Parshas Vayeshev

[Hilchos Shabbos]

"מזמור שיר ליום השבת, טוב להודות לד'..."

"Many hundreds of miracles are required for the wheat-seed to transform air and water and soil into a loaf of bread, and we perceive that "One's food is as difficult as the rending of the Sea of Suf" where many miracles were performed. The miracle of 'bringing forth bread from the earth' takes its place alongside the miracle of 'bringing you forth from the land of Egypt'. 

For this reason, we handle bread with respect, since it is the testimony to the Presence of the Creator and His kindliness to Mankind. Bread is so honored because it is the chief food. When you come home and see upon your table a loaf of bread, you should be amazed as if you witness the most spectacular miracle. From gritty and inedible soil has come forth a soft, appetizing loaf of bread! The grains that were planted possessed in their tiny units such vastly complicated chemical and physical engineering that enabled them to transform lifeless earth into the vital and precious bread..."

The Marvelous Wonders of Creation, by Rabbi Mordechai Menachem Reich ZT"L (Mordechai Menachem Mendel -en Dovid Aryeh), adapted from the works of Rabbi Avigdor Miller, ZT'''L