Every Friday the kohanim would bake the 12 loaves of showbread. On Shabbat the old loaves were removed from the Table and the new loaves were put in their place. According to tradition the old loaves were as hot and fresh as the day they placed on the Table. They were given to the kohanim to eat.
The Gemara wonders whether or not the Table could become ritually unready (טָמֵא). Offering one solution after another why it could not become ritually unready that was rejected, the Gemara answers: “The Table is different, because the Merciful One called it wood, as it is stated: “The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits, and so its corners; and its length, and its walls were also of wood, and he said to me: This is the Table that is before the Lord” (Ezekiel 41:22). This verse is referring to the shewbread Table, and it describes it as being made of wood, even though the wood was not visible. This indicates that its status is like that of all wooden vessels, which are not susceptible to impurity unless they are carried both when empty and when full.
“The Gemara challenges: Why does the verse begin with the word “altar” and conclude with the word “Table,” even though both terms are referring to the same item? Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar both say the following interpretation: When the Temple is standing, the altar effects atonement for the transgressions of a person, but now that the Temple is not standing, a person’s table effects atonement for his transgressions, if he provides for the poor and needy from the food on his table.” (daf TB Menakhot 97a, Sefaria.com translation)
We do not have to look far to
discover the hungry in our midst.
Hunger Quick Facts for 2024
·
Overall: About one in 7 households (13.7 percent) experienced
food insecurity, or lack of access to an affordable, nutritious diet. An estimated 47.9 million Americans lived
in these households.
·
5.4% of U.S. households (1 in 20)
experienced very low food security, a more severe form of food insecurity,
where households report regularly skipping meals or reducing intake because
they could not afford more food.
·
Children: 14.1 million children lived in
households that experienced food insecurity, a slight increase from the 13.8
million children reported in 2023.
·
Race
and ethnicity: Rates of food
insecurity were higher for Black (24.4 percent) and Latinx (20.2 percent) households.
The rate for Black households was more than double the rate of White,
non-Latinx households (10.1 percent).
·
Rural: A higher portion of households in urban
areas (16.0 percent) and rural areas (15.9 percent) experienced food insecurity
compared to suburbs (11.9 percent).
·
Geography: Households in the Southern region
continued to experience higher rates of food insecurity than any other U.S.
region, with 15.0 percent of households experiencing food insecurity in 2023.
Approximately 1.4 million New York City residents, or over one in 10 New Yorkers, face food insecurity. High costs of living and the end of pandemic-era federal assistance have contributed to rising hunger rates, with roughly 44% of families with children and one in three adult New Yorkers experiencing food hardship in 2023.
Key Facts on Food Insecurity in New York:
·
Impact
on Children: Nearly 1 in 4
(25%) children in NYC do not know where their next meal will come from.
·
Regional
Data: In 2023, roughly
1 in 5 (19%) New York State children experienced food insecurity.
·
NYC
Boroughs: Food insecurity
affects 39% of residents in the Bronx, with over 30% of adults in Brooklyn and
Queens experiencing the same strain.
·
Pantry
Usage: Food pantry
usage has remained twice as high compared to pre-pandemic levels.
·
Disparities: Black and Hispanic New Yorkers are more
than twice as likely to experience food insufficiency compared to white New
Yorkers.
Being
generous around holidays like Thanksgiving and Passover is easy. Unfortunately
hunger doesn’t disappear after those holidays have come and gone. We can turn
every day grocery shopping into a spiritual act by buying an extra
nonperishable food item every
time we go to the supermarket. Then at a regularly appointed time, donate
nonperishable foods to a food bank like City Harvest. By helping others we will
also be helping ourselves. By feeding the hungry our table will effect
atonement for us.
