This article was written by Yael Stochel, summer inchworm 2019
GrowTorah Core Value: Incubating Emunah, Stewarding the Earth?
The Rabbis link the Menorah and Shulchan Lechem haPanim to environmental forces, and Bnei Israel's longing for food grown in Egypt to their attitude toward mitzvot. How does this enrich our understanding of the text? How in our gardens can we appreciate Hashem's role in providing our sustenance?
Lesson Title: The Menorah and the Meat
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
Where were the Shulchan for the Lechem HaPanim and the Menorah placed?
- Menorah on the south wall and Lechem HaPanim on the north wall
מזרחית לעולם יפה מערבית לעולם קשה רוח צפונית יפה לחטים בשעה שהביאו שליש וקשה לזיתים בשעה שיניצו ורוח דרומית קשה לחטין בשעה שהביאו שליש ויפה לזיתים בשעה שיניצו ואמר רב יוסף ואיתימא מר זוטרא ואיתימא רב נחמן בר יצחק וסימנך שלחן בצפון ומנורה בדרום האי מרבי דידיה והאי מרבי דידיה
An east wind is always beneficial, and a west wind is always harmful. A north wind is beneficial to the wheat when it has reached one-third of its growth and harmful to the olives when they are blossoming. And a south wind is harmful to the wheat when it has reached one-third of its growth and beneficial to the olives when they are blossoming. And Rav Yosef says, and some say it is Mar Zutra who says this, and some say it is Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak who says this: The following is your mnemonic to remember which wind is beneficial to which crop: The Table is in the north of the Sanctuary, and the Candelabrum is in the south. This one increases its own, and that one increases its own, i.e., the Table, upon which the shewbread made from wheat is placed, is in the north, and the north wind is beneficial to the wheat. The Candelabrum, which is lit with olive oil, is in the south, and the south wind is beneficial to the olives.
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
What explanation does the Gemara provide for the placement of the Shulchan and the Menorah?
- North and South winds are beneficial to wheat and olives, respectively.
What does the association between the vessels of the Mishkan and natural forces teach us about Hashem's role in caring for the world?
- Even obscure ritual elements of Judaism are related to agriculture and nature. Because of Hashem's role as creator of the world and giving us the land to care for, our appreciation and connection with the Earth underlies everything
The riffraff in their midst felt a gluttonous craving; and then the Israelites wept and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.
אשר נאכל במצרים חנם [WE REMEMBER THE FISH] WHICH WE DID EAT IN EGYPT FOR NOTHING — If you say that they meant that the Egyptians gave them fish for nothing (without payment), then I ask, “But does it not state, (Exodus 5:18): [Go, therefore, now, and work], for there shall no straw be given you”? Now, if they did not give them straw for nothing, would they have given them fish for nothing! — What then is the force of the word חנם? It means: free from (i.e. without us having been burdened with) heavenly commands (Sifrei Bamidbar 87).
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
According to Rashi, what were Bnei Yisrael really complaining about?
- Mitzvot
How does the lesson we learn from the placement of the Shulchan and the Menorah relate to Bnei Yisrael's complaining?
- Sustenance only comes with following Hashem, mitzvot and receiving food from the world are linked
Living the Lesson
(ג) אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְאֶת־מִצְוֺתַ֣י תִּשְׁמְר֔וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָֽם׃ (ד) וְנָתַתִּ֥י גִשְׁמֵיכֶ֖ם בְּעִתָּ֑ם וְנָתְנָ֤ה הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ יְבוּלָ֔הּ וְעֵ֥ץ הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה יִתֵּ֥ן פִּרְיֽוֹ׃
(3) If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, (4) I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit.
Could enough flocks and herds be slaughtered to suffice them? Or could all the fish of the sea be gathered for them to suffice them?”
אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר, הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קכח) יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ כִּי תֹאכֵל אַשְׁרֶיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ. אַשְׁרֶיךָ, בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה. וְטוֹב לָךְ, לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.
Who is rich? He who rejoices in his lot, as it is said: “You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors, you shall be happy and you shall prosper” (Psalms 128:2)
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
How can we express our gratitude to Hashem for taking care of the plants in our garden?
Extra / Repeated Sources
זכרנו את הדגה. וכי יש בענין, שהיו המצרים נותנים להם דגים בחנם? והלא כבר נאמר (שמות ה) ואתם לכו עבדו ותבן לא ינתן לכם. אם תבן לא היו נותנים להם בחנם, דגים היו נותנים להם בחנם? – ומה אני אומר חנם – חנם מן המצות: ואת הקשואים. ר' שמעון אומר מפני מה המן משתנה להם לכל דבר שהיו רוצים חוץ מחמשת המינים הללו? משל למלך בשר ודם שמסר בנו לפדגוג, והיה יושב ומפקדו ואומר לו: הנראה שלא יאכל מאכל רע, ולא ישתה משקה רע! ובכל כך היה הבן ההוא מתרעם על אביו, לומר: לא מפני שאוהבני, אלא שאי אפשר לו שאוכל. וחכמים אומרים מן היה להם לישראל – לכל דבר שרוצים, אלא שלא היו רואים בעיניהם, שנאמר אין כל בלתי אל המן עינינו. אין לנו אלא מן בשחר ומן בערב:
(Bamidbar 11:5) "We remember the fish that we would eat in Egypt, free": Is it possible that the Egyptians gave them fish free? Is it not written (Shemot 5:18) "And now, go and work, and straw will not be given you": If they did not give them straw free, would they give them fish free? How, then, are we to understand "free"? "Free" of mitzvoth. R. Shimon says: The manna would change for them to any flavor they desired, except for (that of) these five things (Ibid "cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic") An analogy: A king hands his son over to a pedagogue and charges him: See to it that he does not eat or drink anything harmful. And the son grumbles at his father, saying: It is not because he loves me, but because he does not want me to eat! The sages say: The manna changed for Israel to any thing (i.e., any flavor) they desired, but they did not see it (the desired object) with their eyes. And this is the intent of (Ibid. 6) "There is nothing. Only to the manna is our eyes." To our eyes, there is nothing — only manna in the morning, manna in the evening!