתָּפִין הֵן בָּאָדָם - הקב"ה וְאָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ. To create new life requires three partners – HKB"H, the father and the mother. The father contributes the "white" component from which bones, tendons, nails, brain matter and the white of the eye result. The mother contributes the "red" component from which skin, flesh, hair and the pupil of the eye result. HKB"H contributes the "spiritual" component from which the נְשָׁמָה and the רוּחַ, facial features, sight, hearing, speech, motor movement and intelligence result (if either spouse ever boasts that their child got his/her intelligence from them, they don't know what they are talking about).
New physical life is the first mechanism that infuses energy into this world, currently every 4.2 seconds of every day. An interesting fact to note is that the death rate is currently about half the birth rate, which means the population is constantly increasing, exponentially (more on this later).
The next set of mechanisms that infuse energy are those that are required to sustain life. To sustain physical life, you need basic resources for survival - air, water and food. Air (specifically oxygen) is generated by an interplay between living creatures and plants, via photosynthesis. Water (for drinking and farming) is generated by the hydrological cycle, involving the conversion of stored water (oceans, glaciers, etc.) into fresh water via evaporation, condensation, precipitation (rain) and runoff. Food is generated partially by nature on its own – livestock, fish, edible plants and also by human participation (farming).
Every economy has at its foundation these four essential elements – life, air, water, food (in that order).
Obviously living a "normal" life extends beyond simple survival (depending on the region and the period). People also need clothing, shelter, transportation, education, entertainment, leisure, etc.
The global economy manifests in the form of money, precious metals, gems, fossil fuels, banking, commerce, the stock exchange, etc. however, these are simply symbolic representations of the four essentials for physical survival. They are worthless when reality deteriorates to one of basic survival. Someone who has a pocket full of $100 bills or a bag of diamonds, but cannot breathe for lack of air, all the money and gems are worthless unless they have "purchasing power", i.e. can be used to obtain the needed air. Similarly for water and food and similarly for life itself. Most of us will hand over our entire fortune to a mugger in a dark alley just so that he won't kill us.
Modern society and the "global economy" have perverted our value system, attributing more importance to the symbolic representations than to the essentials for survival which they may purchase. A person who has all the air in the world to breathe but with no money in the bank (like millions of people in Africa) is considered poor in modern society, but they are far richer than someone (in Europe, for example) with trillions of dollars in their bank account who cannot breathe because they have emphysema. Someone barely eking out a living, but who has six children - is far wealthier than someone who owns billions in real estate but who is childless, despite what modern society would have us think.
If we closely examine the four essentials, we will discover that human participation has influence over only three of them. Life requires human participation (father and mother). Air requires human participation (not destroying all the plants that generate oxygen). Food requires human participation (farming and processing). One of the essentials, however, is totally up to HKB"H – water. Regardless of human participation or lack thereof, only HKB"H can determine when and where it will rain.
You might mistakenly think that humans can control their own water supply with man-made technologies like desalination etc., however these technologies can never replace rain, nor sustain agriculture on a global scale. Without rain, agriculture would cease, food would cease and life would cease. The ability to desalinate can alleviate temporary shortages on a limited scale at best.
Humans do have the ability to affect rain, not through their physical efforts, but through their relationship with HKB"H. The distribution of global rainfall is a "barometer" of the connection between that specific region and HKB"H. Regions that enjoy exactly the right required amount of rain (too much rain can be just as destructive as too little) are in most cases indicative of a good connection between them and HKB"H. There are exceptions though, sometimes HKB"H will give a region more than enough rainfall simply because He wants no connection with them at all, like He gave the נָחָשׁ all the sand he could ever want to eat.
HKB"H designed Eretz Yisrael in a specific way that it would be totally dependent on rainfall for survival. In thus doing HKB"H ensured that Am Yisrael would preserve a good relationship with Him. The psukim describe this "barometer" like relationship. If we maintain a good relationship with HKB"H, we will receive rain in the required measure וְנָתַתִּי מְטַר אַרְצְכֶם בְּעִתּוֹ יוֹרֶה וּמַלְקוֹשׁ וְאָסַפְתָּ דְגָנֶךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ (דברים יא, יד). However, if we damage our relationship with HKB"H, וְחָרָה אַף ה' בָּכֶם וְעָצַר אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה מָטָר וְהָאֲדָמָה לֹא תִתֵּן אֶת יְבוּלָהּ וַאֲבַדְתֶּם מְהֵרָה מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר ה' נֹתֵן לָכֶם (שם יז).
Now we get to the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim.
