וּשְׁנַיִם בְּיָדָם שְׁנֵי בְזִיכֵי לְבוֹנָה שֶׁל לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים
…and [there are] two [additional priests] in whose hands are two vessels of frankincense that accompany the showbread.
I’m leaning into the whole idea of לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים/ lechem ha-panim today. Literally it could be translated as לֶחֶם/lechem/food or bread of הַפָּנִים/ha-panim/the faces or fronts. And for some reason what pops into my mind is the look I’ve seen on folks’ faces around my own shabbat table when the challah cover is whisked from the loaf or two that have been cowering beneath it. Even though we could eat challah everyday, the ritual changes the nature of our relationship to the bread, bringing a little thrill to the revelation of those especially showy breads being lifted up on a Friday night. And I suppose that excitement is the energetic residue that was generated around the original “show” breads. Which is, more often than not, how the term לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים/lechem ha-panim is translated. And thus we have a beautiful illustration of a continuous gustatory thread from our 21st century tables to the altar tables of our 1st millennium BCE ancestors.
The thing that gets me about this stuff, every time, is the contradiction between what the Torah prescribes for the rank and file on Shabbat (no chopping or burning in particular) and what goes on in the Temple (lots of chopping and burning, to be exact). And to the best of my knowledge there isn’t much pushing back or trying to square this dichotomy. And so we have the greatest of all Jewish spiritual gifts: Paradox.
The Rabbis apparently have no compunction about the Torah’s inconsistent attitudes about what is appropriate behavior when honoring Shabbat depending on whether you are Ploni (Zhoh Zhmoe) or a Priest. (Priests are instructed to burn stuff on Shabbat, while Ploni gets the death penalty for even considering it. Yarks!!) What are the deeper implications here? Are the Rabbis setting themselves up for having greater responsibilities and privileges than the general public? Are they hoping that we will see the imbalances here and seek to correct them? Are they holding that some activities—especially those in service to Community and Creator—are important enough to transcend the general prohibitions on quotidian work? Are they recognizing the transcendental power of ordinary action when we shift our focus to the magical nature of life in its fullest fullness? Or are they just surfacing details here, that they will then commandeer as they recreate a Judaism that has moved beyond the Temple, its hierarchies, and power pitfalls? Stay tuned!!!!