The Blasphemer Who Mocked the Showbread
The Midrash traces how the son of Shlomis bas Divri began by joking about nine-day-old showbread and slid all the way to cursing Hashem.
The verse is referring to the illegitimate son of Shlomis bas Divri who lost a legal dispute and cursed Hashem. The Midrash expounds many different interpretations of the phrase “And he went out.” One possibility is that he went out of the World to Come. In other words, he lost his share in Olam HaBa by cursing Hashem.
Another interpretation offered is that the Torah is informing us the root of his transgression. How did this man stray so far that he ended up cursing G-d? The answer is he went out from the previous parashah. The Torah earlier was discussing the lechem ha’panim. The lechem ha’panim was always at least nine days old before it was consumed. It was baked on Friday and placed on the Shulchan on Shabbos. It was not eaten until the following Shabbos. Counting the day it was baked and the day it was consumed, the total comes out to nine days.
This individual started poking fun at this halachah. “Does a king eat fresh bread or nine-day-old bread? Why is the service performed for Hashem with stale bread?” Of course, the Gemara says that the bread miraculously stayed warm and fresh, but this individual chose not to believe that. This little joke set this man on a slippery slope that eventually led him to spiritual ruin.