Artist Neil Harbisson was born completely color blind, but these days a device attached to his head turns color into audible frequencies. Instead of seeing a world in grayscale, Harbisson can hear a symphony of color — and yes, even listen to faces and paintings. Check out this TED talk.
I was thinking about Neil Harbisson this week when reading VaYakelPikkudei, this week’s Torah portion. There we read:
And Moshe said to the Israelites: See, the Lord has singled out by name Bezalel, son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. God has endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft and has inspired him to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of designer’s craft—and to give directions. He and Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan have been endowed with the skill to do any work—of the carver, the designer, the embroiderer in blue, purple, crimson yarns, and in fine linen, and of the weaver—as workers in all crafts and as makers of designs. ( Exodus 35: 30-35)
Neil really helps us understand Bezalel’s and Oholiab’s “divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge” in the context of all of the colors. You can only imagine what the Tabernacle sounded like.
Said to Myself 
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