To seek a unicorn

People talk about "finding a unicorn."

In colloquial ideology, 'a unicorn' is defined as:
- an imaginary creature represented as a white horse with a long horn growing from its forehead.
-an imaginary creature; a being that exists only in legends or myths or fiction.'
There are other definitions of course, but in essence the unicorn is the idea of a rare, pure or impossible standard, something sublime, ethereal, gorgeous but utterly elusive.
The unicorn, is the perfect magical girl or boy, the perfect place, the perfect situation, a work of art in the flesh, creative within its mere existence.

Unicorns also represent an ideal of transcendent purity. Legend has it that they were wild and strong and had curative properties.

Creature of myth, creature of legend, the unicorn is also understood to be mentioned in ancient religious lore.

Biblical text interests me, partly because I grew up with it as literal truth. More importantly though,no matter ones belief system, it is a psychological and historical chronicle of culture and beliefs through thousands of years.  

So, It says in exodus, God gave direct instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai, to create an earthly abode for Gods 'shechina' (essence) to dwell in. The details of the planned Tabernacle were highly specific. The Tabernacle, contained the beauty of the entire universe past and present, and the divine purpose of elevating all of creation. This dwelling place was used from the exodus from Egypt until the construction of the first Judaic temple in Jerusalem. 

The instructions for building the Tabernacle begin with a list of materials: "And these are the gifts that you shall accept from them: gold, silver and copper, blue, purple and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats' hair, tanned ram skins, tachash skin, and acacia wood" (Ex. 25:3-5).
"In the center of this enclosure was a rectangular sanctuary draped with goat-hair curtains, with the roof made from rams' skins. Over the rams' skins was placed a covering of "tachash skin", a term of uncertain meaning (Exodus 25:5)
What is a 'tachash?' 

In the Talmud, there is some debate as to the identity of the "tachash." The general consensus of older biblical scholars, understand the word tachash as the Unicorn.

"It was a huge kosher animal in the desert, and it had one horn in its forehead, and its hide had six colors from which they made the curtains of the Tabernacle'.- Rabbi Judah
"It was a miraculous beast that was hidden away after it was used in the Tabernacle. Why was it necessary to create such a beast? It is written that the curtains of the Tabernacle were thirty cubits long. It is also written that the skins of the Tachash that were used for the curtains were also 30 cubits long. What animal hides are 30 cubits long? Rather it was a momentary miracle that was hidden away soon after it happened. Rabbi Nehemiah (Talmud- Shabbat 28a,b)

Some modern scholars though disagree. They believe that tachash could refer to a specific leather technique. The Egyptian linguistic root 't-ch-s' means "soft-dressed skin." In that case, tachash could then describe a specific tanning or dyeing process for any animal skin.

Rashi, one of the foremost scholars of the bible, was of the belief that the tachash was a very real exquisite animal. He states, "the tachash was a kind of wild beast. It existed only at that time (when Israel built the Tabernacle). It was multi-colored and therefore it is translated in the Targum (the Aramaic translation) as 'sasgona' (which means) delights and prides itself in its colors.'

So now you know where the symbiotic idea of unicorns and rainbows comes from. Unicorns are almost always depicted as white (probably for the idea of purity), when in fact the one and only unicorn was a vision of rainbow furred flamboyance.

Only one of these "tachash" creatures would be created, just for the purpose of its skin, to become a doorway to divine presence on earth. There was only ever one, it was never meant to procreate, it was pure in intention, it was never meant to be more then transient, a perfect moment in time.

Which makes me wonder, when people seek 'unicorns' or speak of them, maybe they realize what they are asking for, the perfect being for what they need right then and there.
The unicorn is the transparent, purest of ideals, a jar of clean water for the thirsty, for the dusty, for the seeker who knows the rarity only because he has been looking forever.
The only problem with that would be recognizing what they actually are searching for. That would require examining their deepest core selves, in all its flawed, wounded, gorgeous, intense glory. they would need to rake over their actions like coals, the embers of conscious and subconscious and their thoughts their dreams... They need to come eye to eye with the horror or how insignificant they are, and yet how vital too, Knowledge, wisdom and understanding of whom they really are and what and whom they might truly need.  Then, and only then, they may find the unicorn.