Uncovering the Magic of Stones and Soil | Sarah Chandler
May 13, 2024
During the Omer season from Passover to Shavuot, the earth is undergoing changes: defrosting and sprouting new life. Connecting with elements of nature, including those that we may not have paid much attention to–such as stones, soil, dust and even compost–can open new pathways in our spiritual lives.
Join Kohenet and ecological educator Sarah Chandler for an exploration of Jewish texts, poetry and rituals to help you discover and write about new Jewish earth-based practices, rooted in tradition.
Dust and Ashes
The Hebrew words for "dust" and the Hebrew word for "ashes" are homonyms – they sound similar, but they are spelled differently.
- Aleph Pay Rash - eifar - אֵפֶר means ashes
- Eyin Pay Rash - afar - עָפָר means dust (this can mean broken down rock/soil/dirt or ore (crumbs of metal)
Dust in the Creation Story (Adam & Eve)
Hashem El-him formed the adam (human) afar (dust) from the adamah (soil / humus), blowing into his nostrils the breath of life: the Human became a living being.
תניא היה ר' מאיר אומר אדם הראשון מכל העולם כולו הוצבר עפרו שנאמר (תהלים קלט, טז) גלמי ראו עיניך (וכתיב (דברי הימים ב טז, ט) כי ה' עיניו משוטטות בכל הארץ)
אמר רב אושעיא משמיה דרב אדם הראשון גופו מבבל וראשו מארץ ישראל ואבריו משאר ארצות עגבותיו א"ר אחא מאקרא דאגמא
It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir would say: The dust that served to form Adam the first human was gathered from the entire world, as it is stated: “When I was made in secret and wrought in the lowest places of the earth, Your eyes did see my unshaped flesh” (Psalms 139:15–16), and it is written: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (II Chronicles 16:9), indicating that this figure was formed from the whole earth, the place within the view of the Lord’s eyes.
Rav Oshaya says in the name of Rav: With regard to Adam the first man, his torso was fashioned from dust taken from Babylonia, and his head was fashioned from dust taken from Eretz Yisrael, the most important land, and his limbs were fashioned from dust taken from the rest of the lands in the world. With regard to his buttocks, Rav Aḥa says: They were fashioned from dust taken from Akra De’agma, on the outskirts of Babylonia.
עפר מן האדמה. צָבַר עֲפְרוֹ מִכָּל הָאֲדָמָה מֵאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת, שֶׁכָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁיָּמוּת שָׁם תְּהֵא קוֹלַטְתּוֹ לִקְבוּרָה.
דָּ"אַ נָטַל עֲפָרוֹ מִמָּקוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בּוֹ מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה תַּעֲשֶׂה לִּי (שמות כ'), הַלְוַאי תִּהְיֶה לוֹ כַפָּרָה וְיוּכַל לַעֲמֹד:
עפר מן האדמה DUST OF THE EARTH — G-d gathered his (Adam's) dust (i. e. that from which he was made) from the entire earth — from its four corners — in order that wherever he might die, it should receive him for burial (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 3).
Another explanation: He took his dust from that spot on which the Holy Temple with the altar of atonement was in later times to be built of which it is said, (Exodus 20:24) “An altar of earth thou shalt make for Me” saying, “Would that this sacred earth may be an expiation for him so that he may be able to endure” (Genesis Rabbah 14:8).
וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ ה' אֱלֹקִ֥ים ׀ אֶֽל־הַנָּחָשׁ֮ כִּ֣י עָשִׂ֣יתָ זֹּאת֒ אָר֤וּר אַתָּה֙ מִכׇּל־הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה וּמִכֹּ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה עַל־גְּחֹנְךָ֣ תֵלֵ֔ךְ וְעָפָ֥ר תֹּאכַ֖ל כׇּל־יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃
Hashem G-d said to the snake:
Because you have done this,
cursed be you from all the animals and from all the wildlife of the field;
on your belly shall you walk and dust shall you eat, all the days of your life.
בְּזֵעַ֤ת אַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ תֹּ֣אכַל לֶ֔חֶם עַ֤ד שֽׁוּבְךָ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כִּ֥י מִמֶּ֖נָּה לֻקָּ֑חְתָּ כִּֽי־עָפָ֣ר אַ֔תָּה וְאֶל־עָפָ֖ר תָּשֽׁוּב׃
By the sweat of your brow
Shall you get bread to eat,
Until you return to the ground—
For from it you were taken.
