The Loaf and the Pebble

As we are approaching Pesach, I thought it would be nice to focus upon a beautiful Jewish tradition we possess: namely, of the few defeating the many, and the small defeating the great. Nowhere is this more poetically described than within the context of Tanakh, and specifically, I believe, within the context of the loaf and the pebble motif.

In Esther Rabbah 10: 4, we read of Haman's conversation with the students of Mordechai regarding the Omer:

The Midrash tells us about an encounter between Mordechai and Haman when Mordechai was teaching his students. Haman inquired as to what they were learning and they responded that they were learning about the Omer. “What is this Omer made of?” he asked. “Is it made of gold? Or silver?” “No," they answered, “not of gold nor silver, not even wheat, but of barley and it costs merely ten small silver coins.” Upon hearing that, Haman replied, “In Hashem’s eyes your ten small silver coins have overpowered the 10,000 kikar of silver which I gave Achashveirosh for the right to destroy you.” (Source)

In Leviticus Rabbah 28:6, we continue to read of the various incidents and occasions upon which the Jews were saved by the Omer offering. One of these mentions Gideon, Judge of Israel.

יג וַיָּבֹא גִדְעוֹן--וְהִנֵּה-
אִישׁ, מְסַפֵּר לְרֵעֵהוּ חֲלוֹם; וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה חֲלוֹם חָלַמְתִּי, וְהִנֵּה צְלִיל לֶחֶם שְׂעֹרִים מִתְהַפֵּךְ בְּמַחֲנֵה מִדְיָן, וַיָּבֹא עַד-הָאֹהֶל וַיַּכֵּהוּ וַיִּפֹּל וַיַּהַפְכֵהוּ לְמַעְלָה, וְנָפַל הָאֹהֶל. 13

And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man telling a dream unto his follow, and saying: 'Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came unto the tent, and smote it that it fell, and turned it upside down, that the tent lay flat.'

יד וַיַּעַן רֵעֵהוּ וַיֹּאמֶר, אֵין זֹאת, בִּלְתִּי אִם-חֶרֶב גִּדְעוֹן בֶּן-יוֹאָשׁ, אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל: נָתַן הָאֱלֹהִים בְּיָדוֹ, אֶת-מִדְיָן וְאֶת-כָּל-הַמַּחֲנֶה. {פ} 14 And his fellow answered and said: '

This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: into his hand God hath delivered Midian, and all the host.' {P}

~Judges 7:13-14

A similar incident utilizing similar language occurs by David, except that he uses a pebble instead of barley bread:

מט וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד אֶת-יָדוֹ אֶל-הַכֶּלִי, וַיִּקַּח מִשָּׁם אֶבֶן וַיְקַלַּע, וַיַּךְ אֶת-הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי, אֶל-מִצְחוֹ; וַתִּטְבַּע הָאֶבֶן בְּמִצְחוֹ, וַיִּפֹּל עַל-פָּנָיו אָרְצָה

And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

נ וַיֶּחֱזַק דָּוִד מִן-הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי בַּקֶּלַע וּבָאֶבֶן, וַיַּךְ אֶת-הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיְמִתֵהוּ; וְחֶרֶב, אֵין בְּיַד-דָּוִד. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

נא וַיָּרָץ דָּוִד וַיַּעֲמֹד אֶל-הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיִּקַּח אֶת-חַרְבּוֹ וַיִּשְׁלְפָהּ מִתַּעְרָהּ, וַיְמֹתְתֵהוּ, וַיִּכְרָת-בָּהּ, אֶת-רֹאשׁוֹ; וַיִּרְאוּ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים כִּי-מֵת גִּבּוֹרָם, וַיָּנֻסוּ. 51

And David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, they fled.

~I Samuel 17: 49-51

The image reappears in yet another dream, although this time it is not that of a Midianite man, but rather that of Nebuchadnezzar. It is interpreted by Daniel to mean his downfall; the stone which destroys the statue representing the various monarchs represents Israel:

מד וּבְיוֹמֵיהוֹן דִּי מַלְכַיָּא אִנּוּן, יְקִים אֱלָהּ שְׁמַיָּא מַלְכוּ דִּי לְעָלְמִין לָא תִתְחַבַּל, וּמַלְכוּתָה, לְעַם אָחֳרָן לָא תִשְׁתְּבִק; תַּדִּק וְתָסֵיף כָּל-אִלֵּין מַלְכְוָתָא, וְהִיא תְּקוּם לְעָלְמַיָּא. 44

And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; nor shall the kingdom be left to another people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever.

