Rabbi Ari Shvat
Question
Rabbi, thank you so much. But why did the English bible say they put off their Jewelries instaed of head crown? Its confusing 2- why did God tell Rachel to put off her Jewelries in Gen35:1-4, If its not forbidden?
Answer
There are two different stages, one was the sin where they took off their jewelry (nose rings and earrings) to give to make the Golden Calf (Ex. 32, 3), and the other was the punishment (!), where they were told to take off their crown (Rashi’s traditional translation, in Hebrew: “adi”, Ex. 33, 4-6). There are those who explain that this may include other adornments, as well, but all agree that they removed them temporarily (!) as a sign of mourning, as Jewish mourners do to this day, removing their jewelry for 7 days after the death of one of the 7 close relatives, and annually on tish’a bAv, the date commemorating the destruction of the Temple 1,943 years ago. This is temporary (!) removal of jewelry at specific times of sadness and/or punishment. This is clear from the fact that just 2 chapters later, Israel donates some of their jewelry to build the Tabernacle (35, 22). Again, they wore jewelry to beautify themselves for their husbands in general, and especially on the Sabbath (Saturday) and holidays, and not only is there nothing wrong with that, but as we see in the sources I brought in the previous answer, it’s commendable and was the non-stop Jewish custom and tradition, until this very day. 2. Regarding Jacob, he told his household (not just Rachel) to remove all idolatry as they returned to the Land of Israel, including the jewelry spoils of the city of Schem, which often were used for idolatry, and as archeologists found, often contained the shape of local idols. With Love of Israel, Rabbi Ari Shvat
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