According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Hezekiah's wicked father, King Ahaz, tried to offer him as a sacrifice to Moloch. Imagine the horror! But Hezekiah's mother, in a desperate act of love, painted him with the blood of a salamander. Yes, you heard right, a salamander! This wasn't just any salamander, though; its blood had the power to render him impervious to fire. And so, Hezekiah survived.
Now, let's talk about something even more extraordinary: the shamir. What is the shamir, you ask? It's this tiny worm, no bigger than a barleycorn, created at twilight on the sixth day of creation, along with other fantastical things. And get this, it could cut through the hardest diamonds! Incredible, right?
Think about the breastplate worn by the High Priest. Those stones, each representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel, had to be engraved. How did they do it? Not with chisels and hammers! They used the shamir. The names were traced onto the stones with ink, and then the shamir was passed over the lines. Like magic, the letters were etched perfectly, without even a speck of dust coming off the stones.
And that's not all. Remember the Temple in Jerusalem? The Law forbade the use of iron tools in its construction. So how did they shape those massive stones? You guessed it: the shamir.
But how do you contain such a powerful creature? You can't just toss it in a box. The shamir couldn't be kept in any metal vessel, especially not iron. It would burst it apart! Instead, it was wrapped in wool, placed in a lead basket, and surrounded by barley bran. Talk about delicate handling!
Originally, the shamir was guarded in Paradise itself. When Solomon needed it for the Temple, he sent an eagle to retrieve it. But alas, with the destruction of the Temple, the shamir vanished, never to be seen again. A lost wonder.
Speaking of vanished creatures, have you ever heard of the tahash? It was a unique animal created solely for the purpose of providing its skin for the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary used by the Israelites in the desert. According to the legends, once the Tabernacle was completed, the tahash disappeared. It was described as a beautifully colored creature, much like a turkey-cock, with a horn on its forehead, and considered a "clean" animal. Imagine seeing that!
But the wonders aren't confined to the land. The seas teem with marvels too! There are sea-goats and dolphins, and of course, the mighty Leviathan. One story tells of a seafaring man who saw a sea-goat with an inscription on its horns: "I am a little sea-animal, yet I traversed three hundred parasangs to offer myself as food to the leviathan." Talk about a pre-ordained destiny!
And the dolphins? They're described as half-human, half-fish. Almost like merfolk! The legends even say they have relationships with humans, which is why they're sometimes called "sons of the sea" – representing humanity in the watery depths.
These tales, found within the rich tapestry of Jewish folklore, remind us that the world is full of wonder, both seen and unseen. They invite us to consider the hidden forces at play, the creatures that exist just beyond our perception, and the enduring power of faith and legend. Perhaps the shamir and the tahash aren't really gone, but merely waiting for a time when humanity is ready to appreciate their magic once more.