Dolphin Skins in the Desert?

Vayakel

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.

Written and Oral

Ki Tissa

Ex. 30:11-34:35

Précis: The parasha begins with a census of the people, accomplished by the collection of a half shekel. We then return to a description of Tabernacle items, including the basin, anointing oil, and incense. The holy work of building the Tabernacle is to be interrupted by Shabbat. Then we return to narrative. Moses is given the two tablets and he descends from Mount Sinai. There he sees the people worshipping the Golden Calf. The tablets are smashed and the evil doers are punished. Moses returns up the mountain, and we next have the articulation of the 13 Attributes of God. Moses carves a new set of tablets, and returns to the People, his face radiant.

Ex. 34:27 ‘Write for yourself (k'tav lecha) these words, for according to (al pi) these words I have sealed a covenant (brit) with you and with Israel.”

            Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein has written about the origin of belief in a written law and an oral law (Torah Sparks, 3/3/18), finding its proof text in this verse. Situated after the story of the Golden Calf and Moses' re-ascent to the mountain top, the Sages note that the Hebrew phrase “al pi” is usually translated as “according to” but its origin is in the word “pi” which literally means “mouth.” The close connection between k’tav (write) and pi (mouth) and brit (covenant) displays the importance of torah she’bal pe, the Oral law developed by the Rabbis. Tradition, found in the beginning of Pirke Avot, states that the Oral Law was transmitted from God to Moses, and then to Joshua, the Judges, and ultimately to the Sanhedrin and the Sages.

            Silverstein cites Rabbi Gerson Cohen (z’l) who believed that Rabbinic Judaism provided two indispensable religious innovations: (1) universal study of the Oral Law (as eventually transcribed in the Talmud) as a religious discipline to commune with God, and (2) a way for Judaism to continue without the priestly caste and the sacrificial system. While there remain remnants of the caste (in the recognition of their descendants), we no longer have intermediaries between ourselves and God. Our religious observance became democratic.

            Finally, the embrace of Oral Law as the central expression of the Jewish People's covenant with God is what makes Rabbinic Judaism and our covenant unique.