מה כָּל-קֳבֵל דִּי-חֲזַיְתָ דִּי מִטּוּרָא אִתְגְּזֶרֶת אֶבֶן דִּי-לָא בִידַיִן, וְהַדֵּקֶת פַּרְזְלָא נְחָשָׁא חַסְפָּא כַּסְפָּא וְדַהֲבָא--אֱלָהּ רַב הוֹדַע לְמַלְכָּא, מָה דִּי לֶהֱוֵא אַחֲרֵי דְנָה; וְיַצִּיב חֶלְמָא, וּמְהֵימַן פִּשְׁרֵהּ. {פ} 45

Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.' {P}

~Daniel 2:44-45

In these latter three incidents, the same format is consistently used. A stone or loaf of bread smites something much larger than it: a tent, a giant of a man, or a large statue made of variant metals- and yet it triumphs over it; the Jews succeed in utterly destroying their enemies.

Since this is so, one might wonder: what precisely do the Loaf & Pebble symbolize?

Any child knows that the Torah is synonymous with bread. This comes from the verse in Proverbs 9:5 where Wisdom declares, "ה לְכוּ, לַחֲמוּ בְלַחֲמִי; וּשְׁתוּ, בְּיַיִן מָסָכְתִּי 'Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled." Thus, while the loaf is specifically the Omer offering in this scenario, it can also be understood as symbolically referring to the Torah.

God, of course, is synonymous with stone. See 2 Samuel 22: 2-3:

ב וַיֹּאמַר: יְהוָה
סַלְעִי וּמְצֻדָתִי, {ר} וּמְפַלְטִי-לִי. 2

and he said: The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

ג אֱלֹהֵי צוּרִי, אֶחֱסֶה-בּוֹ; {ס} מָגִנִּי וְקֶרֶן יִשְׁעִי, {ר} מִשְׂגַּבִּי וּמְנוּסִי, {ס} מֹשִׁעִי, מֵחָמָס תֹּשִׁעֵנִי. {ר} 3

The God who is my rock, in Him I take refuge; my shield, and my horn of salvation, my high tower, and my refuge; my saviour, Thou savest me from violence.

Thus, while the Jewish nation and its people are symbolized by the loaf and the pebble, in truth these very symbols refer to the weapons the Jews have at their disposal: God and the Torah.

Now we can understand why it was that the Head Baker had to die when it came to Pharaoh, the Butler, the Baker and interpreting dreams. In Bereishis Rabbah 88, it states that a fly was found in the cup of wine that the butler served Pharaoh, whereas a pebble was found in the loaf of bread that the baker served him. Despite the fact that both of these officials had sinned, it was only the baker who was put to death. Why?

On the more superficial level, the fact is that the pebble in the bread could have actually harmed Pharaoh (he could have choked to death), whereas the fly was merely an annoyance and disrespectful to the king. However, on an exegetical level, this may be the first place that our motif of the loaf and the pebble occurs! When Pharaoh is served, as it were, the Jewish symbols of existence- the loaf and the pebble- he becomes upset and dismayed. He puts to death the man who dared to offer this meal to him. I am not suggesting that he knew what this meal symbolized. Indeed, the fact that he praises and later appoints Joseph demonstrates he did not. Ironically, however, he ends up appointing a Jew who gives out bread (the loaves we spoke of.) When all of Egypt is starving to death, Pharaoh orders them to go to Joseph who will disseminate bread.

This occurrence with the butler foreshadows the Pharaoh we know so well from the Passover story, the one who declares, "Who is Hashem? I know no Hashem." (Of course, I am making the assumption that it is the same Pharaoh, and that he did not actually die.) There is something deliciously ironic about God hardening Pharaoh's heart- like the stone that upset him so much and that symbolizes the Jewish people- if one understands the text this way.

Pharaoh thinks that he can destroy the Jews, those people who are symbolized by the loaf and the pebble, as symbolized by his destruction of the butler who dared to serve him this meal. That simple hanging foreshadows everything that he will eventually do to the Jews. However, God ensures that Pharaoh then appoints a Hebrew to give bread to the nations and eventually hardens Pharaoh's heart like stone. Pharaoh too must fall before the Jews, even as the other nations invariably do.

Death in the Garden

He poisons him i' the garden for's estate. His name's Gonzago: the story is extant, and writ in choice Italian: you shall see anon how the murderer gets the love of Gonzago's wife.

~"Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, Act 3, Scene 2

*

I recently discovered a fun motif that revolves around gardens. Gardens signify places of death in Tanakh; either people die upon entering gardens, the threat of death appears, or decisions of death are made whilst in the garden. Of course, the first significant mention of death in the garden occurs with the Garden of Eden and its denizens, Adam and Eve.

טז וַיְצַו יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, עַל-הָאָדָם לֵאמֹר: מִכֹּל עֵץ-הַגָּן, אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat;

יז וּמֵעֵץ, הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע--לֹא תֹאכַל, מִמֶּנּוּ: כִּי, בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ--מוֹת תָּמוּת. 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.'

~Genesis 2:16-17

Through their transgressions in the garden, Adam and Eve in the end do proceed to bring the threat of death upon the world.

