Well-Bread

Rabbi Reuven Brand

Rosh Kollel, Yeshiva University Torah Mitzion Kollel of Chicago

Counting toward Bread

The Torah’s description of the holiday of Shavuot highlights a surprising theme. After describing the
Chag Hamatzot, it frames the next holiday in light of the Korban Shtei Halechem, the two breads:

And you shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the ‫)טו( וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת‬
day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths ‫מיום הביאכם את עמר התנופה שבע‬
shall be complete; To the next day after the seventh Sabbath shall ‫ )טז( עד‬:‫שבתות תמימת תהיינה‬
you count fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to the ‫ממחרת השבת השביעת תספרו‬
Lord. You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two ‫חמשים יום והקרבתם מנחה חדשה‬
tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with ‫ )יז( ממושבתיכם תביאו לחם‬:’‫לה‬
‫תנופה שתים שני עשרנים סלת‬
leaven; they are the first fruits to the Lord. And you shall offer with
:’‫תהיינה חמץ תאפינה בכורים לה‬
the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one ‫)יח( והקרבתם על הלחם שבעת‬
young bull, and two rams; they shall be for a burnt offering to the ‫כבשים תמימם בני שנה ופר בן בקר‬
Lord, with their meal offering, and their drink offerings, an offering ’‫אחד ואילם שנים יהיו עלה לה‬
made by fire, of sweet savor to the Lord. Then you shall sacrifice one :’‫ומנחתם ונסכיהם אשה ריח ניחח לה‬
kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for ‫)יט( ועשיתם שעיר עזים אחד לחטאת‬
a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with :‫ושני כבשים בני שנה לזבח שלמים‬
the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before the Lord with ‫)כ( והניף הכהן אתם על לחם‬
the two lambs; they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. And you ‫הבכורים תנופה לפני ה’ על שני‬
shall proclaim on the same day, that it may be a holy gathering to (‫ )כא‬:‫כבשים קדש יהיו לה’ לכהן‬
‫וקראתם בעצם היום הזה מקרא קדש‬
you; you shall do no labor in it; it shall be a statute forever in all
‫יהיה לכם כל מלאכת עבדה לא תעשו‬
your dwellings throughout your generations.
:‫חקת עולם בכל מושבתיכם לדרתיכם‬
Vayikra 23:15-21 ‫כא‬-‫ טו‬:‫ויקרא כג‬
The Torah states that after counting seven weeks, forty nine days, from Pesach, the fiftieth day is
a Chag on which we offer two loaves of bread. This holiday, which we call Shavuot, is the
culmination of Sefirat Haomer, and it is celebrated by two loaves of bread, the central feature of
the chag. It is noteworthy that the Torah does not make mention of Matan Torah, which the
Talmud teaches occurred on Shavuot.
This description is puzzling. Why is this Chag characterized by one activity- one maaseh
mitzvah- the offering of the Korban Shtei Halechem, the two breads? Why is it the culmination of
the counting from Pesach? In addition, how does this relate to the description found in the

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nusach hatefillah of “zman matan torateinu” and to the reading of Megillat Rut on Shavuot? In
short, what is the meaning and message of the bread of Shavuot?1

A Foundation of Matzah
No one disputes the importance of matzah. Matzah, the unleavened bread we are commanded
to eat on Pesach is of paramount importance both from a halachic and hashkafic perspective.
Eating matzah on Pesach is a biblical responsibility, and conversely, eating leavened bread on
Pesach is punishable by karet. We know that Jews go to great lengths to ensure the kashrut of
matzah, and we distance ourselves from chametz with great stringency over Pesach. Rav David
Ben Zimra (1479-1573) explains the rationale for this phenomenon:

And therefore I rely [in my explanation] on what the Rabbis ‫ועל כן אני סומך על מה שאמרו רז"ל‬
taught in their teachings that chametz on Pesach is an allusion ‫במדרשות כי חמץ בפסח רמז ליצה"ר‬
to the Yetzer Hara and that is the leavening in the dough, and ‫והוא שאור שבעיסה ולכן כלה גרש‬
therefore a person must be completely rid themselves of it and ‫יגרש אותו האדם מעליו ויחפש עליו‬
search it out from all the recesses of his mind and even a ‫בכל מחבואות מחשבותיו ואפילו כל‬
minute amount is not insignificant. ‫שהוא לא בטיל‬
‫שו"ת רדב"ז חלק ג סימן תקמו‬
Shu”t Radbaz 3:546

Chametz represents the evil inclination, with its fermentation- induced inflation, the symbol of
arrogance and hubris. In contrast, matzah, with its basic ingredients and unpretentious
appearance, represents the ideal Jewish perspective, one of humility and simplicity. Hence, we
begin our year of Jewish festivals fashioning our personalities in the model of matzah, the basic
symbol of Pesach. Similarly, the Korban Omer, the meal offering brought on the second day of
Pesach, which marks the beginning of the counting until Shavuot, is comprised of matzah.
However, the Torah’s description of Shavuot mentioned above may indicate another perspective.

