Dear Friends,
How are the Jewish people like sapphire stones?
The early rabbinic sages often used such riddles to stimulate intellectual pursuit and inquiry into Torah. Our portion, today, offers one such riddle. So, how are the Jewish people comparable to sapphire stones?
We read in our portion, “And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of grain for the wave offering - the day after the Shabbat - you shall count off seven weeks.” [Lev. 23:15] This instruction pertained to the weeks between the festivals of Passover and Shavuot at which we commemorate receiving the Torah. It is the period of time in which we are, currently.
The Hebrew word for “counting off,” is “u’sfartem,” and it offers a rich double entendre. The sages saw in the word the Hebrew root s-f-r, which may mean counting, or may also be rendered safir, or sapphire (There are many English words which originate from cognates in Hebrew, such as sapphire, or cornucopia, from the Hebrew, keren.)
Thus, Rabbi Chayim ben Attar, in his Torah commentary, Or HaChayim, suggests that the “Jewish people are compared to the nature of sapphires which lose their luster when they become dirty. As a result of sins committed by their owners (bodies inhabited by these souls) something similar happens to their souls.” ben Attar, therefore, teaches that the counting implied in the verb urges Jews to count our misdeeds, and to “polish up” our souls. Especially, ben Attar urges this counting and polishing as we are advancing on our spiritual trek of seven weeks to receiving Torah. A sullied or dirty, lusterless people will not receive Torah.
It is a good message. Like once shiny gems now covered in soot, we can become soiled by misdeeds which weigh heavy upon us. Our radiance and brightness are blanketed by a film of regret and even embarrassment, which impedes our sheen. Yet, implicit in the metaphor, however, is an important corollary: we must remember that we are gems, and that we are but sullied on the surface. Under the heavy garb of regretful wrongdoings is the inner core of sapphire, waiting to be polished and shiny once again.
As we march through these days from Passover to Shavuot, trekking through the periods of our lives, we are reminded to review our deeds, correct wrongs, and apply a lovely polish to our souls.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
How are the Jewish people like sapphire stones?
The early rabbinic sages often used such riddles to stimulate intellectual pursuit and inquiry into Torah. Our portion, today, offers one such riddle. So, how are the Jewish people comparable to sapphire stones?
We read in our portion, “And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of grain for the wave offering - the day after the Shabbat - you shall count off seven weeks.” [Lev. 23:15] This instruction pertained to the weeks between the festivals of Passover and Shavuot at which we commemorate receiving the Torah. It is the period of time in which we are, currently.
The Hebrew word for “counting off,” is “u’sfartem,” and it offers a rich double entendre. The sages saw in the word the Hebrew root s-f-r, which may mean counting, or may also be rendered safir, or sapphire (There are many English words which originate from cognates in Hebrew, such as sapphire, or cornucopia, from the Hebrew, keren.)
Thus, Rabbi Chayim ben Attar, in his Torah commentary, Or HaChayim, suggests that the “Jewish people are compared to the nature of sapphires which lose their luster when they become dirty. As a result of sins committed by their owners (bodies inhabited by these souls) something similar happens to their souls.” ben Attar, therefore, teaches that the counting implied in the verb urges Jews to count our misdeeds, and to “polish up” our souls. Especially, ben Attar urges this counting and polishing as we are advancing on our spiritual trek of seven weeks to receiving Torah. A sullied or dirty, lusterless people will not receive Torah.
It is a good message. Like once shiny gems now covered in soot, we can become soiled by misdeeds which weigh heavy upon us. Our radiance and brightness are blanketed by a film of regret and even embarrassment, which impedes our sheen. Yet, implicit in the metaphor, however, is an important corollary: we must remember that we are gems, and that we are but sullied on the surface. Under the heavy garb of regretful wrongdoings is the inner core of sapphire, waiting to be polished and shiny once again.
As we march through these days from Passover to Shavuot, trekking through the periods of our lives, we are reminded to review our deeds, correct wrongs, and apply a lovely polish to our souls.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
