“And on the table shall you place show-bread before Me, always.”
What is the definition of a table? A table is a piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs. Similarly, our world stands on three things: Torah study, on the service [of G-d] and on kind deeds (i.e. bestowing kindness).
Lechem HaPanim is translated as show-bread. Bread is made of flour. As Avos says, “If there is no flour, there is no Torah.” Too which the Tikkunei Zohar makes the following analogy: “Torah is nourishment for the soul as bread is food for the body.”
Panim literally means face. As Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt”l said:
“One’s face is like a screen and his soul like a projector which projects on his face the glory of the human soul, which has in it the greatness of Hashem.”
In addition, the Gemara states:
“Each person’s face is different because a person’s mind is reflected in his face.”
Tamid means always or constantly. What is the definition of always? 1) At all times; all the time and on every occasion. 2) Seemingly without interruption; often and repeatedly. Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried says, “I put Hashem before me always” (i.e. He always is involved in my daily life in whatever I do).
What do these words come to teach us? A table is like bread. What do I mean? In order for a table to remain sturdy it needs to have all its legs, otherwise, it will topple over. Similarly, the body of a person needs sustenance in order to function effectively (sturdy).
With Hashem’s help, we should incorporate all these concepts into our lives!
This article is dedicated:
In memory of Eliyahu ben Mordechai, Mashah Tzivyah bas R’ Shlomo Zalman, Altah Soshah Devorah bas Aryeh Leibush, Chaim ben Shmuel Efraim Zalman, Tuvyah Shlomo ben Naftali Tzvi HaKohein, Esther Perel bas R’ Shlomo, Miriam bas Zelig Shaul, Menachem ben Shimon, Menachem ben Zev, Sarah bas HaRav Yisroel, Yosef ben Moshe HaLevi, Yisroel ben Yeshayah, Elisheva Basyah bas Yechiel Ephraim and all the other departed souls of our nation.
For the complete recovery of Chayah Malka bas Bas-Sheva, among the other sick ones of our nation.
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