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
עַל גְּחֹנְךָ תֵלֵךְ (בראשית ג, יד), בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל גְּחֹנְךָ תֵלֵךְ, יָרְדוּ מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת וְקָצְצוּ יָדָיו וְרַגְלָיו, וְהָיָה קוֹלוֹ הוֹלֵךְ מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם וְעַד סוֹפוֹ, בָּא נָחָשׁ לְלַמֵּד עַל מַפַּלְתָּהּ שֶׁל מִצְרַיִם וְנִמְצָא לָמֵד מִמֶּנָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה מו, כב): קוֹלָהּ כַּנָּחָשׁ יֵלֵךְ,
רַבִּי יוּדָן וְרַבִּי הוּנָא, חַד מִנְהוֹן אָמַר אַתָּה גָּרַמְתָּ לַבְּרִיּוֹת שֶׁיְהוּ מְהַלְּכֵי גְּחוּנִים עַל מֵתֵיהֶם, אַף אַתָּה עַל גְּחֹנְךָ תֵלֵךְ. אָמַר רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אַף קִלְּלָתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא יֵשׁ בָּהּ בְּרָכָה, אָמַר אִלּוּלֵי שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל גְּחֹנְךָ תֵלֵךְ, הֵיאַךְ הָיָה בּוֹרֵחַ לַכֹּתֶל וְנִכְנַס לַחֹר וְנִצֹּל. (בראשית ג, יד): וְעָפָר תֹּאכַל כָּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ, אָמַר רַבִּי חִילְפָאי לֹא עָפָר מִכָּל צַד אֶלָּא בּוֹקֵעַ וְיוֹרֵד עַד שֶׁהוּא מַגִּיעַ לְסֶלַע וְשׁוֹמֵט גִּידִין שֶׁל אֲדָמָה וְאוֹכֵל.
“On your belly you shall go” – when the Holy One blessed be He said to it: “On your belly you shall go,” the ministering angels descended and severed its arms and its legs, and its voice carried from the end of the world to its end. The serpent comes to shed light on the downfall of Egypt, but in the end is itself illuminated by it, as it is stated [regarding Egypt]: “Its outcry will sound out like a serpent” (Jeremiah 46:22).
Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Huna, one of them said: [God told the serpent:] ‘You caused people to walk bent over [in grief] over their dead; you, too, will go on your belly.’
Rabbi Eliezer said: Even the curse of the Holy One blessed be He contains a blessing. Had the Holy One blessed be He not said to it: “On your belly you shall go,” how would it flee into a wall, enter a hole and be saved?
“And you shall eat dust all the days of your life” – Rabbi Ḥilfai said: Not the dust on all sides, but rather, it breaks through [the soil] and descends until it reaches bedrock, and it loosens soil fibers and eats.
The following passage is from Tzavaat HaRivash (#12), a compilation of the Baal Shem Tov’s writing by his disciple Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezhirech.
צוואת הריב"ש
ובמה הוא חשוב יותר מהתולעת, שהתולעת עובד להבורא יתברך בכל שכלו וכחו. והאדם ג״כ רמה ותולעה, כמ״ש ואנכי תולעת ולא איש, ואם לא נתן לו השי״ת שכל לא היה יכול לעבדו רק כמו תולעת, וא״כ אפילו מתולעת אינו חשוב במעלה כ״ש מבני אדם. ויחשוב שהוא לתולעת ושארי בריות קטנות הם חשובים כמו חבירים בעולם, שכולם נבראים ואין להם יכולת רק מה שנתן להם הבורא יתברך, ודבר זה יהיה תמיד במחשבתו:
Tzavaat HaRivash (#12)
What makes you superior to a worm? The worm serves the Creator with all its mind and strength! Human, too, is a worm and maggot, as it is written “I am a worm and no man.” (Psalms 22:7) If God had not given you intelligence you would not be able to worship God but like a worm. Thus you are no better than a worm, and certainly [no better] than [other] people. Bear in mind that you, the worm and all other small creatures are considered as friends in the world. For all were created and have but the ability given to them by the blessed Creator. Always keep this matter in mind.
Abraham and Dust
וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֖ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אִם־יוּכַ֣ל אִ֗ישׁ לִמְנוֹת֙ אֶת־עֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ גַּֽם־זַרְעֲךָ֖ יִמָּנֶֽה׃
I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring too can be counted.
