Ex. 35:1 - 38:20
Précis: Moses instructs the People again on the laws of Shabbat and asks for a donation of gifts (both of material and service) for the construction of the Tabernacle. The appointment of the construction leaders is also included, and the construction begins. There are again specific descriptions of implements, articles, and of the Ark itself.
Ex. 35:5-7 “Take from among the gifts to the Lord; everyone whose heart so moves him shall bring them - gifts for the Lord: gold, silver and copper; blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen and goats’ hair; tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood…”
Rabbi Avi Weinstein wonders about “dolphin skins” (MyJewishLearning.com,3/1/16), as do I. Where in the wilderness were the people to find skins of a sea animal?
The Hebrew word translated by the Jewish Publication Society as “dolphin” is “tachash” but they note that the meaning is “uncertain.” Some have suggested “tanned” skins or “seal skins” (the latter seems to be just as problematic as dolphin skin).
The Targum Onkelos, the earliest translation and commentary in Aramaic, translates the word tachash with an equally cryptic Aramaic word, “sas-gavna” which the Sages tried to decipher. One source suggests that “sas” comes from the Hebrew and means joy, and “gavna” means colors. But what kind of animal is it?
One suggestion is that “sas” is a worm, and “gavna” means color. This might mean colorful worms or caterpillars, and could be used as an adjective for other skins. This may mean that this animal radiated the many colors that one may see in a butterfly, or colorful worms. It becomes an adjective describing the colors of the hides.
A Midrash tells us that two scholars disagreed about what the animal was. R. Yehudah said that it was a huge animal in the desert, with one horn on its head (a unicorn?). But R. Nehemiah disagreed, stating that it was a unique beast hidden after being used in the Mishkan. But why was such an animal needed? Because the tent was 30 cubits long, they needed a special animal!
As is often the case with unclear statements in the text, the Sages engage in metaphoric exploration. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev, a great Hasidic master, taught that the tachash was a metaphor for the layers of meaning in a person’s speech. The hide was unattractive — even impure — on the outside, but magnificent on the inside.
He then compared this to humor. As Rabbi Weinstein quotes him, “Sometimes, he said, a joke can be seen as frivolous and lacking any spiritual value whatsoever, but often, it has the power to penetrate a person’s consciousness and lead him to an awareness of heaven in a way that is completely surprising. What seemed to be a distraction from the work of the spirit ends up being spiritual work of the highest order.”
So here’s to the tachash, and to the comedians who, through laughter, make us ponder the important issues we all face.
