Showbread

Ritual Objects

The Showbread (Lechem Hapanim) are the loaves that are placed on a special table in the Temple each week. Every Shabbat, the priests (kohanim) eat the Showbread, and fresh loaves are then placed on the table.

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The Ever-Present Showbread

TANAKH

The continuous presence of the showbread before God symbolizes an unbroken connection and offering to the Divine. The Torah instructs the placement of the showbread on a special table in the Tabernacle, signifying its perpetual presence before God.

And on the table you shall set the bread of display, to be before Me always.

Exodus 25:30

The Showbread Dilemma

TALMUD

The status of the showbread during the Jewish people's journeys in the wilderness presents a fascinating halachic dilemma. The Talmudic tractate Menachot explores the technical and legal aspects of the showbread's status when the Tabernacle was dismantled and transported.

§ A dilemma was raised before the Sages: During the era of the Tabernacle, was the shewbread disqualified during the journeys of the Jewish people in the wilderness, or was it not disqualified during the journeys? When the Jewish people would travel from one place to another in the wilderness, the Tabernacle would be dismantled and the Table would be carried with the loaves upon it. The dilemma is about whether or not the loaves were disqualified, since they left the boundaries of the Sanctuary…

Menachot 95a:3

The Continuity of the Showbread

TALMUD

The requirement for the showbread to be on the table continuously is fulfilled even if there is a momentary interruption when the old bread is removed and the new bread is placed. Rabbi Yosei's opinion in the Talmud suggests that a brief interruption in the performance of a mitzva does not invalidate it.

Rabbi Yosei said: Even if these priests were first to take the old bread off the table entirely, and only afterward were these priests to place the new ones on the table, this too would fulfill the requirement that the showbread be on the table continuously. It is unnecessary to ensure the uninterrupted presence of the showbread on the table. Apparently, the Rabbis hold that even a moment’s break in the performance of a mitzva is deemed an interruption. The same principle applies to circumcision…

Shabbat 133b:10

The Showbread and Pikuach Nefesh

COMMENTARY

The allowance of eating the showbread by non-priests in a situation of great need demonstrates the principle of pikuach nefesh, prioritizing saving a life over other commandments. In the Book of Samuel, David, fleeing from King Saul, receives the showbread from the priest Ahimelech, highlighting a significant moment in Jewish history.

The priest answered David, and said: There is no non-sacred bread on hand with me, but there is only sacred bread, the showbread, which was supposed to be eaten only by priests. However, since this was a situation of great need, which seemed to involve potentially life-threatening circumstances, the priest agreed to give it to David. However, he stipulated: I will give you the bread provided the lads have withheld themselves from women; only if you and your men are pure, and have not contracted ritual impurity, e.g…

Steinsaltz on I Samuel 21:5

The Showbread on the Move

GUIDES

The Showbread, a key element of the Temple service, had specific rules and conditions that had to be met even during the Israelites' travels in the wilderness. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, in his commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, explores the practical and halachic implications of the Showbread's status during these journeys.

The Gemara explained how the requirement: “And you shall set upon the Table shewbread before Me always” (Exodus 25:30), was fulfilled when the Jewish people traveled in the wilderness. While the shewbread was set on the Table it was not disqualified during the journey, but it was disqualified if it was removed from the Table. There is also an opinion that even if the loaves were not on the Table during the journey they were not thereby disqualified. With regard to traveling at night, the Gemara concluded that if the cloud rose above the Tabernacle the people would not wait until morning but…

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Menachot, Summary of Perek XI 4

The Faces of Showbread

COMMENTARY

The term 'lehem panim' (showbread) suggests that the loaves had faces or sides, indicating they were not flat. The Mishnah, a foundational text of Jewish oral law, discusses the showbread placed on the Temple's table, symbolizing a continuous offering to God.

Ben Zoma says: “And you shall set upon the table showbread (lehem before me continually:” panim signifies that it should have faces. Rabbi Shimon makes a midrash on why it is called “lehem panim.” “Panim” can mean face, so Rabbi Shimon interprets the word to mean that the cakes each have a face, meaning a side. This seems to mean that the cakes were not flat.

English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot 11:4:6

Guardians of the Showbread

TOSEFTA

The House of Garmu's expertise in making the showbread was so specialized that they refused to share their knowledge to prevent its misuse after the Temple's destruction. The Tosefta, an ancient compilation of Jewish oral law, recounts the dedication and integrity of the House of Garmu in maintaining the ritual purity of the showbread.

Those of the House of Garmu were highly skilled in making the showbread, and they did not want to impart their knowledge [to others]. The Sages sent forth and brought experts from Alexandria, which is in Egypt, that would bake just like them, but they were not experts in removing [the showbread from the oven]. Those of the House of Garmu would light the oven from the outside and would remove [the showbread] from the inside. Those of Alexandria were not able to do so, and there are those who say that it got moldy…

Tosefta Yoma 2:5

The Blessings of a Complete Table

KABBALAH

The table must never be empty, as blessings are believed to dwell only in a complete place. The Zohar, a foundational work of Jewish mysticism from the medieval period, explores the deeper spiritual significance of always having the showbread on the table.

Also, when grace is recited, the table must not be empty, since “no blessing can rest on an empty table”, as has been pointed out with reference to the words, “Tell me, what hast thou in the house?” (2 Kings 4, 2); in a word, the heavenly blessings come to rest only on a place that is complete. Esoterically this is expressed in the words: “In the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom” (Ex. 21, 6, i.e. “he who hath, to him it shall be given”), and also in the words, “He giveth wisdom to the wise” (Dan. 2, 21)…

Zohar, Terumah 53:572

The Laws of Showbread and Shavuot Loaves

MISHNAH

The preparation and consumption of the showbread and the two loaves on Shavuot involve intricate laws that intersect with the observance of Shabbat and Festivals. The Mishnah, a foundational Jewish legal text from the early third century, details these regulations and the differing rabbinic opinions on whether their preparation overrides these holy days.

The two loaves that are brought on Shavuot are eaten by the priests no less than two days and no more than three days after they were baked. How so? They are generally baked on the eve of the festival of Shavuot and they are eaten on the day of the Festival, which is on the second day. If the Festival occurs after Shabbat, on Sunday, the loaves are baked on Friday, in which case they are eaten on the third day…

Mishnah Menachot 11:9

Preserving the Sanctity of the Showbread

TALMUD

The procedure for handling the showbread ensures it remains consecrated and prevents disqualification, even if it stays on the table for many days. The Talmudic tractate Yoma discusses the meticulous process of maintaining the sanctity of the showbread in the Temple.

How shall he proceed to prevent its disqualification? He should not remove it, but rather he should leave the shewbread on the table to be removed the following Shabbat, as even if the bread remained on the table for many days, that does not matter. Then, on the following Shabbat, he arranges and places the shewbread in the appropriate manner. And according to the opinion of the father of Rabbi Avin, why is this remedy effective? If service vessels consecrate their contents even when those contents are not placed there at the…

Yoma 29b:4

The Commandment of Showbread

HALAKHAH

The commandment to arrange the showbread every Sabbath is a unique and enduring aspect of the Temple service. In his monumental 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides codifies the laws regarding the showbread, emphasizing its significance as derived from Leviticus 24:8.

It is a positive commandment to arrange the showbread on the [golden] table before God in the Sanctuary, every Sabbath day, as [Leviticus 24:8] states: "On the Sabbath day, on the Sabbath day, the priest shall arrange it."

Mishneh Torah, Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 5:1

The Holiness of the Showbread

SECOND TEMPLE

The twelve loaves of showbread symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel and their continual offering to God. Philo of Alexandria, a first-century Jewish philosopher, elaborates on the holiness and significance of the showbread placed in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple.

[168] So holy is this unleavened bake-meat, that the oracles ordain that twelve unleavened loaves, corresponding to the number of the tribes, be set forth on the golden table in the inmost shrine, and these are called the loaves of setting forth (Ex. 25:29).

On Mating with the Preliminary Studies 30:1

Maintaining Sanctity of the Showbread

TALMUD

The principle of promoting sanctity ensures that once the showbread is placed on the golden table inside the Sanctuary, it is not demoted to a less sanctified table upon its removal. Tractate Tamid, from the Talmud, discusses the daily Temple service and emphasizes the importance of maintaining and elevating the sanctity of holy objects.

The shewbread was not placed on a silver table upon its exit from the Sanctuary, as one promotes in matters of sanctity and one does not demote. Since in the interim the shewbread had been placed on the golden Table for the shewbread inside the Sanctuary, upon its removal it was not placed on anything other than a golden table. And lastly, there was one table of gold inside the Sanctuary. This was the Table for the shewbread, upon which the shewbread always rested (see Exodus 25:23–30).

Tamid 31b:10

La Table d'or des Pains de Propositions (The Golden Table of Shewbread), Jacques Louis Constant Lecerf, France 19th century, The Jewish Museum.

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