A few weeks ago, when it was just as cold as it is this week, I ventured out to walk my dog before the sun had even risen in the sky. It was a cloudless morning and all the stars sparkled above us. But, what took my breath away was the way the snow under our feet was illuminated like a thousand diamonds. It felt like I truly was walking on pavement paved with gold.
We all want a yellow brick road to follow: something clear and obvious to show the path ahead. Many of our relatives came to America thinking the streets were paved with gold. They wanted relief from the economic and social oppression they faced in Europe. Instead they largely found one filled with hardship and struggle.
Our biblical ancestors also sought out such roads as well. In this week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, the Torah describes a sapphire laden pavement under a pure white sky (Exodus 24:10). Why sapphire? The rabbis struggle with this detail. Chizchuni, a 13th Century French rabbi, wrote that the Israelites were so deprived as slaves that they had never even seen a sapphire. God chose a particular type of white sapphire because it would remind them of a cloudy day, something they had least seen before. Rashi, writing a century before, also understood the Israelites lack of context, focusing on the choice of bricks, a material they knew well from their time in Egypt, and thus would be familiar to them. But my favorite comment is from Sforno, the 16th century Italian rabbi, who said that sapphire comes in different colors. This particular sapphire was completely transparent, providing a blank slate for them to experience God. Maybe that is what we really need in our roads, instead of pointing the way ahead; we should be allowed to find it on our own
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex