According to the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

, the House of Garmu was responsible for baking the

Showbread Showbread ( he, לחם הפנים ''Leḥem haPānīm'', literally: "Bread of the Faces"), in the King James Version: shewbread, in a biblical or Jewish context, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present, on a specially-de ...

offered in the

Temple of Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

. The Talmud praised the Garmu family for never permitting their children to be seen eating white bread, to avoid any possible suspicion that they might be appropriating Temple resources for their own personal use. The Talmud relates that they had a secret method of baking the Showbread in a way that preserved its freshness so that it remained fresh even after having been left on the Table for a week. They refused to disclose the secret and it became lost following the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

's destruction in 70 CE. The

relates that the officers of the Temple once attempted to replace the House of Garmu, but the replacement workers were unable to bake it in a way which preserved its freshness. The Talmud relates said that: :When the Sages learned of the matter, they said "All that the Holy One, Blessed Be He created he created for His glory, as it is said (

Proverbs A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...

16:4) "Everything God made for His sake." The Sages sent after them, but they did not want to come back until he Sagesdoubled their wages.

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

Shekalim 5:1 (''Schottenstein Edition'' 14a) The phrase "Who created everything for His Glory" is used in the first blessing of the

Sheva Brachot ''Sheva Brachot'' ( he, שבע ברכות) literally "the seven blessings" also known as ''birkot nissuin'' ( he, ברכות נישואין), "the wedding blessings" in ''Jewish law'' are blessings that are recited for a bride and her groom as par ...

(Seven Blessings) at a Jewish wedding ceremony (and in the

Birkat HaMazon Birkat Hamazon ( he, בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( yi, ; translit. ''bentschen'' or "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish ...

(Grace after meals) during the 3-7 day honeymoon period afterwards. Commentators connect the use of this phrase in this Talmudic passage to its use in the marriage ceremony to illustrate interpretive ideas -- that everyone has unique talents which must be recognized, that it is sage to accept with grace what one cannot change -- connecting the story of the House of Garmu with wisdom and insight necessary to maintain a harmonious marriage.

References

* ''The Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud'', Tractate Shekalim, Mesorah Publications Ltd, 2005. Second Temple