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Save "Emor ~ the bread and the faces
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Emor ~ the bread and the faces
(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) צַ֞ו אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד׃ (ג) מִחוּץ֩ לְפָרֹ֨כֶת הָעֵדֻ֜ת בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֗ד יַעֲרֹךְ֩ אֹת֨וֹ אַהֲרֹ֜ן מֵעֶ֧רֶב עַד־בֹּ֛קֶר לִפְנֵ֥י ה' תָּמִ֑יד חֻקַּ֥ת עוֹלָ֖ם לְדֹרֹֽתֵיכֶֽם׃ (ד) עַ֚ל הַמְּנֹרָ֣ה הַטְּהֹרָ֔ה יַעֲרֹ֖ךְ אֶת־הַנֵּר֑וֹת לִפְנֵ֥י ה' תָּמִֽיד׃ {פ}
(ה) וְלָקַחְתָּ֣ סֹ֔לֶת וְאָפִיתָ֣ אֹתָ֔הּ שְׁתֵּ֥ים עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה חַלּ֑וֹת שְׁנֵי֙ עֶשְׂרֹנִ֔ים יִהְיֶ֖ה הַֽחַלָּ֥ה הָאֶחָֽת׃ (ו) וְשַׂמְתָּ֥ אוֹתָ֛ם שְׁתַּ֥יִם מַֽעֲרָכ֖וֹת שֵׁ֣שׁ הַֽמַּעֲרָ֑כֶת עַ֛ל הַשֻּׁלְחָ֥ן הַטָּהֹ֖ר לִפְנֵ֥י ה'׃ (ז) וְנָתַתָּ֥ עַל־הַֽמַּעֲרֶ֖כֶת לְבֹנָ֣ה זַכָּ֑ה וְהָיְתָ֤ה לַלֶּ֙חֶם֙ לְאַזְכָּרָ֔ה אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַֽה'׃ (ח) בְּי֨וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֜ת בְּי֣וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֗ת יַֽעַרְכֶ֛נּוּ לִפְנֵ֥י ה' תָּמִ֑יד מֵאֵ֥ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּרִ֥ית עוֹלָֽם׃ (ט) וְהָֽיְתָה֙ לְאַהֲרֹ֣ן וּלְבָנָ֔יו וַאֲכָלֻ֖הוּ בְּמָק֣וֹם קָדֹ֑שׁ כִּ֡י קֹ֩דֶשׁ֩ קׇֽדָשִׁ֨ים ה֥וּא ל֛וֹ מֵאִשֵּׁ֥י ה' חׇק־עוֹלָֽם׃ {ס}

(1) ה' spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Command the Israelite people to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly. (3) Aaron shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting outside the curtain of the Pact [to burn] from evening to morning before ה' regularly; it is a law for all time throughout the ages. (4) He shall set up the lamps on the pure lampstand before ה' [to burn] regularly. (5) You shall take choice flour and bake of it twelve loaves, two-tenths of a measure for each loaf. (6) Place them on the pure table before ה' in two rows, six to a row. (7) With each row you shall place pure frankincense, which is to be a token offering for the bread, as an offering by fire to ה'. (8)On the day of Shabat, on the day of Shabbat, he shall arrange them before ה' always —it is a commitment for all time on the part of the Israelites. (9) They shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in the sacred precinct; for they are his as most holy things from יהוה’s offerings by fire, a due for all time.

~ These verses seem out of context. Chapter 23 deals with the calendar, and the next verses are about the man who curses God, whose mother is Israelite but whose father is Egyptian.

~ What do you understand about the lechem hapanim, or "bread of faces"? What is its function?