The purpose of the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim is to serve as a "pipeline", a conduit between the heavenly abundance and this physical world (מלבי"ם יחזקאל מא, כב). HKB"H maintains "storehouses" of every type of abundance in heaven (זהר חלק ב, רב, א). In order for the abundance to flow to where it is intended, the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim has to be fully "operational". It perpetually has to have Lechem HaPanim on it וְנָתַתָּ עַל הַשֻּׁלְחָן לֶחֶם פָּנִים לְפָנַי תָּמִיד (שמות כה, ל), because in order to transfer the abundance to its intended destination it needs to be a יֵשׁ מִיֵּשׁ operation. We need to do our hishtadlut by providing the "building blocks", the Lechem HaPanim, that HKB"H then takes and creates something new out of.
Through the Lechem HaPanim, HKB"H creates rain where He wants it to fall. Through that rain, food is created where He wants it to be created, to feed who He wants to feed, or for the farmer of the food to sell in return for money. That money will be rerouted to where He wants it to be rerouted, to a plumber who needs to fix your leaky tap, to a dentist who, needs to fill your tooth, who then takes that money and gives tzedakah to the final recipient who HKB"H originally intended. Every drop of rain that HKB"H rains down into our world has an address – immediate and subsequent.
HKB"H is זָן אֶת כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ מִקַּרְנֵי רֵאמִים עַד בֵּיצֵי כִנִּים (עבודה זרה ג, ע"ב). HKB"H has (kiveyachol) an unimaginably powerful "supercomputer" up in heaven with a tailor made "app" for every creature on earth, from the smallest amoeba to Chaim Shmerel on 62nd street, where it is preprogrammed exactly what each will get and when, because only HKB"H knows exactly what each creature needs at every exact moment. This unimaginably massive volume of data travels through an unimaginably large "fiber optic cable" that is routed through the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim in the Mikdash and disseminated via arteries to every nanometer on the planet.
This is not limited to "raindrops", it applies equally to who will have a child, who will get married, who will win the lottery, who will get a raise at work, who will get a tax rebate, who will survive a car accident, who will recover from an illness, who will win an award, who will solve a problem, who will find something they lost etc. etc.
In order for this heavenly "internet" to function, the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim has to be fully and optimally functioning. If the "pipeline" has a malfunction, all this traffic is halted or obstructed. This is why the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim comes with an "operations manual" to ensure all its parts are fully functional.
Nothing in the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim is randomly designed, every widget and component has a specific meaning and purpose. Its length and breadth have to be integer measurements, full numbers with no fractions, so that it reflects אֶבֶן שְׁלֵמָה וָצֶדֶק יִהְיֶה לָּךְ אֵיפָה שְׁלֵמָה וָצֶדֶק יִהְיֶה לָּךְ (דברים כה, טו), total honesty in business dealings. It has to have a height that is fractional and not complete, reflecting אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ (אבות ד, א), being satisfied with our lot even if our wealth (monetary or otherwise) is incomplete. It has to have a fence/framework מִסְגֶּרֶת around it reflecting specific Torah boundaries that direct its operation and eliminate distraction.
The gold rings have to be לְעֻמַּת הַמִּסְגֶּרֶת (שמות כה, כז), aligned with the same framework, to teach us that the ring and seal of the king (ruling power) has to operate within the boundaries of the Torah. The upright supports קְשׂוֹתָיו have to be sturdy and straight, reflecting honesty in business transactions.
The pipes מְנַקִּיֹּתָיו reflect cleanliness (מִלְּשׁוֹן נָקִי) in one's livelihood and business dealings, that we should not demand interest for loans (וּמְנַקִּיֹּתָיו in gematria is רִיבִּית). The baking pans קְּעָרֹתָיו, (and the Lechem HaPanim baked in them) have to be קְעוּרוֹת, curved (in the shape of a smiling mouth), reflecting gratitude and the concept of אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ. The bowls of levonah כַפֹּתָיו, resemble two eyes gazing upward in perfect supplication to HKB"H, etc. etc.
The people involved with the upkeep and maintenance of the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim have to be of impeccable character. You cannot have someone baking the Lechem HaPanim loaves if they secretly conceal some negative behavioral pattern, or improper intentions. The Chachamim felt it necessary to test various functionaries in the Beit HaMikdash, including the Lechem HaPanim bakers, Beit Garmu to make sure that there was parity between their "outsides" and their "insides" (see last week's shiur).
They suspended them from duty and tried to replace them with Egyptian bakers from Alexandria who failed. When they saw that nobody could duplicate Beit Garmu's skill, they understood that Beit Garmu merited incredible siyata di'Shmaya, that they were highly spiritually elevated individuals. They therefore restored them to their posts and doubled their salaries as a stamp of approval visible to the entire Am Yisrael that things were as they should be with the operators of this vital כְּלִי in the Beit HaMikdash.
