Why is black the colour associated with bereavement and mourning?
Ask the rabbi!
BLACK FOR SORROW
Rabbi Raymond Apple
Q. Why is black the colour associated with bereavement and mourning?
A. Despite common belief, the wearing of black does not begin in the Bible even though God says in Isaiah 50:3, “I clothe the heavens with black and I make sackcloth their clothing”, which seems to suggest a parallel between black and the wearing of sackcloth which was customary amongst mourners.
We aren’t certain that Isaiah was speaking of mourning in this passage; maybe he was describing the skies darkening before and during a storm.
The Talmud speaks of black footwear in remembrance of the destruction of the Temple. Some people extended this practice to the wearing of black clothes.
It is the custom in many cultures for mourners to wear black, maybe to symbolise the metaphorical darkness that has come upon a person who has suffered a bereavement.
Despite this argument, Jews are not generally too pedantic about wearing black, though there is general agreement that bright colours should not be worn at such times.
MIRRORS IN THE BIBLE
Q. Did they have mirrors in Biblical times?
A. Building the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) required an array of materials, including brass for the making of the laver.
Moses “made the laver of brass and its base of brass, from the mirrors of the serving women” (Ex. 38:8).
The mirrors, fashioned as a mark of vanity, were now utilised for the service of God in which personal vanity has no place.
It is said that Moses was at first inclined to reject the mirrors as a contribution to the Mishkan because he felt they were not worthy of inclusion in the project. In the end, God persuaded him otherwise.
However, looked at from a different perspective, the mirrors should never have occasioned any doubts.
True, a mirror is used to look at oneself. But in a mirror you can see other people.
If you can see the good points in another and the failings in yourself you are on the way to appreciating that the world includes many good, valuable, decent human beings.
Instead of condemning mirrors for promoting personal glory, they now become a tribute to the glory of God who made all human beings in His image.
Rabbi Raymond Apple served for 32 years as the chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia’s oldest and most prestigious congregation. He is now retired and lives in Jerusalem where he answers interesting questions.