(כג) וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ שֻׁלְחָ֖ן עֲצֵ֣י שִׁטִּ֑ים אַמָּתַ֤יִם אׇרְכּוֹ֙ וְאַמָּ֣ה רׇחְבּ֔וֹ וְאַמָּ֥ה וָחֵ֖צִי קֹמָתֽוֹ׃ (כד) וְצִפִּיתָ֥ אֹת֖וֹ זָהָ֣ב טָה֑וֹר וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ לּ֛וֹ זֵ֥ר זָהָ֖ב סָבִֽיב׃ (כה) וְעָשִׂ֨יתָ לּ֥וֹ מִסְגֶּ֛רֶת טֹ֖פַח סָבִ֑יב וְעָשִׂ֧יתָ זֵר־זָהָ֛ב לְמִסְגַּרְתּ֖וֹ סָבִֽיב׃ (כו) וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ לּ֔וֹ אַרְבַּ֖ע טַבְּעֹ֣ת זָהָ֑ב וְנָתַתָּ֙ אֶת־הַטַּבָּעֹ֔ת עַ֚ל אַרְבַּ֣ע הַפֵּאֹ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֖ר לְאַרְבַּ֥ע רַגְלָֽיו׃ (כז) לְעֻמַּת֙ הַמִּסְגֶּ֔רֶת תִּהְיֶ֖יןָ הַטַּבָּעֹ֑ת לְבָתִּ֣ים לְבַדִּ֔ים לָשֵׂ֖את אֶת־הַשֻּׁלְחָֽן׃ (כח) וְעָשִׂ֤יתָ אֶת־הַבַּדִּים֙ עֲצֵ֣י שִׁטִּ֔ים וְצִפִּיתָ֥ אֹתָ֖ם זָהָ֑ב וְנִשָּׂא־בָ֖ם אֶת־הַשֻּׁלְחָֽן׃ (כט) וְעָשִׂ֨יתָ קְּעָרֹתָ֜יו וְכַפֹּתָ֗יו וּקְשׂוֹתָיו֙ וּמְנַקִּיֹּתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֻסַּ֖ךְ בָּהֵ֑ן זָהָ֥ב טָה֖וֹר תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה אֹתָֽם׃ (ל) וְנָתַתָּ֧ עַֽל־הַשֻּׁלְחָ֛ן לֶ֥חֶם פָּנִ֖ים לְפָנַ֥י תָּמִֽיד׃ {פ}

(23) You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. (24) Overlay it with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. (25) Make a rim of a hand’s breadth around it, and make a gold molding for its rim round about. (26) Make four gold rings for it, and attach the rings to the four corners at its four legs. (27) The rings shall be next to the rim, as holders for poles to carry the table. (28) Make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; by these the table shall be carried. (29) Make its bowls, ladles, jars and jugs with which to offer libations; make them of pure gold. (30) And on the table you shall set the bread of faces, to be before Me always.

~ The table was described before, when the text was talking about the Tabernacle, back in Exodus. But the bread is only described now.

~ What is around the table? How could it refer to God? [crown]

~ What is odd about the title "bread of faces"? How do we understand it?

The crown of the table is thus the royal crown. The king is he who keeps open house; he who feeds men. The table on which the bread is exposed before the Lord symbolizes the permanent thought that political power - that is to say, the king, that is, David, that is, his descendant, that is, the Messiah - is vowed to men's hunger.... Not to the end of times, but to the hunger of hungry men; kingship in Israel is always Joseph feeding the people. To think of men's hunger is the first function of politics. (Levinas, Beyond the Verse, p. 18)

(א) לחם פנים. שֶׁהָיוּ לוֹ פָּנִים כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁתִּי, וּמִנְיַן הַלֶּחֶם וְסֵדֶר מַעַרְכוֹתָיו מְפֹרָשִׁים בֶּאֱמֹר אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים:

(1) לחם הפנים SHOW-BREAD (lit., bread of faces) — It was so called because it had “faces” (פנים) as I have explained (v. 29). The number of loaves and the way they were set in piles are fully explained in the Sidrah אמר אל הכהנים (Leviticus 24:5—9).

(א) ונתת. על דרך הפשט נקרא לחם הפנים. בעבור הפי' שהוא אחריו. ומה שאמרו קדמונינו אמת הוא כי הקערות כמו דפוס:

(1) AND YOU SHALL SET UP UPON THE TABLE SHOWBREAD. According to the plain meaning of the text, the bread was called showbread because of the explanation which follows it. That which the sages said is also true, as the ka’arot (dishes) were molds.

~ What is the difference between Rashi and Ibn Ezra? How do each explain why the bread is called "lechem hapanim", bread of faces?

