Whose Table Is It?
Judaism has placed great emphasis on our table. The table is not only the source of nourishment. It is also the symbol of gratitude to G-d, Torah discussions and acts of kindness and charity. TERUMAH TERUMAH
The Vessel and its Function
When the Torah describes the various components or vessels of the Mishkan (the portable Sanctuary the Jews built in the desert) in this week’s parsha, it provides us with a brief description for each of the vessels.
With regard to some of the vessels, the Torah does not tell us what their function was. That the Torah leaves for another section in which rituals associated with the vessels are given in detail. Here the focus is on the vessel itself and not on what ritual was associated with it.
For example, when the Torah describes the Menorah (the candelabrum) the Torah does not state explicitly here that it was kindled.
TERUMAH
Likewise, when the altar is discussed, the Torah does not tell us that it was used for sacrifices.
Why is the Table Different from all Other Vessels?
Yet, when the Torah describes the Shulchantable, it follows the details of its construction with the statement:
“You shall place on the table panimbread before Me at all times.”
This refers to the ritual of placing special bread on the table, which would only be removed and eaten by the Priests every Shabbat. However, the old bread would not be removed until the new bread was placed on the table.
It is interesting to note that when Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah-Code of Law, describes the location of the various vessels of the Temple, he mentions the table as follows:
The table is on the right, upon which the panim-bread was placed.
TERUMAH
Why is it that both the Torah and Maimonides go out of their way to emphasize that the purpose of the table was to place upon it the special bread? Why doesn’t the Torah do the same with the Menorah? Why doesn’t it state there that the Menorah was used for lighting? Or that the Altar was used for the offering of sacrifices?
Self-Understood
The answer to this lies in the symbolism associated with the table.
When we reflect on the various vessels in the Temple we can readily understand their purpose. We can easily understand what function the Altar served. It was used for sacrifices, which was our way of showing our devotion to G-d. More specifically, the word for sacrifice in Hebrew is korban, which means to get close. The sacrifice, consisting of an animal, represented the Jew’s desire to get himself, G-dly and animal soul, closer to G-d.
The Menorah, symbolizes light. Light is the ultimate metaphor for G-d’s energy, the TERUMAH Divine soul, the enlightening teachings of Torah, and the shining path of Mitzvot (the commandments). By kindling the Menorah in the Temple, one could feel the Divine light generated into the world and into one’s heart.
A Table in the Holy Temple?
But, when we consider the function of the table, one is likely to wonder, what spiritual function did it serve?
Upon deeper reflection, the table in the Sanctuary was a constant reminder that everything we eat — and by extension, all of the material things that we consume — we are eating and consuming as guests on G-d’s table. The bread is not an independent entity; it is a part and parcel of G-d’s table.
This idea has been expressed by our Sages (Talmud, Berachos 35a) when they explain why we ought to recite a blessing before partaking of food. Without the blessing, it is as if we have taken the food from G-d’s table without asking Him permission, or without being invited to His table to partake of G-d’s resources. When we recite the appropriate TERUMAH blessing before eating, it is our way of acknowledging that the food is truly G-d’s. Now we are invited by G-d Himself to be His honored guests.
We can now understand why the Torah emphasizes that the table was used for the special bread, and that the bread must always be on the table. It is the Torah’s way of stressing that one must always place his bread on G-d’s table; one must always be mindful that his bread comes from G-d and that we are invited to be His table. The message is that the table and the bread were inseparable entities.
Setting the Table for the Future
Now, despite the fact that we are always guests at His table, this intimate relationship with G-d we enjoyed when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, is no longer so obvious. We therefore yearn and pray for the day that Moshiach will come and take us out of exile and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, at which time we will again feel our special place at G-d’s table.
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The connection between the Table in the Temple and the Messianic Age is related to the direction the Table was placed. The Talmud states that if one wants to become rich they should pray towards the north because the Table was in the north side of the Sanctuary.
The word for north in Hebrew is Tzafon, which can also mean “hidden,” referring to the hidden Divine energy of the future, which was reserved for the righteous, as is stated in the book of Psalms (31:20):
“How abundant is Your goodness, that You hid away for those who fear You…”
If one wants true wealth, one must follow the model of the Table in the Sanctuary, which entails the recognition that all of our blessings are G-d given.
Even more than the Menorah and the Altar, the Table symbolizes the future because only then will we realize the hidden Divinity in the physical, symbolized by the Table.
As a way of hastening and preparing for this process, we try to transform our own table TERUMAH into a Divine table by inviting guests — particularly the poor — to share our meals with us.
A table can also be transformed into G-d’s table and prepares us for the Messianic Age, when it is a table upon which words of Torah are exchanged.
And, of course, it is a Divine table when our meals are preceded and followed by the appropriate blessings.
TERUMAH
TERUMAH
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Terumah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
