In Parshat Bamidbar we read about the task of the family of Kehat in the Mishkan – to carry the aron, menorah, shulchan, the inner and outer mizbe’ach.
In this week’s shiur, we will be discussing the shulchan and lechem hapanim during the 39 years of wandering in the desert.
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 (flour) to make 12 loaves of lechem hapanim each week for 39 years? (Approximately 96 tons = 8.66 pounds x 12 loaves x 52 weeks x 39 years.) Thirdly, when they traveled 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 551 pounds. This was carried by four Levi’im, one on each end of the two poles, each lifting over 132 pounds and walking through the desert for miles. How is this possible?
We know for sure that there was lechem hapanim in the Mishkan, because it is stated categorically in the pasuk. After Betzalel completed the building of the Mishkan, Parshat Pekudei lists all the components that he built and it says (Shemot 39:36) that this included the lechem hapanim. Later, during the inauguration of the Mishkan on the 1st of Nissan, Moshe assembles all the components and again the pasuk (Shemot 40:23) includes the lechem hapanim.
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, Parshat Bamidbar, detailing the transporting of the shulchan (Bamidbar 4:7), it categorically states that the lechem hapanim is on the shulchan while it is being transported.
Regarding the second question, where did they get the flour to make the lechem hapanim from? It was not only the lechem hapanim (approximately 96 tons = 8.66 pounds x 12 loaves x 52 weeks x 39 years) it was also flour for the Minchat Chavitin brought daily by the Kohen Gadol with the Korban Tamid (approximately 28 tons = 4332 pounds x 365 days x 39 years). Making a total of 124 tons of flour used in 39 years just for the Temidin (not taking into account the individual Menachot offerings). We are talking about flour 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 = a minimum of 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 Rabbah, parsha 4). 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 instantaneously. Therefore, everywhere Am Yisrael went in the midbar, in addition to the ma’an, they had a constant supply of grains, fruit and vegetables.
Another possible explanation is that Am Yisrael purchased wheat from traveling merchants or the local inhabitants during their journeys through the various places in the midbar.
Sefer Meir Panim (Ch. 15, pg. 171) 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.
Regarding the 3rd question, while traveling through the midbar, was the lechem hapanim on the shulchan or not? The Gemara (Menachot 95a) comes to the conclusion that it was, based on a pasuk from this week’s parsha (Bamidbar 4:7).
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 vessels (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 12 loaves of lechem hapanim on the shulchan 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 vessels? 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 separation between them and the shulchan, something that is not acceptable.
Meir Panim (Ch. 10 pg. 104) offers a different explanation where the accessory vessels were located – on a shelf below the shulchan tabletop – a shelf resting on the Misgeret, that spanned the four legs.
The vessels were transported by the family of Kehat manually – carried in their hands (on their shoulders). To raise the shulchan in the air and carry it, there were two 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.
This 551 pound package split four ways is about 137 pounds 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 (Ch. 13 pg. 139) suggests that just like the aron carried its carriers, by a miracle, so too did the shulchan.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: What color was the extra covering on the shulchan only and not on the other vessels?
Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: In which year in the Shemittah cycle will Mashiach arrive? At the end of the 7th year, the Shemittah year (Megilah 17b).