(א) לחם פנים - לפי פשוטו: לחם הראוי לפני שרים, לחם נאה, כדכתיב: ולקחת סלת ואפית אותה וגו'. וכתיב: וישא משאת מאת פניו אליהם. וכתיב: ולחנה יתן מנה אחת אפים. חלק יפה מקערה שלפני אלקנה החשובה שנותנים לפני בעל הבית, כי את חנה אהב - לכך אפים חשוב. וה' סגר רחמה - לכך מנה אחת ולא שתים ולא מנות הרבה כמו לפנינה שהיו לה בנים ובנות.
(1) לחם פנים, according to the plain meaning of the text the word פנים means that the quality of the bread was such that it was fit to be served, to be displayed for approval to ministers and kings. In other words: “beautiful, first rate bread.” Compare Leviticus 24,5 “take choice flour and bake of it twelve loaves, etc.” Other verses in which gifts are associated with the expression פנים are found in Genesis 43,34 וישא משאת מאת פניו אליהם, “He served portions to them from his (Joseph’s, the viceroy) table.” Clearly a reference to the choicest which was served in the palace. In Samuel I,1,5 similar language is used to describe Elkanah giving his childless wife Channah the choice portion of the meal, apparently from the bowl placed before her husband. The master of the house is always given the best and choicest. Seeing that we are told that G’d had sealed her womb, but that her husband loved her best in spite of this, it is clear that he did what he could to pamper her as compensation for her grieving that she had not been able to provide her husband with children.

~ What is yet another possibility for lechem hapanim, the bread of faces?

מתני׳ שני שולחנות היו באולם מבפנים על פתח הבית אחד של שייש ואחד של זהב על של שייש נותנים לחם הפנים בכניסתו ועל של זהב ביציאתו שמעלין בקודש ולא מורידין ואחד של זהב מבפנים שעליו לחם הפנים תמיד וארבעה כהנים נכנסין שנים בידם שני סדרים ושנים בידם שני בזיכין וארבעה מקדימין לפניהם שנים ליטול שני סדרים ושנים ליטול שני בזיכין המכניסים עומדים בצפון ופניהם לדרום והמוציאין עומדים בדרום ופניהם בצפון אלו מושכין ואלו מניחין וטפחו של זה כנגד טפחו של זה שנאמר (שמות כה, ל) לפני תמיד ר' יוסי אומר אפילו אלו נוטלין ואלו מניחין אף היא היתה תמיד יצאו ונתנום על שלחן הזהב שהיה באולם הקטירו הבזיכין והחלות מתחלקות לכהנים חל יום כיפורים להיות בשבת החלות מתחלקות לערב חל להיות בערב שבת שעיר של יום הכפורים נאכל לערב והבבליים אוכלין אותו כשהוא חי מפני שדעתן יפה:

MISHNA: There were two tables in the Entrance Hall, on the inside of the Entrance Hall, next to the entrance to the Temple, i.e., next to the entrance to the Sanctuary. One was of marble and one was of gold. On the table of marble, the priests place the new shewbread that has been baked, before its entrance into the Sanctuary, so that the loaves may cool a little from the heat of the oven and not spoil. And when the old shewbread is removed from the shewbread Table it is placed on the table of gold upon its exit from the Sanctuary, where it remains until the frankincense is burned on the altar. The reason the shewbread is placed on a gold table when it is removed, is that one elevates to a higher level in matters of sanctity and one does not downgrade. And there was one Table of gold within the Sanctuary, upon which the shewbread is always found.

And four priests enter, two with the two arrangements of the new shewbread in their hands and two with the two bowls of frankincense in their hands. And four priests precede them, entering the Sanctuary before them, two to take the two arrangements of the old shewbread from the Table, and two to take the two bowls of frankincense. Those bringing the new shewbread into the Sanctuary stand in the north and their faces are to the south, and those removing the old shewbread stand in the south and their faces are to the north. These priests draw the old shewbread from the Table and those priests place the new shewbread on the Table, and for each handbreadth of this old shewbread that is removed from the Table a handbreadth of that new shewbread is placed upon the Table, so that the Table is never without loaves upon it, as it is stated: “And you shall set upon the Table shewbread before Me always” (Exodus 25:30). Rabbi Yosei says: Even if these priests were to remove the shewbread from the Table entirely, and only afterward those priests were to place the new shewbread upon the Table, this too would fulfill the requirement that the shewbread always be on the Table.

