Dear Friends,
A Riddle: 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: 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, the festival at which we commemorate receiving the Torah. (Tonight, Thursday, May 7, our count announces the 29th day.)
The Hebrew word for “counting off,” is “u’sfartem,” and it offers a rich double-entendre. The sages saw that in the word the Hebrew root s-f-r, which means counting, or may also be rendered safir, or sapphire (There are many English words which originated in Hebrew, such as sapphire, or cornucopia, from the Hebrew, keren).
Rabbi Chayim ben Attar, in his 18th -century Torah commentary, Or HaChayim, suggested 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 taught that the counting implied in s-f-r 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 Shavuot and the receipt of 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 can be 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 still gems, and that we are but sullied on the surface. Underneath a garb of regretful misdeeds is the inner core of a gem of sapphire, waiting to be polished and shiny once again.
We might even apply this teaching to this period of coronavirus. We may feel like ours is a sullied, tarnished, world, and we are defeated by the daily counting of the sick and dead. Yet, the double meaning of our word reminds us that counting and sapphire originate together; we are most troubled because human gems are sickened and lost. Let’s look past the numbers and see the radiance.
As we count through these days from Passover to Shavuot, we are reminded to review our deeds, correct wrongs, apply a lovely polish to our souls, and see the radiant gems in the souls of others.
Stay safe, and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
A Riddle: 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: 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, the festival at which we commemorate receiving the Torah. (Tonight, Thursday, May 7, our count announces the 29th day.)
The Hebrew word for “counting off,” is “u’sfartem,” and it offers a rich double-entendre. The sages saw that in the word the Hebrew root s-f-r, which means counting, or may also be rendered safir, or sapphire (There are many English words which originated in Hebrew, such as sapphire, or cornucopia, from the Hebrew, keren).
Rabbi Chayim ben Attar, in his 18th -century Torah commentary, Or HaChayim, suggested 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 taught that the counting implied in s-f-r 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 Shavuot and the receipt of 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 can be 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 still gems, and that we are but sullied on the surface. Underneath a garb of regretful misdeeds is the inner core of a gem of sapphire, waiting to be polished and shiny once again.
We might even apply this teaching to this period of coronavirus. We may feel like ours is a sullied, tarnished, world, and we are defeated by the daily counting of the sick and dead. Yet, the double meaning of our word reminds us that counting and sapphire originate together; we are most troubled because human gems are sickened and lost. Let’s look past the numbers and see the radiance.
As we count through these days from Passover to Shavuot, we are reminded to review our deeds, correct wrongs, apply a lovely polish to our souls, and see the radiant gems in the souls of others.
Stay safe, and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
