The kohen gadol's clothing contained gold threads. It is uncommon to use gold as thread. How do you create gold threads? The Torah states (39:3) וקצץ הזהב פחי את וירקעו השני תולעת ובתוך הארגמן ובתוך התכלת בתוך לעשות פתילם חשב מעשה השש ובתוך, "And they hammered out the sheets of gold and cut threads from them to work [the gold] into the blue wool, into the purple wool, into the crimson wool, and into the fine linen, the work of a master weaver." Sheets of gold were hammered until they were very thin, then cut into threads and woven into clothes.
The Divrei Yisrael zt'l (Modzhitz) teaches that הזהב פחי, "sheets of gold," can also be translated as "traps of gold," referring to financial worries, the trap that many people are caught in. They are worried about how they will pay their debts, marry off their children, etc. Their fear causes them to lose their peace of mind, and they are thus unable to focus on Torah and tefillah. They don't have time for Torah and tefillah, either, because they feel they need to use every free moment to earn more money.
The advice is וירקעו, which means to thin it out (see Unkelos and Rashi). Make your financial worries small in your eyes. Tell yourself, "I will manage, somehow. I have been in this situation before, and things have worked out. It will work out this time, too."
Another way to understand the word וירקעו is - heaven, which means to trust in our Father in heaven. With these two counsels – to consider the problems small and to trust in Hashem – one is saved from the trap of financial worry.
The lechem hapanim, the twelve loaves of bread that were always on the Shulchan in the Mishkan, were a reminder to rely on Hashem’s support and not to worry. The word תמיד is written by the lechem hapanim, as it states (Shemos 25:30) פנים לחם השלחן על ונתת תמיד לפני, "You shall place on the Shulchan the lechem hapanim before Me at all times (tamid)."
When the Torah writes תמיד it doesn't always mean "constant." For example, regarding the mitzvah of lighting the menorah, it states (Shemos 27:20) תמיד נר להעלות, "To kindle the lamps continuously." Rashi writes that the menorah wasn't lit 24 hours a day. It wasn't constant. Rather, תמיד means consistently, every night. Similarly, Rashi writes that the korban tamid is called תמיד not because it is constant but rather because it is every day.
However, Rashi writes that when the Torah discusses the lechem hapanim and states tamid, it is literal. The breads were on the Shulchan 24/7. In fact, on Shabbos, when a new set of lechem hapanim was placed on the Shulchan, the kohanim didn't take off the old bread before they put on the new bread because then there would be a moment that the Shulchan would be without its bread. Instead, as the kohanim gradually pulled off the old bread, other kohanim stood opposite them, pushing on the new bread. As the Mishnah (Menachos 11:7) states, שנאמר זה של טפחו כנגד זה של וטפחו מניחין ואלו מושכין אלו תמיד לפני, "These [kohanim] pull and these kohanim place...as it states תמיד לפני, "before Me at all times."
Why is the תמיד of the lechem hapanim different than all other times it states תמיד?
Stories and Lessons of Bitachon
Rebbe Mordechai of Lechovitz zt”l related the following story: A baal darshan (speaker) once spoke about bitachon and said that when one trusts in Hashem, he will not have to run after parnassah. His parnassah will run after him, coming straight to his doorstep. A simple man who heard this drashah came home and told his wife that he was stopping to work. Hashem would supply all their needs. She tried to persuade him to continue working for his parnassah, but he insisted that Hashem would help. He remained home, he kept busy with his Tehilim and Ein Yaakov, trusting that Hashem would provide his needs.
Reb Shlomo Kluger zt'l explains that a person is constantly worried about his parnassah. Hashem tells him, לפני הפנים לחם תמיד, "The bread of the Shulchan is constantly before Me. You don't have to worry about parnassah because your needs are constantly before Me."
The merit of lechem hapanim brought parnassah to the Jewish nation. The lechem hapanim were constantly on the Shulchan, so there was no need to worry over parnassah.
The Gemara (Yoma 21.) writes נעשה היה גדול נס כסדורו סלוקו הפנים בלחם. A great miracle occurred with the lechem hapanim. The loaves remained hot the entire week! Each Shabbos, fresh, hot breads were placed on the Shulchan, and a week later, they were still fresh and hot, just as they were when they were first placed there!
This miracle is discussed in Navi (Shmuel 1, 21:7). הלקחו ביום חום לחם לשום, "to place warm bread on the day it was taken." Rashi writes, "They were as warm on the day they were taken as they were on the day they were arranged."
Reb Shlomo Kluger says that the purpose of this miracle was to remind people that if you have parnassah today, it was destined from before. It was determined on Rosh Hashanah. It appears fresh today, brand new, but it was decided earlier.
It states (Shemos 20:20) כסף אלהי אתי תעשון לא זהב ואלהי, "Gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves." Rabbeinu b’Chaya explains, "When you stand in tefillah before Me, don't think about your gold and silver. If you do, I will consider it like you made me into a god of gold and silver." We shouldn't think about gold and silver when we daven. They don't help us. Hashem helps us. When we believe that Hashem helps and supports us, we don't need to look for any other source of parnassah.
Rav Yekusiel Yehuda Meisels zt”l, the longtime Rav in Seagate, was recently niftar at the age of 95. The Rav zt”l, a holocaust survivor, told the following story to his family at the seder.
In the concentration camps, the inmates used to clean the planks where they slept to ensure there weren't lice on their "beds." Once, a person cleaned his spot and asked his neighbor (the Rav of Seagate) to guard his place while he went to the bathroom. When he returned, he saw that someone had taken the place. The rav told him he tried to prevent this person from lying there, but he didn't cooperate. He added, "I will help you clean another place." While cleaning another plank, the man said, "My father left me $30,000 in the bank (a lot of money at the time). I don't have emunah, so I know I won't survive the war. But you have emunah, so you might survive the war. I will give you the account information so you can withdraw the money after the war." At this point, the Rav of Seagate turned to those gathered around the table at the seder and asked, "Do you think I memorized account information? Of course not! I told him, 'If I believe that Hashem can take me out of here, I also believe that He can support me. I don't need your account information!'"
Parnassah Comes from Hashem
His parnassah was to buy fresh produce on the wholesale market and resell them on the retail market. When his suppliers noticed his absence, they brought the produce directly to his door, and when his customers couldn’t find him in the marketplace, they also came to his house to buy fruits and vegetables. His parnassah came to his doorstep because he understood that Hashem is the One who provides. The Rebbe of Lechovitz concluded, “This merchant wasn’t a scholar. He was a simple Yid. But he trusted in Hashem, and therefore Hashem helped him.”
Eyeglasses can be costly, yet members of a specific kupat cholim plan in Eretz Yisrael can purchase eyeglasses for only one hundred shekels. There was a person who didn’t qualify for this benefit, so he borrowed a friend's documents and ordered the glasses. However, his conscious began gnawing at his heart soon after placing the order. He asked a rav whether it was theft and if he should cancel the order. The rav answered in short, "This isn't the hishtadlus Hashem wants from you. Hashem can help you in other ways." So he canceled the order and got back his hundred shekels. Needing new glasses, he went to the local optician. To his surprise, when he entered the store, the owner told him, “I have been waiting for you for a year! You bought eyeglasses here a year ago, but I didn't sell you good quality. I wanted to refund you, but I lost your contact information. But now that you came back, I want to refund you." He received a brand-new pair of eyeglasses free of charge. It didn't even cost him a hundred shekel. The lesson is that Hashem gives us parnassah, and we don't have to pursue it in unusual ways.