The priests who carried the old shewbread loaves came out of the Sanctuary and placed them on the table of gold that was in the Entrance Hall. The priests then burned on the altar the frankincense that was in the bowls. And the loaves were subsequently distributed to the priests. This occurred on Shabbat, the day that the priestly watch that served in the Temple during the preceding week was replaced by the priestly watch that would serve during the following week. The shewbread was distributed to the priests of both watches. If Yom Kippur occurs on Shabbat, the loaves are distributed at night, at the conclusion of the fast. If Yom Kippur occurs on Friday, i.e., when the holy day begins on Thursday evening, the goat sin offering of Yom Kippur is eaten by the priests at night, i.e., on Friday night, as it may be eaten only on the day that it is sacrificed or during the following night, until midnight. And since there is no possibility of cooking the meat, as one may not cook on Yom Kippur or Shabbat, the Babylonians, i.e., priests who had emigrated from Babylonia, eat it when it is raw, due to the fact that they are broad-minded with regard to their food, i.e., they are not particular and will eat meat even when it is not cooked.

~ What does the Mishnah add to our mental map of the ohel moed, the tent of meeting?

~ What is the reason for those extra tables?

~ In what other context have you heard "ma'alin bakodesh ve'ein moridin", we raise in holiness and we don't diminish?

~ How does the mishnah describe the process of taking old bread and setting in new bread? What is Rabbi Yosei's position?

~ How is the bread distributed? What else does this mishnah add?

~ The mentioning of Yom Kippur – continues the constant striving for holiness, always leading up. The hunger and then the satisfying of that hunger. Nothing as sweet as the first glass of water and the first morsel of bread after Yom Kippur, no bracha is higher than the one uttered with the consciousness of thirst and hunger and yet taking that moment to offer thanks.

The elevation of holiness continues: the marble, the gold, and the mouths of the priests - the mouth of the eater. An elevation to eating. The bread is eaten entirely by the priests, God simply being evoked by the frankincense which is burned. Nothing is put aside for the altar. The biblical text said that the frankincense will serve as a memorial. God will be thought of, and for this memory, there will be the frankincense, but the bread here will belong entirely to the men who eat it.

(Levinas, Beyond the Verse, p.22)

~ What do you make of the fact that there are many faces, the priests bring their faces and look at each other, the bread, with faces, faces God? Think of the axis present in the actions of the kohanim.

The faces - remember this detail of the text – are turned towards one another. The continuity is ensured by a movement of collaboration, but between collaborators who know and look at one another. This is the small society whose interpersonal relations constitute men's 'real presence' to one another. It is not society at large, where men live in anonymity. (Beyond the Verse, pp. 22-23)

