“Her nazirites were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their appearance was ruddier than gems, their form, a sapphire” (Lamentations 4:7).“Her nazirites were purer than snow,” for they would drink snow.24The midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) is interpreting the verse differently than the standard translation, “her nazirites were purer than snow.” Instead the midrash is interpreting the verse to mean “her nazirites became pure from snow.” By drinking snow they whitened their complexion. Some assert that the text should state that they bathed in snow, not that they drank snow (Rabbi David Luria). “Whiter than milk,” they would drink milk. “Their appearance was ruddier than gems, their form, a sapphire.” Is the sapphire a soft item? Rabbi Pinḥas said: There was an incident involving a certain person who went to sell a sapphire in Rome. The buyer said to him: ‘Let me take it so I can examine it.’ He placed it on an anvil and began striking it with a hammer. The anvil split and the hammer separated, but the sapphire remained intact. .