Silver has deep connections to Jews. It is more than being able to find silver kiddush cups, menorahs, and havdala sets in many Jewish homes – or from being able to find many Jews in Silver Spring. It’s also more than Jews having last names like Silver, Silverman, Silverstein, and Zilber.
Silver coins are used for a pidyon haben (redeeming the firstborn) and Bnei Yisrael was counted with the Machatzis HaShekel. The trumpets used in the Midbar were silver and the purchase of Me’aras Hamachpela and the sale of Yosef to Egypt were with silver as well.
It’s amazing how one metal can carry so many memories and so much importance. Oftentimes the tarnished silver candlesticks in a home carry more emotion and hold more memories than the colorful pictures around them. On the other hand, shiny silver gives much grandeur to whatever it dons. Maybe that’s why people eagerly polish the silver in shul – yet no one volunteers to clean the windows or shtenders.
