Parashat Tetzaveh - the sanctity of purple...

Words of Torah
Parashat Tetzaveh
Exodus 27:20-30:10

"And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet..."

~~Exodus 28:5

Last week the color purple appeared in our Torah, but even though this obscure and rare color in ancient times is mentioned, it is only referred to in both last week's and this week's text preceded by the mentioning of blue and followed with reference to red.

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to sit with a group of lay leaders and discuss our then school colors of blue and white.  There was no question that these colors had obvious connection and meaning to the Jewish community, Israel, and to the children whom we served.  Yet, once we began to discuss our potential color palate it was clear that the connection to the blue and white, albeit for very good reasons, did not differentiate us nor create a compelling reason for the children to take particular pride in our school colors.  When speaking to the children they felt pride with their blue and white, but expressed it as if it were the "given" color of the Jewish people, not because they felt a bond to the reasoning or rationale for our school displaying these great colors.

It was because of these discussions that I sought broader counsel and investigated the history of a variety of colors that have been part of our people's tradition for centuries.  It was as part of this research when I was exposed to a wonderful midrash (rabbinic explanation) about the color purple, which ultimately directed our decision to pursue it as our school color.

The midrash that was shared could also not be told without first, like in this week's parashah, bringing our attention to the blue and red origins of this color. It was explained that blue has always been the color associated with the Divine.  Blue represented the heavens and referenced Gd.  Red, on the other hand, represented humanity and the life blood that flows through living creatures.  Consequently, where the Divine and human meet, where these two colors mix and create the color purple, is in the school setting.  When education possesses a Divine quality, when schooling is not only about the academic experience, but rather about the human experience and search for wisdom, then the blue and red mix to create a true purple.

Ironically, since we selected this as our school color we have had many people over the years ask about its rationale.  Not that these individuals are particularly interested in the why behind the choice of purple, rather, more often than not, they want to know why we chose such a "non-Jewish" color.

Obviously, I have learned over the years that there are so many reasons to not engage someone who approaches life in this closed-minded manner, and maybe this will be a good subject to discuss in a different parashah   Yet, this always awaken my constant amazement of how so many of our Jewish traditions and concepts have been "taken over" over the years to the point that if mentioned from a Jewish perspective people truly believe that they have no reference point in our Jewish tradition.  Gd's covenant with Noah following the flood was a rainbow. I once, as a single young Jewish adult just starting in the classroom as a Jewish educator, drew a rainbow on the whiteboard in preparation for the next class.  It wasn't until I was married a year later that one of those students shared with me that the students at the time thought I was making a statement about my sexuality. The fact that it happened to be a class on Bereisheet and the story of Noah and the flood somehow missed got lost in their perceptions.  Or, how about angelology?  Mention an angel and people begin to think of cherubs flying around on St. Valentine's Day with bows and arrows and not the angels who came to visit Abraham, or those who appear time and time again in the stories of our prophets.

So yes, maybe purple has become associated with the general non-specifically Jewish world, but if it symbolizes the place of connection between the Divine and human, then that's still good enough for me!