"Thou shalt take also fine flour, and shalt bake twelve loaves thereof, two tenths shall be in every loaf. And thou shalt set them six and six, one against another, upon the most clean table before the Lord." (Leviticus 24:5-6)
This verse plays an important part in our Catholic faith. In Moses' Tabernacle, 12 unleavened loaves were placed in the presence of the Holy of Holies. Often we focus on the on the first part of this verse, “twelve loaves”. We think of the twelve as representing the 12 tribes of Israel. I've come to think of these 12 loaves as prefiguring the 12 Apostles who were exposed to God in the Person of Christ, hence loaves of proposition. The Twelve were to nourish the heart and soul of the faithful as the loaves nourished the Levite priests.
Now I've come to focus on the next part of the verse, “two tenths shall be in every loaf.” What is the significance? If we think of proportioning done in the kitchen this would mean that each loaf would contain 12 portions of a batch with each batch measuring 60 portions. Thus to make 12 loaves one would need to make 2-4/10ths batches or 144 portions:
1 Loaf = 2/10ths of a batch
12 Loaves= 24/10ths or 2.4 of a batch
Making a batch equal to 60 portions simply makes working with rational numbers easier
i.e. 2/10ths of 60 = 12 portions required for each loaf.
Thus the number of portions for 12 loaves would equal 60 x 12 x 2/10ths = 144 portions
All of which adds nothing to the verse. Why is the proportion of 2/10ths seemingly thrown into this verse? Why didn't the good Rabbi simply say 1/12th of the total flower needed? Why did the Rabbi find it necessary to tell us about the proportioning?
Any suggestions?
JoeT
