Tongs T-tongs Tongs Tongs

For tomorrow:

Here's a brain-teaser from the Pirkei Avot, or "Sayings of the Fathers," a beloved wisdom text in Judaism:

If tongs are needed for a person to make tongs, then who created the first tongs?

Yes, I'm talking about the domestic appliance.

The question comes from a passage regarding what God created on the twilight of the eve of the Sabbath:

Ten things were created at twilight of Shabbat eve. These are: the mouth of the earth [that swallowed Korach]; the mouth of [Miriam's] well; the mouth of [Balaam's] ass; the rainbow; the manna; [Moses'] staff; the shamir; the writing, the inscription and the tablets [of the Ten Commandments]. Some say also the burial place of Moses and the ram of our father Abraham. And some say also the spirits of destruction as well as the original tongs, for tongs are made with tongs.

If you're interested in the passage, here's a commentary.

The twilight of Shabbat eve is just before sundown on Friday, when the world for Jews transitions from mundane to sacred time. The atmosphere is liminal and somewhat magical. If you're trying to get home before sundown, your senses are operating on over-drive. If you're God trying to finish up the work of Creation at the last minute, crazy things can happen. Like tongs.

Sometimes we need to distract ourselves with absurd questions or playful projects because doing so is the only thing that makes sense. Creative distractions can help free us up mentally to realize within ourselves the ability to carry on.

God's creations on Shabbat eve listed by the rabbis seem as though He was free-associating a bit with the universe. After a whole week trying to design the cosmos, getting all the essentials in place, perhaps the world seemed nonsensical. Why not then create a talking-donkey's mouth? Or a magical worm that could cut through stone (shamir)?

And of course, tongs to create tongs, dor v'dor (Hebrew, "from generation to generation") of tongs!

By then, God may have sensed (without saying so, since he reportedly said the opposite) that the world He'd created was already broken (if all was perfect, would we need tongs?), and at this, He wanted to laugh.

Tongs might very well be God's post-modern touch on the Ultimate masterpiece. I like to think so.

Shabbat shalom!


PS: Here's a video of Israeli blacksmith Uri Hofi (notice the Hebrew writing on his shirt) forging the first half of a pair of tongs. Listen to the rhythm!