גמ׳ תניא רבי יוסי אומר אפילו סילק את הישנה שחרית וסידר את החדשה ערבית אין בכך כלום אלא מה אני מקיים לפני תמיד שלא ילין שלחן בלא לחם אמר ר' אמי מדבריו של ר' יוסי נלמוד אפילו לא שנה אדם אלא פרק אחד שחרית ופרק אחד ערבית קיים מצות (יהושע א, ח) לא ימוש (את) ספר התורה הזה מפיך אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי אפילו לא קרא אדם אלא קרית שמע שחרית וערבית קיים לא ימוש ודבר זה אסור לאומרו בפני עמי הארץ ורבא אמר מצוה לאומרו בפני עמי הארץ שאל בן דמה בן אחותו של ר' ישמעאל את ר' ישמעאל כגון אני שלמדתי כל התורה כולה מהו ללמוד חכמת יונית קרא עליו המקרא הזה לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך והגית בו יומם ולילה צא ובדוק שעה שאינה לא מן היום ולא מן הלילה ולמוד בה חכמת יונית ופליגא דר' שמואל בר נחמני דאמר ר' שמואל בר נחמני אמר ר' יונתן פסוק זה אינו לא חובה ולא מצוה אלא ברכה ראה הקב"ה את יהושע שדברי תורה חביבים עליו ביותר שנאמר (שמות לג, יא) ומשרתו יהושע בן נון נער לא ימיש מתוך האהל אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא יהושע כל כך חביבין עליך דברי תורה לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך תנא דבי ר' ישמעאל דברי תורה לא יהו עליך חובה ואי אתה רשאי לפטור עצמך מהן אמר חזקיה מאי דכתיב (איוב לו, טז) ואף הסיתך מפי צר רחב לא מוצק תחתיה בוא וראה שלא כמדת הקדוש ברוך הוא מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם אדם מסית את חבירו מדרכי חיים לדרכי מיתה והקדוש ברוך הוא מסית את האדם מדרכי מיתה לדרכי חיים שנאמר ואף הסיתך מפי צר מגיהנם שפיה צר שעשנה צבור בתוכה ושמא תאמר כשם שפיה צר כך כולה צרה תלמוד לומר (ישעיהו ל, לג) העמיק הרחיב ושמא תאמר למלך לא הוכנה תלמוד לאמר (ישעיהו ל, לג) גם היא למלך הוכן ושמא תאמר אין בה עצים תלמוד לאמר (ישעיהו ל, לג) מדורתה אש ועצים הרבה ושמא תאמר זה הוא שכרה תלמוד לומר (איוב לו, טז) ונחת שולחנך מלא דשן: חל יום הכיפורים להיות בשבת [וכו']: אמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר ר' יוחנן לא בבליים הם אלא אלכסנדריים הם ומתוך ששונאין את בבליים קורין אותם על שם בבליים תניא נמי הכי ר' יוסי אומר לא בבליים הם אלא אלכסנדריים הם ומתוך ששונאין את בבליים קוראין אותן על שם בבליים אמר לו ר' יהודה תנוח דעתך שהנחת דעתי:

GEMARA: Moreover, it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei says: Even if the priest removed the old shewbread on the morning of Shabbat, and arranged the new shewbread toward evening, there is nothing wrong with that. Rather, how do I realize the meaning of the verse: “And you shall set upon the Table shewbread before Me always” (Exodus 25:30)? This means that the Table should not be left overnight without bread upon it. Rabbi Ami says: From Rabbi Yosei’s statement we may learn that even if a person learned only one chapter of the Mishna in the morning and one chapter of the Mishna in the evening, he has thereby fulfilled the mitzva of: “This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall contemplate in it day and night, that you may take heed to do according to all that is written in it, for then you shall make your ways prosperous, and then you shall have good success” (Joshua 1:8). Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Even if a person recited only the recitation of Shema in the morning and in the evening, he has fulfilled the mitzva of: “This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth.” And it is prohibited to state this matter in the presence of amei ha’aretz, as they are likely to get the impression that there is no need to study Torah beyond this. And Rava says: On the contrary, it is a mitzva to state this matter in the presence of amei ha’aretz, as they will realize that if merely reciting the Shema leads to such a great reward, all the more so how great is the reward of those who study Torah all day and night. Ben Dama, son of Rabbi Yishmael’s sister, asked Rabbi Yishmael: In the case of one such as I, who has learned the entire Torah, what is the halakha with regard to studying Greek wisdom? Rabbi Yishmael recited this verse about him: “This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall contemplate in it day and night.” Go and search for an hour that is neither part of