Lot perceives Sedom & Gemorah (in the future to be a place that is completely overturned and consumed by fire and brimstone, thus, a place of much death) as the 'garden of the Lord:'

י וַיִּשָּׂא-לוֹט אֶת-עֵינָיו, וַיַּרְא אֶת-כָּל-כִּכַּר הַיַּרְדֵּן, כִּי כֻלָּהּ, מַשְׁקֶה--לִפְנֵי שַׁחֵת יְהוָה, אֶת-סְדֹם וְאֶת-עֲמֹרָה, כְּגַן-יְהוָה כְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, בֹּאֲכָה צֹעַר. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar.

~Genesis 13:10

King David dies upon having been lured into his garden:

דף ל, ב גמרא כל יומא דשבתא הוה יתיב וגריס כולי יומא ההוא יומא דבעי למינח נפשיה קם מלאך המות קמיה ולא יכיל ליה דלא הוה פסק פומיה מגירסא אמר מאי אעביד ליה הוה ליה בוסתנא אחורי ביתיה אתא מלאך המות סליק ובחיש באילני נפק למיחזי הוה סליק בדרגא איפחית דרגא מתותיה אישתיק ונח נפשיה

Now, every Sabbath day he would sit and study all day.1 On the day that his soul was to be at rest,2 the Angel of death stood before him but could not prevail against him, because learning did not cease from his mouth. 'What shall I do to him?' said he. Now, there was a garden before his house; so the Angel of death went, ascended and soughed in the trees. He [David] went out to see: as he was ascending the ladder, it broke under him. Thereupon he became silent [from his studies] and his soul had repose.

~BT Sabbath 30b

The death of Navos (whom Jezebel frames) occurs due to the fact that Ahab wants to use his property as a vegetable garden:

ב וַיְדַבֵּר אַחְאָב אֶל-נָבוֹת לֵאמֹר תְּנָה-לִּי אֶת-כַּרְמְךָ וִיהִי-לִי לְגַן-יָרָק, כִּי הוּא קָרוֹב אֵצֶל בֵּיתִי, וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ תַּחְתָּיו, כֶּרֶם טוֹב מִמֶּנּוּ; אִם טוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ, אֶתְּנָה-לְךָ כֶסֶף מְחִיר זֶה. 2

And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying: 'Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.'

~I Kings 21:2

King Menashe is buried in the palace garden:

יח וַיִּשְׁכַּב מְנַשֶּׁה עִם-אֲבֹתָיו, וַיִּקָּבֵר בְּגַן-בֵּיתוֹ בְּגַן-עֻזָּא; וַיִּמְלֹךְ אָמוֹן בְּנוֹ, תַּחְתָּיו. {פ} 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza; and Amon his son reigned in his stead. {P}

~2 Kings 21:18

King Ahaseurus attends Esther's banquet with Haman and upon determining what to do with the unfortunate vizier, retreats into the garden. Haman is aware that the King is contemplating the death penalty because he falls upon Esther's couch in order to beg for his life:

ז וְהַמֶּלֶךְ קָם בַּחֲמָתוֹ, מִמִּשְׁתֵּה הַיַּיִן, אֶל-גִּנַּת, הַבִּיתָן; וְהָמָן עָמַד, לְבַקֵּשׁ עַל-נַפְשׁוֹ מֵאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה--כִּי רָאָה, כִּי-כָלְתָה אֵלָיו הָרָעָה מֵאֵת הַמֶּלֶךְ. 7

And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman remained to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.

ח וְהַמֶּלֶךְ שָׁב מִגִּנַּת הַבִּיתָן אֶל-בֵּית מִשְׁתֵּה הַיַּיִן, וְהָמָן נֹפֵל עַל-הַמִּטָּה אֲשֶׁר אֶסְתֵּר עָלֶיהָ, וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ, הֲגַם לִכְבּוֹשׁ אֶת-הַמַּלְכָּה עִמִּי בַּבָּיִת; הַדָּבָר, יָצָא מִפִּי הַמֶּלֶךְ, וּפְנֵי הָמָן, חָפוּ. 8

Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the couch whereon Esther was. Then said the king: 'Will he even force the queen before me in the house?' As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.

~Esther 7:7- 7:8

The only place where a garden seems to be used positively is in Song of Songs. (If people are not actually dying, making decisions about death or going to die with regard to gardens, they are trying to escape from death by way of the garden in all other verses.) Note that in Song of Songs 'garden' is generally used metaphorically, referring to the woman herself, as opposed to an actual place. Perhaps if one actually were to go into a garden, the death association I have discovered would still pan out.

As an aside, it also seems quite common in Tanakh for there to have been a special 'king's garden.' Plenty of kings- ranging from Menashe to Zedekiah to Ahaseurus- had them. I thought that was an interesting tidbit of knowledge.