(כו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ה' אִם־אֶמְצָ֥א בִסְדֹ֛ם חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים צַדִּיקִ֖ם בְּת֣וֹךְ הָעִ֑יר וְנָשָׂ֥אתִי לְכׇל־הַמָּק֖וֹם בַּעֲבוּרָֽם׃ (כז) וַיַּ֥עַן אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הִנֵּה־נָ֤א הוֹאַ֙לְתִּי֙ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־אדושם וְאָנֹכִ֖י עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר׃
(26) And ה' answered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” (27) Abraham spoke up, saying, “Here I venture to speak to my lord, I who am but dust and ashes:
Moses and Dust
The Forgotten Meaning of ʿāpār in Biblical Hebrew
Nissim Amzallag - Journal of the American Oriental Society
Vol. 137, No. 4 (October-December 2017), pp. 767-783 (17 pages)
It is argued in this study that ʿāpār, in the context of mining expressed in Job 28:2, 6, probably denotes neither ‘dust’ nor related materials (‘earth’, ‘dirt’, or ‘ashes’), as is generally assumed, but ‘metallic ore’. A similar designation of ʿāpār as ore is identified in Job 30:6 and Ezek. 26:12. Further examination reveals the figurative use of ʿāpār as ore in Job 22:24, Isa. 34:9, and Isa. 41:2. In contrast to the abasement, humiliation, and worthlessness that are closely related to dust, metallic ore is associated with preciousness, rarity, and wisdom.
Consequently, disregard of the figurative meaning of ʿāpār as ore may generate misunderstandings of the biblical text. It may also conceal a theological reality. For example, the identification of ʿāpār as ore in Prov. 8:26 promotes homology between Lady Wisdom and the Egyptian goddess Hathor in Prov. 8:22–31.
In Gen. 3:14, it stresses the metallurgical background of the Hebrew myth of origin and helps to clarify its significance. The meaning of ʿāpār as ore in Isa. 65:25 even transforms the metallurgical theological component into the source of eschatological developments. It is concluded that the ‘ore’ dimension of meaning of ʿāpār coexists in biblical Hebrew with the traditional association of ʿāpār with dust and that the disregard of this dimension overlooks the meaning of these verses and the theology that inspires them; it also reflects misunderstandings of biblical Hebrew after the Persian period.
אמר רבא ואיתימא ר' יוחנן גדול שנאמר במשה ואהרן יותר ממה שנאמר באברהם דאילו באברהם כתיב וְאָנֹכִ֖י עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר ואילו במשה ואהרן כתיב ונחנו מה ואמר רבא ואיתימא ר' יוחנן אין העולם מתקיים אלא בשביל משה ואהרן כתיב הכא ונחנו מה וכתיב התם (איוב כו, ז) תולה ארץ על בלימה
The Gemara relates: Rava says, and some say Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Greater is that which is stated with regard to Moses and Aaron than that which is stated with regard to Abraham. As with regard to Abraham it is written: “And I am but dust and ashes,” while with regard to Moses and Aaron it is written: “And what are we,” i.e., we are not even dust and ashes. And Rava says, and some say Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The world endures only in the merit of Moses and Aaron. It is written here: “And what are we,” and it written elsewhere: “He hangs the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7). That is, the earth endures in the merit of those who said of themselves that they are nothing, i.e., Moses and Aaron.
And copper smelted from rock.
(יח) בְּרׇב־כֹּ֭חַ יִתְחַפֵּ֣שׂ לְבוּשִׁ֑י כְּפִ֖י כֻתׇּנְתִּ֣י יַאַזְרֵֽנִי׃
(יט) הֹרָ֥נִי לַחֹ֑מֶר וָ֝אֶתְמַשֵּׁ֗ל כֶּעָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר׃
(כ) אֲשַׁוַּ֣ע אֵ֭לֶיךָ וְלֹ֣א תַֽעֲנֵ֑נִי עָ֝מַ֗דְתִּי וַתִּתְבֹּ֥נֶן בִּֽי׃
(18) With great effort I change clothing;
The neck of my tunic fits my waist.-a (19) He regarded me as clay,
I have become like dust and ashes.
(20) I cry out to You, but You do not answer me;
I wait, but You do [not] consider me.
