Julius, Vayakhel The Jewish Mother - A Hair-Raising Responsibility
Julius, Vayakhel The Jewish Mother - A Hair-Raising Responsibility By Julius By Julius The construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was performed by the most skilled and wisest of men. However the women also had a role in its construction. "All the women whose hearts inspired them with wisdom spun the goat's-hair. (35:26)" While no doubt the spinning of the goat's- hair was a critical element of the Mishkan, why does the Torah imply that it required some special measure of wisdom? Skill and dexterity perhaps - but wisdom? Rashi explains that an extraordinary level of craftsmanship was required to spin the goat's-hair, because the women would spin their threads from the fleece on the backs of the goats before it was shorn - i.e. straight off the goat! Sforno explains that after fleece is shorn, the hair loses more of its lustre each time it is handled. By combing and spinning the fleece straight off the goats while it was still growing, they were able to pre...