Purple

And the tabernacle (the mishkan) shall you make with ten curtains [to serve it as a roof and as partitions outside the boards, the curtains being hung behind them to cover them]: twisted linen (shesh) and blue (wool) and purple and scarlet, [four varieties in each thread, one of linen and three of wool and each thread twisted six (shesh) times, giving a twenty-four-fold thread], cherubs of artistic work [(figures interwoven on both sides)] shall you make them.

And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skilful workman; like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.

And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen with keruvim shall it be made of artistic work:

Many women have done well (Proverbs 31:29): Adam, the first man, was commanded about six commandments. Noach [was additionally commanded] about [not eating] a limb from a live animal. Avraham about circumcision. Yitschak was educated with [these] eight [commandments]. Yaakov [was additionally commanded] about [not eating] the sciatic nerve. Yehudah about levirate marriage. [The people of] Israel about two hundred and forty-eight positive commandments corresponding to the two hundred and forty-eight limbs in a man - each and every limb says to man, "I plead of you to do this commandment with me" - and three hundred and sixty-five negative commandments corresponding to the three hundred and sixty-five days of the solar [year] - and each and every day says to man, "I plead of you not to do this sin on me." "Grace is false, beauty is illusory" (Proverbs 31:30) - the grace of Noach was false, as it states (Genesis 6:8), "But Noach found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Rabbi Levi said, "Only in his generation [did he find grace]." "Beauty is illusory" - illusory was the beauty of Adam, the first man. Rabbi Shimon ben Manassia said, "The ball of Adam, the first man's heel would dim the sun. And do not wonder - it is customary in the world that when a man makes two salver vessels, one for himself and one for his household, which does he make [nicer], is it not his? So [too], Adam, the first man, was created to serve in front of the Holy One, blessed be He; and the sun was created to make light for the creatures. And if the ball of his heel was such, the contour of his face, all the more so." "A woman that has fear of the Lord, she is to be praised" - this is Moshe. "Give of the fruit of her hand" (Proverbs 31:30) - Rabbi Yose bar Yirmiyah said, "Why did he compare the prophets to women? Rather, just like [a] woman is not embarrassed to claim the needs of the home from her husband, so [too] were the prophets not embarrassed to claim the needs of Israel from in front of the Holy One, blessed be He." The Holy One blessed be He said, "My sons, be involved in Torah [study] day and night, and I will count it for you as if you hold up the heavens and the earth," as it states (Joshua 1:8), "Let not this book of the Torah cease from your mouth, but meditate upon it day and night"; and it states (Joshua 1:9), “Did I not command you, 'Be strong and resolute; do not be terrified or dismayed'"; and it states (Ezra 3:11), "with praise and thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His kindness upon Israel is forever, and the people raised a great shout with praise to the Lord, for the foundation of the House of the Lord had been laid"; (Proverbs 23:23) "Acquire truth"; (Proverbs 5:17) "They will be yours alone"; (Proverbs 9:9) "Give to a wise man, and he will grow wiser"; (Proverbs 9:11) "For through me your days will increase, and years of life be added." Another interpretation: "A woman of valor who can find?" - this is [the meaning] of what the verse states (Psalms 92:15), "In old age they still produce fruit, etc." - corresponding to Avraham and Sarah who were of the same measure concerning charity and acts of kindness; they were a good sign for the world. In this way, He does not prevent proper women from the righteous ones, [but] matches them. As so [too] do we find with the wife of Noach that her actions and his actions were of the same measure - that is why she merited with him and was rescued from the waters of the flood. "Her husband puts his confidence in her" - this is Sarah, our mother, as Avaraham grew rich on her account, as it states (Genesis 12:16), "And he benefited Avraham for her sake." "She bestows good to him, and not bad" - this is Rivkah, our mother, who bestowed [good] to Yitzchak at the time that Sarah, his mother died. "She seeks wool and flax" - this is Leah, our mother, who received Yaakov with a pleasant countenance, as it is written (Genesis 30:16), "And Yaakov came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, 'You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you, etc.'" Therefore she merited and kings and prophets came from her. "She is like a merchant fleet" - this is Rachel, our mother, who was embarrassed about [her lack of] children every day. Therefore she merited and a