(א) וַיַּ֖עַן אִיּ֥וֹב אֶת־ה' וַיֹּאמַֽר׃ (ב) (ידעת) [יָ֭דַעְתִּי] כִּי־כֹ֣ל תּוּכָ֑ל וְלֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֖ר מִמְּךָ֣ מְזִמָּֽה׃ (ג) מִ֤י זֶ֨ה ׀ מַעְלִ֥ים עֵצָ֗ה בְּֽלִ֫י־דָ֥עַת לָכֵ֣ן הִ֭גַּדְתִּי וְלֹ֣א אָבִ֑ין נִפְלָא֥וֹת מִ֝מֶּ֗נִּי וְלֹ֣א אֵדָֽע׃ (ד) שְֽׁמַֽע־נָ֭א וְאָנֹכִ֣י אֲדַבֵּ֑ר אֶ֝שְׁאָלְךָ֗ וְהוֹדִיעֵֽנִי׃ (ה) לְשֵֽׁמַע־אֹ֥זֶן שְׁמַעְתִּ֑יךָ וְ֝עַתָּ֗ה עֵינִ֥י רָאָֽתְךָ׃ (ו) עַל־כֵּ֭ן אֶמְאַ֣ס וְנִחַ֑מְתִּי עַל־עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר׃ {פ}
(1) Job said in reply to the LORD: (2) I know that You can do everything,
That nothing You propose is impossible for You. (3) Who is this who obscures counsel without knowledge?
Indeed, I spoke without understanding
Of things beyond me, which I did not know. (4) Hear now, and I will speak;
I will ask, and You will inform me. (5) I had heard You with my ears,
But now I see You with my eyes; (6) Therefore, I recant and relent,
Being but dust and ashes.
(3) I will give you treasures concealed in the dark
And secret hoards—
So that you may know that it is I the ETERNAL One,
The God of Israel, who call you by name.
As the first of His works of old. (23) In the distant past I was fashioned,
At the beginning, at the origin of earth. (24) There was still no deep when I was brought forth,
No springs rich in water; (25) Before [the foundations of] the mountains were sunk,
Before the hills I was born. (26) He had not yet made earth and fields,
Or the world’s first clumps of clay. (27) I was there when He set the heavens into place;
When He fixed the horizon upon the deep; (28) When He made the heavens above firm,
And the fountains of the deep gushed forth; (29) When He assigned the sea its limits,
So that its waters never transgress His command;
When He fixed the foundations of the earth,
(19) For in respect of the fate of man and the fate of beast, they have one and the same fate: as the one dies so dies the other, and both have the same lifebreath; man has no superiority over beast, since both amount to nothing. (20) Both go to the same place; both came from dust and both return to dust. (21) Who knows if a man’s lifebreath does rise upward and if a beast’s breath does sink down into the earth? (22) I saw that there is nothing better for man than to enjoy his possessions, since that is his portion. For who can enable him to see what will happen afterward?
Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim: Later Masters (New York: Schocken Books, 1961), pp. 249-250.
It was said of Reb Simcha Bunem, a 18th century Hasidic rebbe, that he carried two slips of paper, one in each pocket.
One was inscribed with the saying from the [Babylonian] Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a):
Bishvili nivra ha-olam ~ בשבילי נברא העולם
“for my sake the world was created.”
On the other he wrote a phrase from our father Avraham in the Torah (Genesis 18:27):
V’anokhi afar v’efer ~ וְאָנֹכִ֖י עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר׃
“I am but dust and ashes.”
He would take out and read each slip of paper as necessary for the moment.
ולהגיד גדולתו של הקב"ה שאדם טובע כמה מטבעות בחותם אחד כולן דומין זה לזה ומלך מלכי המלכים הקב"ה טבע כל אדם בחותמו של אדם הראשון ואין אחד מהן דומה לחבירו לפיכך כל אחד ואחד חייב לומר בשבילי נברא העולם
And this serves to tell of the greatness of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as when a person stamps several coins with one seal, they are all similar to each other. But the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, stamped all people with the seal of Adam the first man, as all of them are his offspring, and not one of them is similar to another. Therefore, since all humanity descends from one person, each and every person is obligated to say: The world was created for me, as one person can be the source of all humanity, and recognize the significance of his actions.
Burial: Learning from the Raven
אדם ועזרו יושבים ובוכים ומתאבלי' עליו ולא היו יודעים מה לעשות להבל שלא היו נהוג' בקבורה בא עורב אחד שמת לו אח' מחבריו לקח אותו וחפר באר' וטמנו לעיניהם אמ' אדם כעורב אני עושה מיד לקח נבלתו של הבל וחפר בארץ וטמנה ושלם הקב"ה שכר טוב לעורבים בעולם הזה ומה שכר נתן לה' כשהן מולידין את בניהם רואים אותם לבנים ובורחי' מפניה' וסבורים שהם בני נחש והקב"ה נותן להם מזונם בלא חסור ועוד אלא שהן קוראים ליתן מטר על הארץ והקב"ה עונה אותן שנאמר נותן לבהמה לחמה לבני עורב אשר יקראו.