Wellness of Chametz
The concept of counting from Pesach until Shavuot described by the Torah suggests a period of
growth and anticipation. This notion is amplified by many commentaries who characterize this
time as one of personal refinement and improvement in preparation for kabalat hatorah on
Shavuot. Many recite a daily prayer after counting the Omer asking Hashem for inspiration during
this time, which is focused on purity and heightened kedusha. If, in fact, we are climbing the ladder
of spirituality to the climax of kabalat hatorah, why at the apex do we offer a korban of leavened
bread- the Shtei Halechem? I would have expected the korban of Shavuot be one of spiritual
perfection, symbolized by matzah? Perhaps we can suggest that from a different perspective,
lechem, leavened bread, is nobler and more refined than matzah.
Matzah is lechem oni, the bread of affliction of Egypt and the bread of our exodus from slavery,
which represents basic survival. The Jewish people ate matzah at their lowest spiritual plane, as
they were rescued from the depraved Egyptian society. Matzah, according to the Zohar (cited

1
Special thanks to Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner, my dear mother- in- law, for her insight and helpful suggestions on this topic.

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by Rav Zadok Hakohen of Lublin in Pri Tzaddik, Vayikra, LChag Hapesach) is meichlah datvata-
medicinal food. It is spiritual medicine designed to help nurture a desperately assimilated nation
of slaves to spiritual health and wellness. Hence, just as a critically ill patient begins his
regimented diet with only the most elemental foods, so too the Jews ate matzah, the most basic
of foodstuffs, to survive and begin a path to health. In contrast to this strict, rigid diet, bread
represents the expansion of health and fullness of life. Whereas the critically ill person is limited
not only in his diet, but in his ability to be involved in the world, the healthy person may eat and
partake in the goodness of the world around him. Bread represents this wellness.

The Holiday of Bread: Of Torah and Chessed

Shavuot, the culmination of the period of Sefirat Haomer, exemplifies the spiritual wellness of
the Jewish people. During our march to Sinai, we matured from a band of slaves to an am
segulah, a treasured nation, prepared to receive Hashem’s exalted gift, the Torah itself. This
achievement is expressed through a korban of chametz, the Shtei Halechem. Our diet on Pesach is
limited and restricted both physically, with the mitzvah of eating matzah and a Korban Omer of
matzah, and spiritually, as we had only a handful of mitzvot. In contrast, on Shavuot, we are
prepared for a regimen that is open and expansive, one of leavened bread. We are prepared to
face the multifaceted opportunities and challenges of life, having refined ourselves during the
period of the Omer and equipped with a Torah that guides us through every aspect of life.
Perhaps this is why Shavuot does not have a specific date and name in the Torah; it is not an
independent holiday. Shavuot is the culmination of Pesach, the fulfillment of the process of our
national birth after we reached a state of spiritual health.
We can now appreciate why Matan Torah occurred on Shavuot. This is the time when we were
spiritually mature and ready to embrace the world, and we were given the Torah to engage, and
inspire it. Although we must be grounded and rooted in a world of matzah with humility and rigid
discipline, we should not be confined. We should use this foundation of spiritual medicine as a
beginning to expand into the world, a world of chametz, to elevate it as an offering to Hashem.
Perhaps this can shed light on the story of Rut and its relevance to Shavuot. The theme of geirut,
conversion to Judasim, which is prominent in Megillat Rut, also manifests the role of bread. A
potential convert approaches the Jewish community and begins with an experience of matzah.
The Talmud requires that we teach a potential convert miktzat mitzvot kalot and miktzat mitzvot
chamurot, a narrow sampling of commandments. However, the destiny of the conversion and
acceptance of Mitzvot is not limited to these few. Kabalat Hatorah of the individual, much like
the communal geirut at Sinai, means is to embrace the Torah in its entirety as way of life. This
acceptance of the entire Torah, the convert's personal Naaseh Venishmah, is the commitment to
follow the path of Torah throughout all of life, the vast experience of Matzah. Rut tells Naomi
that wherever Naomi will go, Rut will go. She wants to live a life inspired by Torah at each and
every turn, a life that engages chametz and sanctifies it as a Korban.
Finally, the expansiveness that is reflected in a life of chametz is the expansiveness of heart and
spirit that is manifest in a life of generosity. That generosity, chessed, can exist only with
harvacha and harchava, a life lived to its fullest. Ultimately, Chazal see the most important

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message of Rut as one of chessed. This element of chessed is part and parcel of the life of Beit
Lechem, literally the “house of bread." It is this generosity, personified by Boaz, who opens his
fields and eventually his heart and marries Rut, that his celebrated on this Yom Tov of Matan
Torah. Our Kabalat Hatorah is our commitment to the ideal of chessed, the value with which the
Torah begins and concludes according to our tradition. A life of Torah is a life of chessed, a life
lived to its fullest, a life represented by chametz, "well-bread."

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