“On the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of sky-blue wool, and place upon it the bowls, and the saucers, and the supports, and the covering tubes; and the perpetual bread shall be upon it” (Numbers 4:7). The crafting of the table corresponds to the kingship of the house of David, as one covers the table with sky-blue wool, corresponding to David, who was righteous, and the Holy One blessed be He entered into a covenant with him, a covenant of kingship for him and his sons.
This is why He separated its utensils from it and covered them with scarlet wool, as it was due to the sin of his descendants that the kingdom was divided. This is why it and its utensils were covered with a single covering,21The covering of a taḥash hide. as ultimately, the kingship will return to them as it was initially. “On the table of showbread they shall spread a sky-blue woolen cloth” – over all the vessels that stood in the Sanctuary they would spread a sky-blue cloth, because the Divine Presence rested there, similar to the supernal place of the Divine Presence that is similar to sky-blue wool.
How would they do this? They would place on the body of the table a cloth of sky-blue wool to separate between it and its utensils. Then they would put its utensils upon it, as it is stated: “And place upon it the bowls…” “The bowls” – these are its molds, as they would prepare the showbread in a mold and would bake it in the oven in a mold. When they would remove it from the oven they would return it to a mold so the bread would not break.
There were three molds there: one for the oven, one for the dough, and one for the bread that he would remove from the oven. They would place it in a mold so they would not ruin the bread. “The saucers” – these are the bowls of frankincense that they would place upon the arrangements, just as it says: “You shall place pure frankincense upon the arrangement” (Leviticus 24:7). How would they arrange the showbread?
One would place six loaves for this arrangement and six loaves for that arrangement. If one placed eight loaves for this arrangement and four loaves for that arrangement, or if he prepared three arrangements with four in each, he has done nothing. If one prepared two arrangements of twelve each, Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] says: One considers the upper ones as though they were not there, and the lower ones are valid.
How would they arrange the bowls? One would place one bowl upon this arrangement and one bowl upon that arrangement. If one placed bowls without frankincense or frankincense without bowls, or if there was an item that interposed between the [bowls of] frankincense and the bread or between the bread and the table, they are not valid. Abba Shaul said: One would place them in the two handbreadths between one arrangement and its counterpart.
How then do I realize, “You shall place pure frankincense upon the arrangement” (Leviticus 24:7)? It is that it should be, in it entirety, adjacent to the arrangement. “And the supports” – these are the rods. Twenty-eight hollow golden rods that are susceptible to impurity were there, fourteen for this arrangement and fourteen for that arrangement.
One would enter on the day before Shabbat, remove them, and place them along the length of the table. All the vessels that were in the Temple, their length was along the length of the house,22The Temple. except for the Ark, whose length was along the width of the house. That is the way its staves were placed, and that is the way that it was taken. How would they arrange them?
After Shabbat,23The rods were removed before Shabbat, since neither the removal of the rods nor the insertion of the rods was done on Shabbat. one would enter, lift one end of a loaf, and place one rod under it and one in the middle, three beneath each and every loaf, and two under the top one, which had no burden upon it. The bottom one was placed on the table itself. Why would they place rods between them?
It is so air would have free reign in their midst and the bread would not rot. Why were the rods crafted like half a hollow rod? It was so they would not be heavy upon the bread. That is why it is written in the command: “And its supports with which it shall be covered [yusakh]” (Exodus 25:29); that they would position the bread like a type of roofing [sukka], as each and every loaf would serve as roofing for the one that is beneath it.
“The covering tubes” – these are the pillars. One crafts for it four pillars of gold, and its protrusions were there, upon which they would place the bottom loaf, two for this arrangement and two for that arrangement. This is because the loaves were similar to a ship, so that it would not wobble. The pillars were alongside with the bread so that the pillars would lift the bread from upon the table.
What is it that the verse said: “The covering [hanasekh] tubes”? It is that they would raise the ends of the bottom loaves so they would not touch the table and they would serve as roofing [mesakot] over the table. But the middle of the bottom loaf would touch the table, because the loaves were shaped like a wobbling ship, sharp at the bottom and gradually widening above. “And the perpetual bread shall be upon it” – from here you learn that even during their travels the bread was upon it.
“They shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet wool” (Numbers 4:8) – upon the utensils and upon the bread. Then they would cover the table and all the utensils that were upon it with a covering of taḥash hide. They would insert its staves in order to carry it with them, as it is stated: “They shall cover it with a covering of taḥash hide, and shall insert its staves” (Numbers 4:8).