Adam and his helpmate [Eve] were sitting and weeping and mourning for him, and they did not know what to do (with Abel), for they were unaccustomed to burial.
A raven (came), one of its fellow birds was dead (at its side).
(The raven) said: I will teach this man what to do. It took its fellow and dug in the earth, hid it and buried it before them.
Adam said: Like this raven will I act. He took || the corpse of Abel and dug in the earth and buried it.
The Holy One, blessed be He, gave a good reward to the ravens in this world.
What reward did He give them? When they bear their young and see that they are white they fly from them, thinking that they are the offspring of a serpent, and the Holy One, blessed be He, gives them their sustenance without lack, as it is said, "Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, and wander for lack of meat" (Job 38:41). Moreover, that rain should be given upon the earth (for their sakes), and the Holy One, blessed be He, answers them, as it is said, "He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry" (Ps. 147:9).
Dust and the Days of Awe
This passage from Rashi's commentary on the Babylonian Talmud was featured in a Sefaria sourcesheet "Casting Away and Swinging Chickens" by Rabbi Michelle Stern. It appears to be an early source for casting away since with some parallels to tashlich and kapparos.
This parpisah- It is a perforated flower pot in which people plant. In the responsa of the geonim I found that they made baskets with palm leaves and filled them with dust and dung. And 22 or 15 days before Rosh Hashanah they would make one of these for every minor in the home. And they would plant in it, Egyptian bean or another legume and they call it "porpisah". After it sprouts, on Rosh Hashanah, each takes his or her own and spins around his/her head seven times and says: "This is instead of this, this is my replacement, this is my exchange" and then flings it into the river.
Rabbi Toba Spitzer (21st century Boston based rabbi)
Some of us are quite comfortable with the idea that the world was created for our sake.
Maybe it’s hard to admit, but if you carry yourself with a certain sense of entitlement, an expectation that the world’s doors should open easily before you, if you tend to think that most of the time you’re right and the world around you is getting it wrong, then perhaps it’s time to spend a little time in the “dust and ashes” pocket.
“Dust and ashes” helps cut through our arrogance; our conviction that we’re always right or that we need to be right.
It helps put our life and our ego in perspective. It’s a really important reminder to think about how much of life’s bounty we really are entitled to, and do we perhaps enjoy a far greater share than any one person might reasonably expect. Once we have that realization, it’s amazing how generosity and abundance can open up in our hearts and in our lives.
V’anokhi afar v’efer”—“I am but dust and ashes”—is also a call to an awareness of our finite-ness, our mortality, our smallness in the cosmic scheme of things.
אָדָם יְסוֹדוֹ מֵעָפָר וְסוֹפוֹ לֶעָפָר. בְּנַפְשׁוֹ יָבִיא לַחְמוֹ. מָשׁוּל כְּחֶרֶס הַנִּשְׁבָּר, כְּחָצִיר יָבֵשׁ, וּכְצִיץ נוֹבֵל, כְּצֵל עוֹבֵר, וּכְעָנָן כָּלָה, וּכְרוּחַ נוֹשָׁבֶת, וּכְאָבָק פּוֹרֵחַ, וְכַחֲלוֹם יָעוּף. וְאַתָּה הוּא מֶלֶךְ אֵל חַי וְקַיָּם.
Our origin is dust and our end is in dust.
We spend our life seeking our sustenance.
We are like a broken vessel,
like dry grass,
like a wilting flower,
like a passing shadow,
like a vanishing cloud,
like a fleeting breeze,
like flying dust,
and like a fading dream.
But You are the Monarch, the living and eternal God.
We Are Just Dust (Adam Yesodo)
We are just dust, we are just dust
And on the other hand, this world is made for us
אָדָם יְסוֹדוֹ מֵעָפָר וְסוֹפוֹ לֶעָפָר.
Adam Yesodo M'afar, V'Sofo L'afar
וְאַתָּה הוּא מֶלֶךְ אֵל חַי וְקַיָּם.
