בְזֵעַת אַפֶיךָ תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם עַד שׁוּבְךָ אֶל-הָּאֲדָּמָּה כִי מִמֶנָּה לֻקָּחְתָּ כִי-עָּפָּר אַתָּה וְאֶל-עָּפָּר תָּשׁוּב.
Bezeat apeicha tojal lechem ad shuvcha el-ha'adamah ki mimena lukachta, ki afar atah ve'el-afar tashuv.
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
Our human condition after the Fall, related to the disconnection from our original state where we coexisted in harmony with the divine, should not obscure the fact that this very dust of the earth contains divine sparks, atoms, or particles of Him. This indicates that, although evil and darkness may seem to prevail in these molecules, in the whole, He proliferates and reigns.
He created us, giving us free will; therefore, He respects our will, always warning us of the effects of going against it and the order of creation. Thus, the "sweat of our brow" symbolizes the effort and difficulty inherent in earthly life, intertwined with the process of sustenance and survival, but also with our growth by potentializing the gifts He gave us to overcome all the challenges projected in this plane.
We face the difficulties and challenges that the world presents, but we also have the tools to overcome them. Moreover, He will never leave us alone, as long as we ask and allow Him. Turning these challenges into burdens is one of our greatest mistakes, as they are opportunities for spiritual growth, thanks to work and struggle.
Even knowing us, in His grace, He gave us everything and, out of His mercy, became human, paid for our sins and errors, and freed us from judgment, asking only that we trust in Him, which reveals our stubbornness and perpetual disobedience, through which we despise Him.
Our bodies will return to "dust," but He promises us a new incorruptible one, provided that we reform and transform ourselves so that the cyclical nature of earthly life, which ends in death, does not end up absorbing us eternally. Our passage through this temporal world only highlights, through our fragility, the need to protect ourselves in and through Him.
The word "עָּפָּר" (afar, "dust") and its numerical value of 350 (Ayin = 70, Pe = 80, Resh = 200) speak to us of the quest to transform this materiality, which is said to make up all celestial bodies, like the stars, to elevate it beyond this dark universe. Therefore, the term "לֶחֶ ם " (lechem, "bread") and its numerical value of 78 (Lamed = 30, Chet = 8, Mem = 40) remind us that He is our daily sustenance, that He is the one who nourishes us, that we need nothing more, and that as the bread of life, He feeds our soul.
Our conscious and spiritual efforts should not be solely for our daily temporal food but to find the dignity and value of honest effort that brings us closer to Him once again, and that, as a result of this self-improvement and adherence to His commandments, leads us beyond that memento mori, which as a call reiterates to us that time is running out, as are the opportunities to approach Him voluntarily and consciously.
The awareness of our mortality drives us to make meaningful use of our time on Earth, aiming to draw closer to Him through this, His work, a faith that involves, above all, dedicating ourselves not just to activities that provide sustenance, which He granted us from the moment He created us, but to seeking fruits that nourish us integrally and spiritually.