son came from her who was similar to a ship that is filled will all the good [found] in the world - so [was it with] Yosef, that the whole world survived from his merit and he supported the world in the years of famine. "She rises while it is still night" - this is Batya, the daughter of Pharaoh. She was a gentile and became a Jewess and they mentioned her name among the proper [women], since she took care of Moshe. Therefore she merited and entered the Garden of Eden in her lifetime. "She sets her mind on a field and acquires it; [she plants a vineyard from the produce of her hand]" - this is Yocheved, that from her came Moshe who is equivalent to all of Israel, which is called a vineyard, as it states (Isaiah 5:7), "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the House of Israel." "She girds her loins with strength" - this is Miriam, as before Moshe was born, she said, "In the future, my mother will give birth to the savior of Israel." Once he was born and the yoke upon them became heavier, her father got up and bopped her on the head. He said to her, "Where is your prophecy?" And he got up and spit in front of her face. And nonetheless, she exerted herself about her prophecy, as it is written (Exodus 2:4), "And his sister stood from a distance." "She advises (taamah) that her merchandise is good; [her lamp never goes out at night]" - this is Channah who tasted (taamah) the taste of prayer, as it states (I Samuel 2:1), "And Hannah prayed, 'My heart exults in the Lord, etc.'" Therefore she merited and a son came from her that was the match of Moshe and Aharon, which would bring light to Israel like lamps, as it is written (Psalms 99:6), "Moshe and Aharon among his priests, and Shmuel among the ones that call His name." And it is written about Shmuel (I Samuel 3:3), "The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Shmuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord." "She sets her hand to the distaff" - this is Yael, who did not kill Sisera with a weapon, but rather with a peg through the force of her hands. And because of what did she not kill him with a weapon? In order to fulfill that which it states (Deuteronomy 22:5), "There shall not be the vessel of a man on a woman." "Her palm she spreads out to the poor" - this is the widowed woman of Tsarfat, who supported Eliyahu with bread and water. "She is not worried for her home because of snow, for her whole home is dressed in crimson" - this is Rachav the prostitute. When Israel came to destroy Yericho, she did not fear from them, because they give her a sign - (Joshua 2:18) "this line of scarlet string." "She makes covers for herself; [her clothing is linen and purple]" - this is Batsheva, that from her came Shlomo, who was adorned with linen and purple and ruled from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. "Her husband is known in the gates," - this is Michal, who saved David from death. "She makes cloth and sells it" - this is the mother of Shimshon, that through him Israel was saved. "Strength and splendor are her clothing; [and she laughs to the last day]" - this is Elisheva, the daughter of Aminadav, who saw four joyful events in one day: her brother [became] a prince; her husband, high priest; the brother of her husband, king; and her two children, young priests. "She opens her mouth with wisdom" - this is the wise woman who said (II Samuel 20:16), “Listen, listen! Please tell Yoav, 'Come over here and I will speak to you,'” who saved the city with her wisdom; and this was Sarach the daughter of Asher. "She oversees the activities of her household" - this is the wife of Ovadiah, who rescued her sons and they did not worship idolatry with Achav. "Her children rise and declare her happy" - this is the Shunamite, who is called a great woman (II Kings 4:8). And because of what? Because she pressed upon Elisha to eat. “Many women have done well, but you surpass them all” - this is Ruth the Moabitess, who came under the wings of the Divine presence. "Grace is false, beauty is illusory" - as she left her mother and her forefathers and her wealth, and came with her mother-in-law and accepted all of the commandments: the domain of Shabbat - "to where you will walk, I will walk" (Ruth 1:16); the prohibition of isolation with a man - "and in that which you will lay, I will lay"; the six hundred and thirteen commandments - "your people is my people"; idolatry - "your God is my God"; the four death penalties of the court - "and in that which you will die, I will die"; "and there will I be buried" - these are the two graveyards arranged for the court, one for the stoned and the burned, and one for the killed and the strangled. Therefore, she merited and David came from her, who gave pleasure with songs and praises to the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore it is stated, "Give of the fruit of her hand and let her works praise her in the gates." Be strong in ethical behavior, keep the Torah, and be rescued from the evil inclination.

