1. Bread
Creative Meditations on the value of Bread
Kirk Bloede
Robert Winter
November 7, 2012

2. Spiritual Realm
Bread is abstractly symbolic of multiple concepts
Soul/Spirit
Physical/Sustenance Essential
Commercial/Banal

3. Spiritual Realm
• Bread, the “staff of life,” is the basis of the biblical story of
the loaves and the fishes. Indeed, Jesus says, “I am the bread
of life…” in John 6:35
• Throughout the Christian religion bread is highly symbolic,
e.g. communion

4. Essential
• Bread riots have threatened or even toppled powerful
political leaders
– Boston 1713
– England, 1709, 1740, 1756-7, 1773, 1782 and in particular 1795 and
1801
– Richmond 1863
– Egypt 1977
• Bread is an essential part of life

5. Commercial/Banal
• Reflected in the language – “bread, dough” means money
• e.g.,
“There ain’t no bread in the bread box
'Cause we ain't got no dough”
- Music and lyrics by Norton Buffalo

6. Bread IS Value
• Bread is, literally Value
– Sustains us physically
– Connects us to our spiritual selves via its important symbolism
– Is the ORIGINAL comfort food
– The loaf of bread is of IMMENSE VALUE as a symbol of life, of spirit,
and of sustenance. It also symbolizes wealth