Yoma 21B

כלי עץ העשוי לנחת הוא, וכל כלי [עץ] העשוי לנחת אינו מקבל טומאה, וחוצץ בפני טומאה. אלא מלמד שמגביהין אותו לעולי רגלים, ואומרים להם: ראו חיבתכם לפני המקום, שסילוקו כסדורו, שנאמר: ״לשום לחם חום ביום הלקחו״.

The Talmud asks: How is that possible? It is a wooden vessel designated to rest in a fixed place and not to be moved. And it was taught: Any wooden vessel designated to rest in a fixed place is not susceptible to ritual impurity, and it serves as a barrier before impurity, preventing its transmission. Rather, the fact that the table is described as pure teaches that the priests lift it in order to display the showbread to the Festival pilgrims, and they say to them: See how beloved you are before God, as the bread is as hot at its removal on Shabbat, after a week on the table, as it was at its arrangement, as it is stated: “To put out hot bread on the day it was taken away” (I Samuel 21:7). Since the table was moved on occasion, it was not considered a wooden vessel designated to rest and was therefore susceptible to impurity. At the same time, it is clear that the miracle of the showbread was a miracle performed outside the Sanctuary, as it was visible to all.

ותו ליכא? והאמר רב אושעיא: בשעה שבנה שלמה בית המקדש, נטע בו כל מיני מגדים של זהב, והיו מוציאין פירותיהן בזמנן, וכשהרוח מנשבת בהן נושרין, שנאמר: ״ירעש כלבנון פריו״. וכשנכנסו גוים להיכל יבש, שנאמר: ״ופרח לבנון אומלל״, ועתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להחזירן, שנאמר: ״פרוח תפרח ותגל אף גילת ורנן כבוד הלבנון נתן לה״.

The Talmud asks: And are there no more miracles performed in the Temple? But didn’t Rav Oshaya say: When Solomon built the Temple he planted all sorts of precious golden fruits there, and these brought forth their fruit in their appointed season like other trees, and when the wind blew them the fruit would fall, as it is stated: “May his fruits rustle like Lebanon” (Psalms 72:16). This indicates that fruits grew in Lebanon, which the rabbis interpreted as a reference to the Temple, which was built with cedar trees from Lebanon. And when the non-Jews entered the Sanctuary the golden tree withered, as it stated: “And the blossoms of Lebanon wither” (Nahum 1:4). And God will restore the miraculous trees to Israel in the future, as it is stated: “It should blossom abundantly, it should also rejoice and shout, the glory of Lebanon will be given to it” (Isaiah 35:2). Apparently, there were additional miracles in the Temple.