And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen.

She makes covers for herself; Her clothing is linen and purple.

And this is the offering which you shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 5 and rams’ skins dyed red, and taĥash skins, and shittim wood, 6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, 7 shoham stones, and stones to be set in the efod, and in the breastplate.

And he made the ephod of gold, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen.

The avoth melachoth are forty less one: sowing, plowing [the reason we are not taught "plowing" first, and then "sowing" in the normal order, is to be apprised that if the soil were hard, and he plowed and sowed and then plowed again, he is liable for the second plowing by reason of "plowing."], harvesting [One who harvests what has been sown and one who picks (the fruits of) trees is liable by reason of "harvesting."], piling [collecting plants that have been uprooted and piling them in one place], threshing, winnowing [with a winnowing shovel to the wind], separating [chaff with one's hands or with a sieve], grinding, sifting [with a sifter. Even though all of these have one end — to separate the unwanted matter from the food — because all of them obtained in the sanctuary, even though they are similar to one another, each is listed separately. Or, because they do not take place at the same time, but one after the other.], kneading, baking [This did not obtain in the sanctuary, baking obtaining only with a loaf, which does not relate to the work of the sanctuary. But our tanna lists the order (of labors in advance) of (baking) a loaf; and cooking, similar to baking, did obtain in the sanctuary with the dyes for blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. And one who stirs a pot or places a cover upon a pot standing on the fire transgresses by reason of "cooking." And all of the aforementioned labors of the Mishnah: sowing, harvesting, threshing, etc. — all obtained with (the preparation of) dyes for the work of the sanctuary.], shearing wool [ and all of its associated labors obtain with the blue wool in the work of the sanctuary], whitening it [i.e., cleaning it in the river], beating it [with a stick, or else, combing it with a comb], dyeing it, spinning, tightening (threads of the warp), making two loops [by passing two threads into a loop], dividing two threads [i.e., removing the threads of the woof from the warp, or the reverse, for weaving], tying and untying [The trappers of the chilazon, from which the blue dye was made, would tie and untie. For sometimes they would have to take strands from one net to attach to another, untying from the one and tying to the other], sewing two stitches [and tying them; for if he does not tie them, they do not hold. And he is liable twice, by reason of "tying" and by reason of "sewing."], tearing in order to sew [Tearing also obtained (in the sanctuary) with the curtains. For if a curtain became moth-eaten with a small round hole, it was necessary to tear the hole upwards and downwards so that the sewing not cause creases.], hunting a deer [All the work of its hide obtains (in the sanctuary) with the hides of the t'chashim], salting it, processing its hide [The gemara questions: Are not salting and processing the same? And it answers: Take out one and insert "tracing" (outlines for cutting on the hides), tracing being one of the avoth melachoth], rubbing it [scraping its hair], cutting it [trimming and cutting it for thongs and sandals], writing two letters, erasing in order to write two letters [This obtained in the sanctuary. They would mark the boards in order to match them, writing a letter on the one and on the other; and sometimes, they erred and erased them.], building, razing, extinguishing [the fire under the dye vat], lighting (that fire), striking with the hammer [upon completion of a labor. For an artisan strikes the anvil at the end of the labor. And there is liability for striking with the hammer only at the completion of a labor.], carrying from one domain to another. These are the avoth melachoth — forty less one. [The count in the beginning — "The avoth melachoth are forty less one" — even though each labor is mentioned individually, apprises us that even if one performed all the labors in the world on one Sabbath in one (period of) forgetfulness, it is impossible that he be liable for more than forty sin-offerings. For all of the other labors are toldoth of these avoth, so that he might have performed an av and its toldah, for which he would be liable for only one sin-offering.]

We do not act in the ways of the nations, and we do not emulate them--not in dress, nor in hair style, and the like--as it says, "And ye shall not walk in the customs of the nation" (Leviticus 20:23). And as it says, "Neither shall ye walk in their statutes" (Leviticus 18:3). And as it says, "Take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them" (Deuteronomy 12:30). One must not dress in clothing unique to them for pride, i.e. clothing worn by officers. For example, it is stated in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 74a) that it is forbidden for a Jew to act like them, even regarding shoelaces. If they would tie [their shoes] in one way, and Jews would tie another way, or if their custom was to have red laces, and Jews would have black (for the color black is instructive in humility, lowliness, and modesty), it is forbidden for a Jew to differ. And from this every person should learn, according to his time and place, that the clothing that is made for arrogance and licentiousness--a Jew may not use it. Rather, his dress must be made in a way that is instructive of submissiveness and modesty. So it is said in the Sifri that you must not say, "Since they go out in purple, I too will go out in purple," or "Since they go out with kolasin, i.e. weapons, I too will go out with weapons." For these are matters of arrogance, and this is not the portion of Jacob. Rather, their [the children of Jacob] way is to be modest and humble, and not to turn toward conceit. And so too anything which they [the nations] do that can be suspected of containing an iota of foreign worship, a Jew may not do it. And so he may not shave his head or grown his hair like them. Rather, he must separate himself from them in dress and speech and in all his other actions, just as he separates himself from them in his knowledge and opinions. And so it is said, "And I have set you apart from the peoples" (Leviticus 20:26).

