Strike the Rock at Horeb with the Sapphire Staff

Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 17:6

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock at Horeb" (Exodus 17:6). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Every place where you find the impression of a human footprint, as it says, "the likeness as the appearance of [a man]" (Ezekiel 1:26), there I am standing before you. "And you shall strike the rock." From here Rabbi Yose ben Zimra says: This staff was made of sapphire. It is not written here "and you shall strike upon the rock," but rather "and you shall strike in the rock" [a sapphire staff striking into the rock without shattering it].

Themes

MosesMiraclesTorah

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