the day nor part of the night, and learn Greek wisdom in it. The Gemara notes: And this statement of Rabbi Yishmael’s disagrees with the opinion of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani, as Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that Rabbi Yonatan says: This verse is neither an obligation nor a mitzva, but a blessing. Rabbi Yonatan explains: The Holy One, Blessed be He, saw Joshua and observed that the words of Torah were very precious to him, as it is stated: “And the Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face…and his servant Joshua, son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the Tent” (Exodus 33:11). The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Joshua: Joshua, are the words of Torah so precious to you? I bless you that “this Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth.” The tanna of the school of Rabbi Yishmael teaches: The words of Torah should not be considered as an obligation upon you, i.e., one should not treat Torah study as a burden, but at the same time you are not permitted to exempt yourself from them. Ḥizkiyya said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “He delivers the afflicted due to His affliction, and opens their ear by tribulation; and also He has allured you out of a narrow opening to a broad place without confines below it, and that which is set on your table is full of fatness” (Job 36:15–16)? Come and see that the attribute of flesh and blood is unlike the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He. The attribute of flesh and blood is that a person allures another from the paths of life to the paths of death, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, allures the person from the paths of death to the paths of life, as it is stated: “And also He has allured you out of a narrow opening,” i.e., from Gehenna, the opening of which is narrow so that its smoke is collected within it. And lest you say: Just as the opening of Gehenna is narrow, so too, all of Gehenna is narrow, the verse states: “For Gehenna has been arranged of old, it has been prepared even for the king, deep and large, its pile is fire and much wood, the breath of the Lord kindles it like a stream of brimstone” (Isaiah 30:33). And lest you say that Gehenna is prepared only for ordinary people, but it is not prepared for important individuals such as a king, the verse states: “It has been prepared even for the king.” And lest you say there is no wood in Gehenna, the verse states: “Its pile is fire and much wood.” And lest you say that this, i.e., escaping Gehenna, is the only reward for Torah study, the verse states: “And that which is set on your table is full of fatness” (Job 36:16). This indicates that one who obeys God and turns from the paths of death to the paths of life is not only saved from Gehenna, he also attains tranquility and prosperity. § The mishna states: If Yom Kippur occurs on Shabbat, the loaves are distributed on Saturday night. If Yom Kippur occurs on Friday, the goat sin offering of Yom Kippur is eaten Friday night, on Shabbat. Since there was no possibility of cooking the meat, the Babylonian priests would eat it raw. The Gemara notes: Rabba bar bar Ḥana says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: These priests are not actually Babylonians. Rather, they are Alexandrians, i.e., priests who came from Egypt. But since the Jews of Eretz Yisrael hate the Jewish Babylonians, they would call the gluttonous Alexandrians by the name Babylonians. This interpretation of the mishna is also taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yosei says: These priests are not actually Babylonians. Rather, they are Alexandrians. But since the Jews of Eretz Yisrael hate the Babylonians, they would call the gluttonous Alexandrians by the name Babylonians. Rabbi Yehuda, whose family originated from Babylonia, said to Rabbi Yosei, after hearing this explanation: May your mind be at ease, because you have put my mind at ease.

