[Avodah] gem from the choshen

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Thu, Sep 15, 2016 at 05:32:30PM +0300, Eli Turkel via Avodah wrote:
: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/75645

: Sometimes incredible stories are actually true, and in this case, experts
: agree that a small onyx claimed to be given to a Knight Templar over 1,000
: years ago and handed
: down through one family from generation to generation, is actually
: what the present
: owner claims: a gem from the breastplate of the High Priest in Jerusalem
: 
: Even more astounding than the cut of the stone was the inexplicable
: inscription *inside *the stone, visible through the clear surface: two
: letters in ancient Hebrew...

Okay, so when I first saw this article, I thought: well, that resolves
the kesav Ivri / kesav Ashuri question. The two letters are beis-kaf
in kesav Ivri (there are no sofios in Ivri).

Then I saw https://youtu.be/PPC7Ykrk-7o -- earlier coverage of the same
stone.

- There is a chance it's a natural flaw that "happens to look like "bakh".

- Those are the only two letters. It hit me that if this was from some
  kohein gadol's avnei shoham, the uniform must have had gezunter luchos
  on each shoulder to hold the names of 6 shevatim.

Shoham is the only stone in bigdei keunah believe to be black. Used for
the shoulders of the efod and for Yosef's stone on the choshen. Which
then led to the realization that:

- The letter pair b-k does not appear in any of the 12 names. Nor in
  "Avraham Yitzchaq Yaakov" nor "Shivtei Yeshurun". IOW, the engraving
  can't be from the bigdei KG simply because he doesn't wear those two
  letters next to eachother.

But if it was man-made, I am very curious to know both how and why.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Nothing so soothes our vanity as a display of
micha at aishdas.org        greater vanity in others; it makes us vain,
http://www.aishdas.org   in fact, of our modesty.
Fax: (270) 514-1507              -Louis Kronenberger, writer (1904-1980)