The King's Loaves

A Jewish folktale entitled "The King's Loaves" tells about two beggars who went daily to the palace to beg at the king's gate for bread.

Every day the king gave each of them a loaf of bread. One of the beggars always thanked the king for his generosity, but the other thanked God for giving the king sufficient wealth to give charitably.

The second beggar's words always hurt the king. So the king decided to teach him a lesson. The king ordered his baker to bake two identical loaves, but one concealed precious jewels. Then he instructed the baker to give the loaf with the hidden jewels to the beggar who always thanked the king for his charity.

The next day the baker went to the king's gate and handed the two loaves to the beggars. He took great care not to confuse the two, for he feared the king's wrath. When the beggar with the special loaf felt how heavy and hard it was, he concluded that it was poorly made and asked the other beggar to exchange loaves with him.

The second beggar, always eager to help a friend, agreed. Then they went their separate ways. When the second man bit into the loaf, he discovered that it was filled with jewels. He thanked God for his good fortune, grateful that he would no longer have to beg for his bread.

The next morning the king was surprised to find only the first beggar at the palace gate. He had the baker brought before him and asked him, "Did you mix up the two loaves I had you bake?"

"No, your majesty," answered the baker. "I did exactly as you asked." Then the king turned to the beggar and asked, "What did you do with the loaf you received yesterday?" The man replied, "It was hard and poorly baked, so I gave it to my friend in exchange for his."

Then the king understood that all his riches had indeed come from God, and that only the Holy One can make a poor man rich or a rich man poor.

God is the giver of all bread and all possessions.

Bread is not merely food; it is also a metaphor for all that God has given us. In the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, we ask that God "give us this day our daily bread." In this petition, we are not simply asking God for a loaf of bread, but we are acknowledging that it is indeed God who gives us all that we need to survive: breathe, life, food, shelter, all our possessions, health, our family and friends. Everything.

We are bread for one another when we welcome a stranger and when we walk with someone through an illness. We are bread for one another when we love those who are most difficult to love and when we defend the defenseless. We are bread for one another when we teach and when we forgive. And finally, we are bread for one another when we share the bread we have been given.

["The King's Loaves," an Afghanistani folktale from The Classic Tales: 4000 Years of Jewish Lore, Ellen Frankel, ed., New Jersey: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1989. Quoted in the sermon "We are Bread When" by Rev. Beth Warpmaeker, 2000.]