The entire structure of the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim is designed according to a very specific blueprint that reflects a reality in Am Yisrael. If all the above features and character traits in Am Yisrael are aligned with the Shulchan's components intended symbolism and purpose, then the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim is fully functioning and the heavenly abundance is flowing optimally as it should. If Am Yisrael are aligned with the premise of the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim, then they are also aligned with nature and not harming the delicate balances that facilitate the survival of the species. If some aspect in Am Yisrael is lacking/malfunctioning, however, it is accordingly reflected in the flow of the abundance (for example withholding of rain).
When the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim is fully functioning, there is great abundance in Am Yisrael, as David Hamelech so picturesquely describes - אֲשֶׁר בָּנֵינוּ כִּנְטִעִים מְגֻדָּלִים בִּנְעוּרֵיהֶם בְּנוֹתֵינוּ כְזָוִיֹּת מְחֻטָּבוֹת תַּבְנִית הֵיכָל. מְזָוֵינוּ מְלֵאִים מְפִיקִים מִזַּן אֶל זַן צֹאונֵנוּ מַאֲלִיפוֹת מְרֻבָּבוֹת בְּחוּצוֹתֵינוּ. אַלּוּפֵינוּ מְסֻבָּלִים אֵין פֶּרֶץ וְאֵין יוֹצֵאת וְאֵין צְוָחָה בִּרְחֹבֹתֵינוּ (תהילים קמד יב-יד). The children born are perfect in every way, the storerooms are jam packed full, the sheep are multiplying prodigiously, the cattle are fertile with nary a miscarriage and there are no screams (peace and quiet reigns) in the streets. It is not limited to the four essentials for survival, but extends far beyond that, even to the "luxuries".
This abundance is not limited to Am Yisrael, it proliferates throughout the entire world, but only for those nations whose leaders travel to the Beit HaMikdash on Sukkot to give thanks and show their gratitude to HKB"H for the abundance He heaps on them. If they fail to do so, וְהָיָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא יַעֲלֶה מֵאֵת מִשְׁפְּחוֹת הָאָרֶץ אֶל יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺת לְמֶלֶךְ ה' צְבָ-קוֹת וְלֹא עֲלֵיהֶם יִהְיֶה הַגָּשֶׁם (זכריה יד, יז), the "pipe" will be shut.
Since the Menorah and the Shulchan are taken out of the Heichal (חגיגה כו, ע"ב) on each of the שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָרְגָלִים to show to the throngs of the עוֹלֵי הָרֶגֶל, they serve as a visual reminder to each member of Am Yisrael to duplicate the blueprint of the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim in their own private lives when they return home. They all visually witness the reward for such behavior, that just as HKB"H performs miracles on the Shulchan, keeping the Lechem HaPanim fresh the entire week, so too will He perform miracles for them in their own lives.
We can now understand why Beit Garmu kept the secret of the Lechem HaPanim to themselves and did not publicize it, so that it would not be hijacked by scoundrels and used for nefarious purposes. When one understands what a powerful "weapon" the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim really is, one understands how far you need to go to prevent it from being misused.
The archi-antisemites who wrote the filthy, slanderous book Protocols of the Elders of Zion, were not totally incorrect in their premise. They portray Am Yisrael as evil schemers trying to manipulate the global economy for their own benefit. It is true that HKB"H wants Am Yisrael to manipulate the global economy, but for the exact opposite reason – Am Yisrael must control the global economy specifically so that it will be for everyone's benefit.
Only when Am Yisrael are controlling the global economy through the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim in the Beit HaMikdash, can the flow of abundance reach the entire world. When the global economy is hijacked by evil people, then it does not flow to the entire world - it makes the rich richer and the poor poorer, as we see in the world today. This is why Rivka ordered Yaakov to commandeer Eisav's blessing, because only Yaakov can be a true custodian of the pipeline of the global economy.
Many sociologists/economists are alarmed at the exponential population growth rate in the world and worry how there will be enough food to feed them all. They have no understanding of how HKB"H works. HKB"H has the power to feed as many people as He wants in the world. The solution to the "problem" is not curtailing the population, but rather restoring our connection with HKB"H.
Unfortunately, right now we do not yet have the 3rd Beit HaMikdash. We hope and pray that it will be speedily rebuilt in our generation. Meanwhile, we can learn the principles of the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim and apply them to ourselves and thus open the "pipeline" of abundance in our own lives.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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