Gold
Gold is the most precious and important metal among the seven types of metals. It corresponds to the highest part of the attribute of Gevurah that will be revealed in the future times, representing love like flames of fire.
In Chassidus[edit | edit source]
The reason gold is more precious than silver is explained in Chassidus: the root of Gevurah is higher than the attribute of Chesed. Indeed, in the Geulah, the main service will be through the Leviim who represent gold. However, currently during Galus, we must include Gevuros within Chassadim, therefore the current service is through the Kohanim who correspond to Chesed, represented by silver.
The Baal Shem Tov explains the verse "We will make you golden chains with silver studs" - although the main service and its beginning is through gold which represents fear, nevertheless silver, meaning yearning, is the point of the service. He compared this to someone who learned metalworking but didn't know that to begin the work, one must ignite the gold with fire, for without doing so the gold cannot be melted.
In the Beis Hamikdash
Most Keilim in the Mikdash were made from gold, except those that had a special reason to be made from another metal. Among them: the Golden Mizbeiach, the Golden Menorah, the Shulchan for the Lechem Hapanim, the Menoros, the Keruvim, and two of the three boxes that composed the Aron HaBris.
In the Second Beis Hamikdash, all doors of the Azarah were covered with gold by King Herod except for Shaar Nikanor.
The inner reason for this is because gold has a special advantage over other metals, and its root is higher than the roots of cheaper materials. In the descent of levels, the order is preserved, and therefore in this world too, gold is considered more precious than silver. The Zohar explains that gold has a special connection to sunlight, and it is more elevated and connected to spirituality than silver and copper.
In the Kohen Gadol's garments, many details were made from gold according to Hashem's command. Like the Tzitz, gold settings in the shoulder pieces of the Eifod, gold settings in the Choshen, and more. Additionally, gold threads were integrated into the fabric of the Eifod and Choshen. Because of this, the Kohen Gadol's garments were generally called "golden garments," as opposed to the "white garments" that he wore during part of Yom Kippur.
Love Like Flames of Fire[edit | edit source]
In Likutei Amarim - Chapter 50, the Alter Rebbe writes that the service of the Leviim, which is "love like flames of fire from the aspect of supreme Gevuros of Binah Ila'ah," is achieved through contemplation of the greatness of Ein Sof Baruch Hu, causing the soul to become inflamed and passionate for the precious glory of His greatness:
"There is yet another form of love that surpasses them all, like the superiority of gold over silver. This is a love like flames of fire from the aspect of supreme Gevuros of Binah Ila'ah. Through contemplation of the greatness of Ein Sof Baruch Hu, before whom everything is considered absolutely as nothing, the soul becomes inflamed and passionate for the precious glory of His greatness, to gaze upon the glory of the King like intense flames of fire that rise upward, separating from the wick and wood to which they cling. This occurs through the strengthening of the divine fire element in the divine soul, leading to thirst, as written 'My soul thirsts for You,' then to love-sickness, and finally to the actual expiration of the soul, as written 'My soul expires.' From here comes the root of the Leviim below [and in the future when the world will be elevated, they will be the Kohanim, as the Arizal wrote on the verse 'the Kohanim the Leviim,' that today's Leviim will be Kohanim in the future], and the service of the Leviim was to raise their voice in song and thanksgiving with melody and pleasantness in the aspect of Ratzo V'Shov, which is this intense love like a flame emerging from lightning as mentioned in the Gemara [Chapter 2 of Chagigah]."
External Links[edit | edit source]
- Gold, Silver and Copper - in Divine Service - An adapted talk of the Rebbe, from the Sichat HaShavua journal
- Rabbi Elisha Greenbaum, Gold! Gold! Gold! - Hashem Doesn't Seek a Gold Medal on the Chabad House website
See Also[edit | edit source]
Further Reading[edit | edit source]
- Sefer HaLikutim entry on Gold