In the Gemara, the shamir (Hebrew: שָׁמִיר šāmīr) is a worm or a substance that had the power to cut through or disintegrate stone, iron and diamond. King Solomon is said to have used it in the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem in place of cutting tools. For the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which promoted peace, it was inappropriate to use tools that could also cause war and bloodshed.[2]
Referenced throughout the Talmud and midrashim, the Shamir was reputed to have existed in the time of Moses as one of the ten wonders created on the eve of the first Shabbat just before God finished creation.[a] Moses reputedly used the Shamir to engrave the stones of the priestly breastplate of the High Priest of Israel.[4]
- ^ Relationes curiosæ, oder Denckwürdigkeiten der Welt, vol 4, p. 45
- ^ Hersh Goldwurm (1990). Talmud Bavli: the Gemara: the classic Vilna edition Volume 3, Part 6, Book 2.
The Gemara returns to the story of how Solomon acquired the shamir... [Solomon's servants] searched until they found the nest of a wild cock that had young,[...]
- ^ "Pirkei Avot 5:6". www.sefaria.org.
- ^ Ausubel, Nathan (1948). A Treasury of Jewish Folklore. Crown Publishers. pp. 449, 594. ISBN 0-517-50293-3.
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