The Machzor is
the prayer book that is used during the High Holidays. As I was reading through
it, on Yom Kippur, I was yet again, as I am every year, captivated by the way
it was compiled, consisting of special prayers for the occasion as well as the
various Torah readings. The Machzor is
an assembly of all that the praying persons need for the Holy Day. It is aimed
at their convenience.
A close review
of its content will reveal that the Machzor is also a treasure trove of not
only meaningful prayers but a collection of literary pearls in the form
Piyyutim, poems which add much value and meaning to this day of awe.
One such Piyyut that always captures my eyes and leaves me in amazement is the one depicting G-d as the ultimate artist, the fundamental craftsman.
The first stanza which likens G-d to a potter leans on the words of G-d through the prophet Jeremiah (18:6) “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” I particularly like this metaphor since, as someone who works with clay, I can deeply appreciate the process and identify with it. Romancing the clay, shaping it, reshaping it until it reaches the desired outcome is a skill that requires much vision and persistence. It echoes the act of the creation of man in Genesis which relates to Man being made of clay/ earth and created in G-d’s image. And who if not G-d would possess such dexterity?
The second one, compares G-d to a gifted stone mason. Through His manipulations, holding the stone or breaking it, He can bring it to its desired final shape.
One such Piyyut that always captures my eyes and leaves me in amazement is the one depicting G-d as the ultimate artist, the fundamental craftsman.
The first stanza which likens G-d to a potter leans on the words of G-d through the prophet Jeremiah (18:6) “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” I particularly like this metaphor since, as someone who works with clay, I can deeply appreciate the process and identify with it. Romancing the clay, shaping it, reshaping it until it reaches the desired outcome is a skill that requires much vision and persistence. It echoes the act of the creation of man in Genesis which relates to Man being made of clay/ earth and created in G-d’s image. And who if not G-d would possess such dexterity?
The second one, compares G-d to a gifted stone mason. Through His manipulations, holding the stone or breaking it, He can bring it to its desired final shape.
The third stanza compares
G-d to a sailor who proficiently negotiates the steering wheel of the ship
guiding it to its destination. Another stanza compares G-d to a glazier – a
skilled tradesman specializing in cutting, installing and removing glass.
Another one yet, likens G-d to an embroiderer who folds and flattens the fabric
as he wishes.
However, the final stanza where G-d is likened to a silversmith is my favourite one. I like this metaphor, particularly, as it brings to mind for me the parable of the Silversmith in the Book of Zachariah (13:9) where G-d equates himself to the Silversmith anxd Am Yisrael to his silver: “I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.”
I recall reading an account, once, about a woman who visited a silversmith’s workplace in order to learn the details of the process of refining silver. As he was holding the piece of silver over the fire, the silversmith explained to her that the silver needs to be held in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest for the impurities to burn away. That reminded the woman of G-d holding the Jewish People in such a hot spot in His effort to cleanse them.
The silversmith also explained to her that he must watch the furnace constantly in order to ensure that the silver is not destroyed. Again, the woman thought of G-d as the Silversmith who needs to put Am Yisrael into the furnace, closely watch each step with the intent of purifying them and bring them closer to him.
As she was about to leave, the woman wished to know how the silversmith knew when the refining was finished and the silver is pure.
“That’s rather simple,” he replied, “the process is finished when I see my image reflected in the silver.”
Yom Kippur is part of our purification process, the time when we shed our impurities, Personal and National and prepare ourselves to enter a better life, a clean future, a time where we hope that when G-d, the Ultimate Craftsman’ can look at us and see His Image.
Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Succot, fellow Jews and Am Yisrael.
However, the final stanza where G-d is likened to a silversmith is my favourite one. I like this metaphor, particularly, as it brings to mind for me the parable of the Silversmith in the Book of Zachariah (13:9) where G-d equates himself to the Silversmith anxd Am Yisrael to his silver: “I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.”
I recall reading an account, once, about a woman who visited a silversmith’s workplace in order to learn the details of the process of refining silver. As he was holding the piece of silver over the fire, the silversmith explained to her that the silver needs to be held in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest for the impurities to burn away. That reminded the woman of G-d holding the Jewish People in such a hot spot in His effort to cleanse them.
The silversmith also explained to her that he must watch the furnace constantly in order to ensure that the silver is not destroyed. Again, the woman thought of G-d as the Silversmith who needs to put Am Yisrael into the furnace, closely watch each step with the intent of purifying them and bring them closer to him.
As she was about to leave, the woman wished to know how the silversmith knew when the refining was finished and the silver is pure.
“That’s rather simple,” he replied, “the process is finished when I see my image reflected in the silver.”
Yom Kippur is part of our purification process, the time when we shed our impurities, Personal and National and prepare ourselves to enter a better life, a clean future, a time where we hope that when G-d, the Ultimate Craftsman’ can look at us and see His Image.
Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Succot, fellow Jews and Am Yisrael.
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