V'Ata Hu Ha Melech El Chai Vekayam
https://elanabrody.bandcamp.com/track/we-are-just-dust-adam-yesodo
Memorial Stones - "Massebot" (standing stones)
(מג) הַרְנִ֤ינוּ גוֹיִם֙ עַמּ֔וֹ
כִּ֥י דַם־עֲבָדָ֖יו יִקּ֑וֹם וְנָקָם֙ יָשִׁ֣יב לְצָרָ֔יו
וְכִפֶּ֥ר אַדְמָת֖וֹ עַמּֽוֹ׃ {פ}
For He’ll avenge the blood of His servants,
Wreak vengeance on His foes,
And cleanse His people’s land.*And cleanse His people’s land Cf. Num. 35.33. Meaning of Heb. uncertain; Ugaritic ’udm‘t “tears” suggests the rendering “And wipe away His people’s tears.” Cf. Isa. 25.8.
For [God] will avenge the blood of these servants,
Wreak vengeance on opponents,
And cleanse this people’s land.
Stones
(ד) וישם מראשותיו. עֲשָׂאָן כְּמִין מַרְזֵב סָבִיב לְרֹאשׁוֹ, שֶׁיָּרֵא מִפְּנֵי חַיּוֹת רָעוֹת; הִתְחִילוּ מְרִיבוֹת זוֹ אֶת זוֹ, זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת עָלַי יָנִיחַ צַדִּיק אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ וְזֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת עָלַי יָנִיחַ; מִיָּד עֲשָׂאָן הַקָּבָּ"ה אֶבֶן אַחַת, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיִּקַּח אֶת הָאֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר שָׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו:
(4) וישם מראשתיו AND PUT THEM FOR A RESTING PLACE FOR HIS HEAD — He arranged them in the form of a drain-pipe around his head for he was afraid of wild beasts (Genesis Rabbah 68:11). They (the stones) began quarrelling with one another. One said, “Upon me let this righteous man rest his head”, and another said “Upon me let him rest it”. Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, straightway made them into one stone! This explains what is written (Genesis 28:18), “And he took the stone that he had put under his head” (Chullin 91b).
To the Silent Stones (Elul 2019)
By Sarah Chandler
Based on the teachings of Rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero in Sefer Tomer Devorah 3:13
Do you count your days in footsteps?
In strollers? In sunlight?
Cement and concrete
Below my feet
I take a peek at the patterns
And the places
Where tiny rocks gather
Solid, safe, secure
What was it was like
To move your entire being
From a quarry of friends
To this square of sidewalk?
City stones
Bricks, brownstone, marble
Are your family now
You
The eyes of
Our neighborhood
My commute
My shabbat walk
Sometimes the trees
Insist that their roots
Decorate your patterns
And
Your cracks keep my steps whole
Each journey down the block
With
Following butterfly trails
Tracing bark into branches
Welcoming glimpses of stars
Reminding me
To breathe between steps
Circling and retracing
Routing our pathway
Of grids and spirals.
(יג) לרחם על כל הנבראים: עוֹד צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת רַחֲמָיו פְּרוּשִׂים עַל כָּל הַנִּבְרָאִים, לֹא יְבַזֵּם וְלֹא יְאַבְּדֵם. שֶׁהֲרֵי הַחָכְמָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה הִיא פְרוּשָׂה עַל כָּל הַנִּבְרָאִים דּוֹמֵם וְצוֹמֵחַ וְחַי וּמְדַבֵּר.
(13) To have mercy upon all of the creatures: He must also have his mercy extend to all the creatures. He [should] not disgrace them nor destroy them. As behold, the Highest Wisdom is spread over all the creatures - the inanimate, the growing (plants), the living (animals) and the speaking (people).
ת"ר לא יסקל אדם מרשותו לרה"ר מעשה באדם אחד שהיה מסקל מרשותו לרה"ר ומצאו חסיד אחד אמר לו ריקה מפני מה אתה מסקל מרשות שאינה שלך לרשות שלך לגלג עליו לימים נצרך למכור שדהו והיה מהלך באותו רה"ר ונכשל באותן אבנים אמר יפה אמר לי אותו חסיד מפני מה אתה מסקל מרשות שאינה שלך לרשות שלך:
A certain man was removing stones from his ground on to public ground when a pious man found him doing so and said to him, "Fool, why do you remove stones from ground which is not yours to ground which is yours?" The man laughed at him. Some days later he had to sell his field, and when he was walking on that public ground he stumbled over those stones. He then said, 'How well did that pious man say to me, "Why do you remove stones from ground which is not yours to ground which is yours?'