~ How are bread and Torah related?

(ג) וַֽיְעַנְּךָ֮ וַיַּרְעִבֶ֒ךָ֒ וַיַּאֲכִֽלְךָ֤ אֶת־הַמָּן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־יָדַ֔עְתָּ וְלֹ֥א יָדְע֖וּן אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ לְמַ֣עַן הוֹדִֽיעֲךָ֗ כִּ֠י לֹ֣א עַל־הַלֶּ֤חֶם לְבַדּוֹ֙ יִחְיֶ֣ה הָֽאָדָ֔ם כִּ֛י עַל־כׇּל־מוֹצָ֥א פִֽי־ה' יִחְיֶ֥ה הָאָדָֽם׃
(3) [God] subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, in order to teach you that a human being does not live on bread alone, but that one may live on anything that ה' decrees.

בפרשת לחם הפנים ביום השבת יערכנו כו'. דכתיב לכו לחמו בלחמי להיות קבלת השפע מן השמים דבוקה בשורש העליון והוא פנימיות השפע. וכדאיתא בזוה"ק בענין יום השבת דאע"ג דלא ירד בו המן מ"מ כל ברכאין בשביעאה תליין ע"ש. וזה נק' לחם הפנים פנימיות הלחם כדכתי' לא על הלחם לבדו יחי' כו' מוצא פי ה' היא התורה. ורמז לדבר דכתי' התם פנים בפנים דבר ה'. והכא כ' לחם פנים. ושורש הלחם מן השמים שנשפע בש"ק על כל ימי המעשה בכח התורה הוא כפי הכנת בנ"י שניתן להם התורה. וכמו שיש ג"ן סדרים דאורייתא ובכל שבת סדר פרשה אחרת בקריאת התורה וכמו כן בשמים כדאיתא בזוה"ק ויקהל. והיינו שהתורה כולה שמותיו של הקב"ה אבל הסדר משתנה בכל פרשה וכל שבת בצירופים שונים. וכמו כן הרמז בלחם הפנים ביום השבת יערכנו. וכפי סידור הי"ב חלות שסידרו בנ"י ביום השבת כך נמשך השפע מן השמים. וכדכתי' כמים הפנים לפנים כו' והיא בחי' תורה שבע"פ ושבכתב. וכ' ב"פ ביום השבת. דיש שבת מלעילא לתתא ויש מתתאי לעילאי כדאיתא בזוה"ק. ולכן אמר הכ' כפי עריכת בנ"י הלחם ביום השבת באתערותא דלתתא כמו כן ביום השבת מלעילא לתתא יהי' בסדר הזה וכמ"ש במ"א הרמז כסידורו כך סילוקו. והתורה מתנה לבנ"י וכפי מדרגתם כך מתגלה להם התורה. דיש שבעים פנים לתורה ופנים לפנים. ובכל שבת מתחדש השפע בכח התורה. [מחדש בטובו מ"ב הוא בתורה שנק' טוב ובשבת שכ' בי' טוב להודות וזה הרמז נזמן לה השתא בפתורא חדתא] וכמו בשבועות שניתנה בו תורה יש שתי הלחם. ובכל שבת היא מדרגה שלמטה י"ב חלות שכן התורה מתפרשת ונותנת חיים ומזון ממדרגה למדרגה עד עוה"ז. וי"ב גבולים וי"ב בקשות שבתפלה הם עמודים התחתונים שבשורש העליון כמ"ש במ"א:

(3) In the parsha of "bread of faces (lechem hapanim), on Shabbat he shall arrange them etc" - and it is written "Come, eat My food" (Prov. 9:5). This is the receiving of the Flow of heaven, that clings to the Upper Root and this is the internalness (penimiut) of the Flow. As it is written in the Holy Zohar regarding the day of Shabbat, that even though manna did not come down on that day, all blessings are dependent on the seventh day, see there (Zohar 2:184a:7). And this is why the bread is called lechem hapanim, it is the internalness of the Flow, as it is written "not on bread alone does a person live, etc, comes out from God's mouth" (Deut. 8:3) - this is Torah. And a hint of this is what is written there: "Face to face did Hashem speak with you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire" (Deut. 5:4) - and here "bread of faces". And the root of the bread from heaven is that it flows from the holy Shabbat to all the days of the week, with the force of the Torah, according to the readiness of the children of Israel that Torah gave to them. And just as there are 53 parshiot in the Torah and in each Shabbat we read a different parsha, this is also true in heaven, see Zohar on Vayakhel. And this is that the Torah, being all made of Divine Names, still has the parsha that changes every week, and every Shabbat has different combination of phrases. This too is hinted by the bread of faces, that on every Shabbat is was set. And according to the 12 loaves that the children of Israel set in order, so too the Flow of heaven continues. And it is written "as face answers to face in water" (Prov. 27:19) and this is an aspect of the Torah, that is Oral and Written. And in our parshe it is written "on the day of Shabbat". There is Shabbat that comes from Above to Below and there is Shabbat that comes from Below to Above, as explained in the Holy Zohar. And therefore the Text said "according to the arranging of the of the bread on the day of Shabbat in a Awakening from Below, so too in the day of Shabbat from Above to Below it will be this arranging, and as it is written in Chagigah 26b "as its arranging is its taking away." And the Torah is a gift to the children of Israel, and according to their level is the Torah's revealing itself to them, since there are seventy faces to the Torah, and "face to face". And on every Shabbat the Flow is renewed through the force of the Torah. ["The One who renews each day Creation with goodness", Bereshit is Torah, which is called good, and regarding Shabbat it is written "it is good to thank Hashem", a hint that every moment a new interpretation is invited] and so too on Shavuot when the Torah was given there are two loaves of bread. And "on every Shabbat" is a level below "twelve loaves", since the Torah is understood and interpreted and gives life and sustenance to every level until this world. And twelve limits and twelve requests that are in the Prayer they are the Lower Supports of the Upper Root, as it is written in different places.

~ Why is the night the moment in which bread cannot be missing, according to Rabbi Yosei?

