Rabbi Mendel Bluming, the Rabbi of theChabad Shul of Potomac, Maryland, motto is to bring understanding and connection to the service of G-d.
So here’s an insight about washing before bread. We are taught that in the times of the Temple, the Kohen tribe of priests would live off of donations of produce from all the farmers, called the Terumah. These food items could only be eaten by a Kohen and his family, and had to be eaten in a state of ritual purity. For that reason the priests would always wash their hands ritually before eating to ensure that they were pure. It then became customary for everyone, even non-priests, to wash their hands before eating, in respect to the Kohanim who were obligated to do so. And even at present we no longer have those foods that need to be eaten in purity; we still wash our hands before bread. Why did our sages say that we should wash our hands in the same manner the priests did? The Kohanim did not labor in the fields. They served in the Temple, and relied on the tithes people donated to them for their upkeep. A priest was unable to fool himself and think that he had worked for his food. It was clear that it was being supplied for by the kindness of others. We should all relate to that feeling. It is not due to our own sweat and effort alone. It is all but a gift from G-d. Menachem Mendel Bluming and Rabbi Moss
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AuthorRabbi Mendel Bluming also dedicated six years to serving on the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, where he received the Matthew H. Simon Rabbinical Award for exceptional communal leadership. Archives
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