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2/23/12

From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe


The availability of silver outweighs the value of gold only because silver is itself valuable; although it is within the mundane, it brings holiness to it. Copper, on the other hand, unlike gold, is currency, but, unlike silver, it is not valuable. It therefore represents someone who lives within the mundane but brings no light into it. The Hebrew word for "copper", "nechoshet", comes from the word for "snake", "nachash". Copper is "snake-metal", a substance that recalls the stubborn impudence of the Primordial Snake's denial of G-d. To merit the Divine Presence they must unite with those on the level of copper….
Yet, the Torah requires that all three metals be a part of the Tabernacle. This is a lesson both to those who perceive themselves as gold and silver and those who think of themselves as copper. The gold and silver Jews must realize that to merit the Divine Presence they must unite with those on the level of copper. And the copper Jews, who are yet imperfect, must know that copper, too, was a part of the Tabernacle, and that they are not absolved of doing their part in bring the Divine Presence down to earth.

Adapted by Moshe Yakov Wisnefsky from Likutei Sichot, vol. 6, pp. 157-60.

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