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Movement III·B · Form, Process, and Quantities

Dimensions and Faces

32 · מְנָחוֹת י״א:ד · Menachos 11:4
כָּל הַמְּנָחוֹת יֵשׁ בָּהֶן מַעֲשֵׂה כְלִי בִּפְנִים, וְאֵין בָּהֶן מַעֲשֵׂה כְלִי בַחוּץ. כֵּיצַד? שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם — אָרְכָּן שִׁבְעָה וְרָחְבָּן אַרְבָּעָה, וְקַרְנוֹתֵיהֶן אַרְבַּע אֶצְבָּעוֹת. לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים — אָרְכָּן עֲשָׂרָה וְרָחְבָּן חֲמִשָּׁה, וְקַרְנוֹתָיו שֶׁבַע אֶצְבָּעוֹת. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, שֶׁלֹּא תִטְעֶה — זד"ד יה"ז. בֶּן זוֹמָא אוֹמֵר, וְנָתַתָּ עַל הַשֻּׁלְחָן לֶחֶם פָּנִים לְפָנַי תָּמִיד — שֶׁיְּהֵא לוֹ פָנִים.
All minachos require utensil-work done inside [the Temple], and not utensil-work outside. How so? Two loaves: length 7 handbreadths, width 4, horns 4 fingers. Lechem HaPanim: length 10, width 5, horns 7 fingers. R' Yehuda: lest you err — Zayin-Dalet-Dalet / Yod-Heh-Zayin. Ben Zoma says: "And you shall set upon the Table lechem panim before Me always" (Shemos 25:30) — it must have faces [sides/dimension].
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The dimensions of the two loaves and the Lechem HaPanim
The two loaves (Shtei HaLechem)
שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם
Length
7 handbreadths
Width
4 handbreadths
Horns
4 fingers
The Lechem HaPanim (showbread)
לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים
Length
10 handbreadths
Width
5 handbreadths
Horns
7 fingers
R' Yehuda's mnemonic — שֶׁלֹּא תִטְעֶה
זד"ד · יה"ז
זד"ד = Zayin (7) · Dalet (4) · Dalet (4) → Shtei HaLechem: length 7, width 4, horns 4
יה"ז = Yod (10) · Heh (5) · Zayin (7) → Lechem HaPanim: length 10, width 5, horns 7
R' Yehuda's characteristic method — he provides mnemonics (simanim) to prevent confusion. Compare: detzach-adash-b'achav for the Ten Plagues.
Ben Zoma — lechem panim must have panim
לֶחֶם פָּנִים — שֶׁיְּהֵא לוֹ פָנִים
Ben Zoma reads the name "lechem panim" (bread of the presence / bread of faces) as a physical requirement. The word panim means both "presence/before" and "faces/sides." He derives: the bread must have vertical sides (the horn projections) — it cannot be flat. The name of the bread contains its physical specification. The Mishnat Eretz Yisrael notes that the Tzippori mosaic may depict a multi-sided table, possibly reflecting Ben Zoma's alternate reading that "panim" refers to the Table's sides rather than the bread's.
The Tzippori mosaic — text vs. image
The ancient synagogue mosaic at Tzippori depicts the Lechem HaPanim as small, round loaves — flatly contradicting this mishnah's rectangular loaves with horn projections. The MEI: the mosaic may reflect a different community's visual tradition. The mishnah's detailed measurements represent rabbinic reconstruction; the mosaic captures folk memory. Both are sincere attempts to preserve what was lost.
The weight of each loaf
Each Lechem HaPanim loaf was made from 2 isaron of flour — approximately 4–6 kg per loaf. These were extremely heavy loaves. After seven days on the Table (without refrigeration) they were hardened, dried bread — yet still permissible and eaten by the Kohanim. The miracle of no disqualification (Avot 5:5, mishnah 36) is partly a miracle of preservation.
Position in the Omer to Shavuos arc — 43 mishnayos
Preceding · Mishnah 31
Menachos 11:2
Where the baking can occur — Beis Pagi and the power struggle
Current · Mishnah 32
Menachos 11:4 — Dimensions and Faces
Movement III·B closes
The final physical mishnah: exact dimensions, R' Yehuda's mnemonic (his characteristic gift for memory aids), and Ben Zoma's wordplay connecting the bread's name to its physical form. The Tzippori mosaic's contradiction with the mishnah's text, and the staggering weight of each Lechem HaPanim loaf, give this measurement mishnah historical and material weight.
Following · Mishnah 33
Shekalim 1:4
Who owns the Shtei HaLechem? The Kohanim's argument and RYbZ's refutation
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