Menachem Bluming considers, do Jews think unicorns are real?

Well here’s a thought...

The Torah speak about when the Israelites made a Mishkan, a moveable Temple in the desert. G-d instructed them to make the outer walls out of the hide of a mysterious animal called a Tachash.

Our sages described the Tachash as an animal who lived in the desert with a splendid multi-coloured hide and one horn in the middle of its head. The Tachash appeared only when the Mishkan was being built, then vanished without a trace, never to be seen again.

There is a powerful message to be learned from this enchanting little episode. The building of the Temple is a symbol of our life mission, to create a place for G-d in this world, to work our lives into a sanctuary where holiness can dwell.

Life is built up of many fleeting moments. The years fly by, the days pass us, and opportunities appear and disappear. Like the Tachash, here today and gone the next.

Every moment is multi-coloured, multi-faceted and multi-layered. We are Blessed with good days and not such good days. However, even on a good day we can face some challenges too, and on a not such good day there can be blessings as well.

As many as the hues of the day are, there is only one horn pointing straight before us. Everything we face, each day of our lives, all point in a single direction. We are all here for a short time, to fulfil our mission to make our world more G-dly and compassionate. Every interaction we have, every experience we live through, every person we encounter and every place we end up in, they all come to one point – so lift up this moment and make it a holy moment.

So you have encountered the mysterious Tachash. It is the beautiful minute you are living right now. It will soon disappear. Grab it by the horn!

Sources: Exodus 25:5 Midrash Tanchuma 6 Talmud Yerushalmi Shabbos 2:3 Talmud Bavli Shabbos 28a


Menachem Mendel Bluming Rabbi Moss and sources cited above

Popular posts from this blog

When to be Flexible

There are times to bend like a reed in the wind. And there are times to act as a stubborn wall against the tide. There are matters that lie at the periphery of life. In those situations stubbornness often stands in the way of harmony and peace. Every such “I” is the very root and source of evil. But when it comes to matters that touch the purpose for which you were placed in this world, that’s when you have to be that immovable wall. That’s when you have to say, “On this, I‘m not going to budge.” That “I,” that’s not evil. That‘s an “I” fulfilling the purpose for which you were given an “I.” Menachem Mendel Bluming,  Chabad.org and Rabbi Freeman
Read more

Menachem M. Bluming on Gun Control

In Las Vegas we were stunned once again by another staggering and grotesque mass murder and the resultant anguish for all those whose lives have been destroyed and irrevocably altered. We are left perplexed and wondering what in the world is going on in our country? This kind of vicious mass murder is something we have not seen before, certainly not with the frequency that we see it today. Would you believe that there has been a shooter incident somewhere in the country almost every day this year? In the latest tragedy in Las Vegas the killer doesn't seem to even have had a twisted ideological or religious motive. Just wanton murder. Although law enforcement may be baffled in their search for a motive in this case, A general societal shift may have contributed to the perpetration in these kind of atrocious acts. The most dramatic changes in American society over the past seventy five years has been, not in the technological realm (though superficially it may seem so), ...
Read more

Menachem Bluming Muses: Define Judaism

The Jewish people can best be described as a spiritual family. We are connected by our souls, and every Jew is a part of this invisible web by virtue of our Jewishness. You can either be born into the family or join by choice. But once you are in, you are family, no matter what. If Jews are a family, the Torah is the family rules. It recounts the family history, defines the family identity, and lays out the expectations of how members of the family should behave and the good they can contribute to the world. Some of the Torah is universal, but much of it is about our particular family and its relationships - with our brothers and sisters, our ancestors, our homeland and the Head of the family - G-d. If you break the rules, you are still a member, because family is family. But those who keep the rules keep the family together. Those who reject the rules usually find their children or grandchildren will drift away from the family entirely, not even knowing what they are leaving beh...
Read more