"Gold, and silver, and brass"

Synopsis

Rabbi Shimon opens the discussion with the verse, "And this is the offering which you shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass." This passage is both toward the upper side, which is the side of holiness or the right side, and the lower side, which is the 'other side' or the 'left side.' When God created the world and the tabernacle, he made them opposite, so that while they are both silver and gold, the world is begun from silver, or right, while the tabernacle is begun from gold, or left.

Relevance

Good and evil are undeniable forces that live within us. This truth is revealed by way of the metal metaphor (gold, silver, and brass), whose purpose is to help us become truly cognizant of their influence. Our inner aspect of good now emerges as our dominant feature, and we finally uproot and eliminate the evil component forever. As our own negative traits are toppled, the macrocosmic force of evil is conquered in equal measure.

Brass Creation Gold Holiness (Kedushah) Kedushah (Holiness) Offering Silver

60. He opened the discussion with the verse, "And this is the offering which you shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass" (Shemot 25:3). This passage is both toward the upper side and the lower side, AND HE EXPLAINS the upper side means the side of holiness, NAMELY THE RIGHT SIDE, and the lower side MEANS another side, WHICH MEANS THE LEFT SIDE, BECAUSE THE TABERNACLE WAS FIRST BUILT FROM THE LEFT SIDE AND WAS AFTERWARDS JOINED TO THE RIGHT SIDE. Come and see, When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He started to create from the side of silver, which is right, because silver is higher THAN GOLD, BECAUSE SILVER IS CHESED AND RIGHT, AND GOLD IS GVURAH AND THE ATTRIBUTE OF THE LEFT. In the construction of the tabernacle, which is similar TO MALCHUT, He started from the left side, WHICH IS GOLD, and then from the right side, WHICH IS SILVER, since the tabernacle is from the left side. Therefore, it starts here from the left side, FROM GOLD, and there BY THE CREATION OF THE WORLD from the right side, as it is written, "And this is the offering... "

60. פָּתַח וְאָמַר וְזֹאת הַתְּרוּמָה אֲשֶׁר תִּקְחוּ מֵאִתָּם זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וּנְחֹשֶׁת. הַאי קְרָא אִיהוּ לְסִטְרָא עִלָּאָה, וְאִיהוּ לְסִטְרָא תַּתָּאָה. אִיהוּ לְסִטְרָא עִלָּאָה, בְּסִטְרָא דִּקְדוּשָּׁה. וְאִיהוּ לְסִטְרָא תַּתָּאָה, בְּסִטְרָא אַחֲרָא. ת"ח, כַּד בָּרָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא עָלְמָא, שָׁארִי לְמִבְרֵי מִסִּטְרָא דְּכַסְפָּא, דְּאִיהוּ יְמִינָא, בְּגִין דְּהַהוּא כַּסְפָּא הֲוָה מִלְּעֵילָּא. וּבְעוֹבָדָא דְּמַשְׁכְּנָא, דְּאִיהוּ כְּגַוְונָא דִּילֵיהּ, שָׁארִי מִסִּטְרָא דִּשְׂמָאלָא, וּלְבָתַר מִסִּטְרָא דִּימִינָא. בְּגִין דְּמַשְׁכְּנָא מִסִּטְרָא דִּשְׂמָאלָא הֲוָה, וְע"ד שָׁארִי הָכָא מִסִּטְרָא דִּשְׂמָאלָא, וְהָתָם מִסִּטְרָא דִּימִינָא, וְזֹאת הַתְּרוּמָה וְגוֹ'.