Les Saidel, a veteran immigrant to Israel, originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, likely knows more about the Biblical showbread than anyone else on earth.
Called Lechem Hapanim in Hebrew (literally, bread of the faces), the ancient art of preparing the showbread for use in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem has not been practiced for close to 2000 years.
During the Second Temple period, the showbreads were baked by the Garmu family of Levi’im (Levites). Each Friday, the Garmu family baked a new set of 12 loaves. Each of the loaves represented one of the 12 Tribes. They were placed on the Temple’s golden shulchan (table) in two stacks of six and they remained on the shulchan all week.
According to Saidel, these special breads had miraclesassociated with them during the time the Holy Temples stood in Jerusalem. Despite the fact that the breads sat out uncovered for seven days, they miraculously remained fresh and warm, even a week later.
Called Lechem Hapanim in Hebrew (literally, bread of the faces), the ancient art of preparing the showbread for use in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem has not been practiced for close to 2000 years.
During the Second Temple period, the showbreads were baked by the Garmu family of Levi’im (Levites). Each Friday, the Garmu family baked a new set of 12 loaves. Each of the loaves represented one of the 12 Tribes. They were placed on the Temple’s golden shulchan (table) in two stacks of six and they remained on the shulchan all week.
According to Saidel, these special breads had miraclesassociated with them during the time the Holy Temples stood in Jerusalem. Despite the fact that the breads sat out uncovered for seven days, they miraculously remained fresh and warm, even a week later.
The showbreads were replaced every Friday and the previous week’s showbreads were distributed among the incoming and outgoing shifts of kohanim (priests assigned to work in the Temple). Saidel explained that this amounted to 400 or 500 people eating from these 12 loaves. Despite the fact that each kohen (priest) received only a small amount of bread, it miraculously was as filling as if they had eaten an entire meal.
Saidel has lived in Israel for 35 years. For the first 25 years after making aliyah (immigrating to Israel), he worked as a computer programmer. Given the combination of the bursting of the .com bubble and a bit of a mid-life crisis after finding himself without a job, Saidel returned to his childhood passion of baking 11 years ago.
Today, the Showbread Institute, established in 2018 and based in Israel’s Shomron (Samaria), exists to “to serve as an umbrella organization for the research, publication and educational activities… and to [reacquaint] the People of Israel with the Temple Service in preparation for the rebuilding of the Third Temple, speedily in our days,” the website explains.
Unfortunately, the Garmu family who used to bake the Temple’s showbread didn’t record how they did it. “The secret of the Lechem Hapanim was lost after the Second Temple,” Saidel explained.
He’s on a mission to recover all the lost secrets.
He’s on a mission to recover all the lost secrets.
Saidel authored the forthcoming book The Jewish Bread Biblewhich covers the history of bread from the time of Adam and Eve to the present day. He expects it to be published before the end of 2020.
Among his lessons are that three important aspects of the Temple service symbolized a different blessing. The menorah symbolized the blessing of spirituality and the light of the Torah. The ketoret (incense) symbolized the blessing of prayer and defense against evil influences and the golden shulchan on which the showbread was placed symbolized the blessing of wealth, abundance and prosperity.
Among his lessons are that three important aspects of the Temple service symbolized a different blessing. The menorah symbolized the blessing of spirituality and the light of the Torah. The ketoret (incense) symbolized the blessing of prayer and defense against evil influences and the golden shulchan on which the showbread was placed symbolized the blessing of wealth, abundance and prosperity.
Why is any of this relevant now? Saidel explained that, “We are in the throes of Moshiach (messiah). We have to learn how they did things in the Temple to be ready [for the Third Temple].
“When people do the workshop, they are transported back 2000 years. It’s a multi-sensory experience,” he said.
As part of a series of Zoom sessions during the Three Weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av, Saidel is planning a free live simulation of shaping and baking the showbread on Sunday, July 26.
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