he himself should stumble by showing favoritism to Benjamin? As Rava bar Meḥaseyya said that Rav Ḥama bar Gurya said that Rav said: Due to the weight of two sela of fine wool that Jacob gave to Joseph, which he added to what he gave Joseph beyond what he gave the rest of his brothers, as he made him his special coat, the story progressed and our forefathers went down to Egypt. How then could Joseph have displayed similar favoritism toward Benjamin? Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefet said: He was not showing favoritism. Rather, he intimated to him that a descendant was destined to issue from him who would go out from the presence of the king wearing five royal garments, as it is stated: “And Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in royal apparel of sky blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a wrap of fine linen and purple” (Esther 8:15).

Aram was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of thy works: they traded for thy wares with turquoise, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.

Then, at Belshazzar’s command, they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a golden chain on his neck, and proclaimed that he should rule as one of three in the kingdom.

The weight of the golden earrings that he had requested came to 1,700 shekels of gold; this was in addition to the crescents and the pendants and the purple robes worn by the kings of Midian and in addition to the collars on the necks of their camels.

Rue, wild purple amaranth, purslane, mountain coriander, river celery, and arugula are all exempt from tithes and may be purchased from anybody during the Sabbatical year, because their counterparts are not guarded. Rabbi Yehudah says, mustard aftergrowths are permitted, since transgressors are not suspected concerning them. Rabbi Shimon says, all aftergrowths are permitted, except for cabbage aftergrowths, since they have no counterparts in field vegetation. The Sages say: all aftergrowths are prohibited.

And you shall make loops of purple wool at the edge of the end curtain of one (five-curtain) joining, and, likewise, at the edge of the end curtain of the other joining.

The Gemara suggests: Come and hear a proof from the mishna: If one found strips of purple wool, these belong to him. The Gemara asks: And why do they belong to the one who finds them; isn’t the owner unaware that they fell from him? Apparently, despair that is not conscious is considered despair. The Gemara rejects that proof: There too, it is not a case of unconscious despair. Since they are significant and valuable, the owner feels around for them to ensure that they are not lost, and therefore, it is reasonable to assume that shortly after the strips fell, the owner became aware of his loss. This reasoning is in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yitzḥak with regard to coins.

A scholar's dress will be becoming and clean. It is an offence for such a man if a stain or grease or the like is found on his garment. He should not put on robes befitting royalty, such as those embroidered with gold or purple, which attract universal attention; nor, on the other hand, shabby garments such as are worn by the poor, which bring contempt upon the wearer, but he will wear apparel suitable to the middle classes and that is neat. His flesh should not show under the clothing, as is the case with the extremely light linen fabrics manufactured in Egypt. His garments should not drag on the ground like those worn by the arrogant, but should only reach to the heels, while the sleeves may extend to the finger-tips. He should not let down his fringed garment—this being a mark of arrogance—except on Sabbaths, if he has no other change of garments. He should not, in summer, wear clouted shoes, with patch upon patch; but in winter, this is permitted if one is poor. He should not go forth into the street with his person or garments perfumed; nor should he apply perfume to his hair; but if he anoints his body with perfume, in order to remove unpleasant effluvium—this is permitted. So too, he should not go out at night alone, unless at the fixed hour when he has to attend a course of study. The object of all these rules is to save one from being suspected (of following evil courses).

Now when his accusers saw that he was honoured according to the proclamation, and clothed in purple, they fled all away.

And thou shalt command (Exod. 27:20). It is written elsewhere in Scripture: Thy head (roshekh) upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair (dalat) of thy head like the purple; and the king is held captive in the tresses thereof (Song 7:6). The poor (harash) within Israel are equal to Elijah. It is said of him: And Elijah went up to the top (rosh) of Carmel and put his face between his knees (I Kings 18:42). And the hair (dalat) of thy head like the purple signifies that the feeble ones (hadal) in Israel are equal to Daniel, for it is written concerning him: They clothed Daniel with purple (Dan. 5:29). The king is held captive (asur) in the tresses. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: It is as if I am bound (asur) to you, as though it were possible, by an oath. Because of whose merit am I bound to you? Because of the two times in which Abraham ran before Me, as it is said: And Abraham ran unto the herd (Gen. 18:7), and He ran to meet them from the tent door (ibid., v. 1). Therefore, The king is held captive in the tresses thereof.⁵The King, God, was bound to fulfill His promise because Abraham ran to carry out mitzvot (divine commandments) as the law required.