I think that the night is the critical moment of great collectivities founded on the organization of functions rather than on personal contacts. At night, everyone goes home. It is private life. Disintegration and individualism. It is the night which threatens with disintegration and anarchy the large society built on economic solidarity, the society of our great States, built, precisely, on economic solidarity - the society of our great modern States. (Beyond the Verse, pp. 23-24)

~ How do you figure out the dispute between Raba and Rabbi Yochanan? Why should we repeat or not this teaching for the amei haarets, the uncultured ones?

Notes:

YK can no longer fall on a Friday; now we have calendars and we have managed to sort everything out. But in the past, when the observance of the holidays was dependent on testimonies, the end of YK could coincide with the beginning of Shabbat. So, the goat of Atonement which is eaten in the evening, at the end of YK, could not be eaten cooked, for the beginning of the Sabbath forbade its cooking. Certain priests were therefore called, they who bore the name of Babylonians; "they would eat the goat raw. They were not fastidious."

R. Yehuda was a Babylonian: he was very happy to learn that he did not belong to the category of these eaters of raw food. Those who ate raw meat were Alexandrians, probably Greeks who came from Egypt. But then, why were the Babylonians so hated? The text does not say why. It is the Tosafist who explains to us that when the great aliyah from Babylon took place, on the return from the exile in Babylon, some of the priests in exile had no wish to return to the country where the new Judea was being built. Those who did not make the aliyah were hated. Even then! And the word 'Babylonian' has remained a pejorative term, an insult. The Alexandrians who ate raw food were called Babylonians.

(יג) ואמר (שמות כה, ל) לחם הפנים לפני תמיד. רומז להלחם שמאכיל לעניים יתן בסבר פנים יפות באהבה ובחיבה ודרך כבוד, ויזכור בהש"י שהוא נותן לחם לכל בשר ונותן בפנים יפות:

(13) When the Torah stipulates that the showbreads are to be on this Table on a constant basis (25,30), this is an allusion to the requirement to feed the needy at all times in a generous and friendly manner. Such hospitality must also bear in mind the dignity of the recipient. One should always remember that G–d provides food for all His creatures in a friendly spirit.

א"ר יוחנן משום רבי יוסי בן קסמא גדולה לגימה שהרחיקה שתי משפחות מישראל שנאמר (דברים כג, ה) על דבר אשר לא קדמו אתכם בלחם ובמים ורבי יוחנן דידיה אמר מרחקת את הקרובים ומקרבת את הרחוקים ומעלמת עינים מן הרשעים ומשרה שכינה על נביאי הבעל ושגגתו עולה זדון
Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma: Great is eating, as it distanced two clans from the Jewish people, as it is stated: “An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord…because they met you not with bread and with water” (Deuteronomy 23:4–5). And Rabbi Yoḥanan himself says: Food distances the near, and draws near the distant, and averts eyes from the wicked, sparing them from punishment, and causes the Divine Presence to rest on the prophets of the Baal; and an unwitting transgression with regard to it is at times considered an intentional transgression.
אלא אמרי נהרדעי רבנן דפליגי עליה דרבי יוסי היא דתנן ארבעה כהנים נכנסין שנים בידם שני סדרים ושנים בידם שני בזיכין וארבעה מקדימין לפניהם שנים ליטול שני סדרים ושנים ליטול שני בזיכין המכניסין עומדים בצפון ופניהם לדרום והמוציאין עומדים בדרום ופניהם לצפון אלו מושכים ואלו מניחין טפחו של זה בצד טפחו של זה משום שנאמר לפני (ה׳) תמיד
Rather, the Sages of Neharde’a say: This ruling is in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis, who disagree with Rabbi Yosei. As we learned in a mishna: Four priests would enter the Sanctuary every Shabbat to arrange the showbread, two of whom had two orders of six loaves each in their hands, and two had two bowls of frankincense in their hands. And four priests would precede them; two came to take the two orders of bread left on the table from the previous week, and two came to take the two bowls of frankincense. Next, those bringing the loaves and bowls into the Sanctuary would stand in the north of the Sanctuary, facing south, while those carrying the loaves and bowls out would stand in the south of the Sanctuary, facing north. These slide the old bread along the table, and these place the new bread on the table, and as a result, the handbreadth of this one would be alongside the handbreadth of that one, so that the requisite amount of bread would always be present on the table, as it is stated: “And you shall place on the table showbread before Me continuously” (Exodus 25:30).
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