A Golden Lining

Talmud Tractate Chagigah concludes with a discussion about the coating of the Golden Altar. Although the gold plating is extremely thin, it protects the wooden vessel inside it from being consumed by fire; and even though the gold is considered secondary to the wood, nevertheless Torah calls it: “The Golden Altar.”

The lesson in the service of G-d: When one meets a Jew who appears to be ‘empty’ – even a Jew whom the Torah of Truth itself calls ‘empty’ – Torah tells us: Do not judge by appearances!

When Torah speaks of the ‘empty’ Jew, one might think it means he is all ‘wood,’ which is susceptible to decay and unfit to serve in the Holy Temple… Says Torah: Every Jew is a ‘Golden Altar’ – that thin golden lining outshines all else. No matter how few a person’s good deeds may appear, Torah gives those deeds primacy. True, they may appear so ‘thin’ as to be ‘nullified.’ Nevertheless, like the Golden Altar, Torah focuses on the Jew’s gold lining, which protects him and keeps him whole.