Our parasha tells of the donations by the bënei Yisra’él for the construction of the Mishkan: gold, silver, and copper; fine dyed materials; hides; wood; olive oil; spices; and precious stones. The first of the objects to be made of these materials addressed by our parasha is a gold-plated, wooden box called the aron qodesh, the “box of holiness” to hold both the luchoth, the tablets which Moshe had brought down from his second time on the mountain, and the fragments of the first set of luchoth (whence it is also called aron ha-‘éduth, “the aron of testimony”).
The aron was equipped with a cover (kapporeth) surmounted by two figures: ועשית שנים כרבים זהב מקשה תעשה אתם משני קצות הכפרת: ועשה כרוב אחד מקצה מזה וכרוב אחד מקצה מזה מן הכפרת תעשה את הכרבים על שני קצותיו: והיו פרשי כנפים למעלה סככים בכנפיהם על הכפרת ופניהם איש אל אחיו אל הכפרת יהיו הכרבים: (“And you shall make two këruvim, gold; beaten shall you make them of the two edges of the kapporeth. And make one këruv from an edge from this [side] and one këruv from an edge from this [side], from the kapporeth shall you make the këruvim on both its edges. And they will be spreading wings upward, sheltering over the kapporeth with their wings; and their faces will be each toward his brother; [belonging] to the kapporeth will be the këruvim”; XXV, 18-20).
Two weeks ago, we read the words uttered by G-d at Mt. Sinai, which the bënei Yisra’él not only heard but actually saw in the air before them: לא תעשה לך פסל וכל תמונה אשר בשמים ממעל ואשר בארץ מתחת ואשר במים מתחת לארץ וכו' לא תעשון אתי אלהי כסף ואלהי זהב לא תעשו לכם (“You will not make for yourself a statue or any representation of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the water lower than the earth.... You should not make gods of silver, and gods of gold you will make for yourselves”; XX, 4, 20). The Ha‘améq Davar notes concerning the latter verse א"א לפרש באזהרת ע"ז שהרי כבר נזהרו מפי ד' אלא כל זה אזהרה במה שאינו ע"ז ממש וגו' (“[It is] impossible to explain this as an admonition [about] idolatry, for they had already been warned [directly] from the mouth of Ha-Shem... rather, all this is an admonition concerning what is not an actual idol....”).
The midrash tells us that the Babylonians, accompanied by ‘Amonim and Mo’aviyyim when they conquered Yërushalayim נכנסו לבית קה"ק ומצאו שם שני כרובים נטלו אותן כו' והיו מחזירין אותן בחוצות ירושלים ואומרים לא הייתם אומרים שאין האומה הזאת עובדת ע"א ראו מה מצינו להם ומה היו עובדים (“entered the Holy of Holies and found there two këruvim; they took them... and were taking them about the outskirts of Yërushalayim and saying, 'You wouldn’t say that this nation was not serving idols; see what we found, and what they were serving....'”; פתיחתא דאיכה רבתי סי' ט').
Why was their accusation untrue, in light of the above? What were the këruvim and why did G-d command that they be made, in the face of His own admonition prohibiting images?
B.
The simple answer, of course, is that since making the këruvim was mandated by the Divine Author of the prohibition against making any other representations, plainly the këruvim were not idols, but an integral part of the Mishkan and later the Béyth ha-Miqdash built according to Divinely transmitted design, as Moshe and the bënei Yisra’él prophetically sang at Yam Suf: מכון לשבתך פעלת ד' מקדש אד-ני כוננו ידיך (“an institution for Your dwelling You are effecting, Ha-Shem, a sanctuary of my L-rd Your hands prepare”; XV, 17).
Indeed, the Mëchilta points out שאם עשה הכרובים במקדש של כסף או הוסיף עוד ב' כרובים או עשאן בבתי כנסיות נחשבים אלהי כסף ואלהי זהב (“that if one makes the këruvim in the Miqdash of silver. or adds another two këruvim or makes them in the synagogues, they [would be] considered gods of silver and gods of gold”; מכילתא פר' יתרו לפ"כ כ' ). Any innovation or alteration of the këruvim would have rendered the mocking statements of the ‘Ammonim and Mo’aviyyim correct (עיי' מהמר"ל מפראג, תפארת ישראל פמ"ו).
We see from the above, had we any need, that every detail of their construction is vital and meaningful, lest they be considered idolatrous objects, G-d forbid. What do the details convey? Why were they made?
C.
The Ramban, in his introductory comment on our parasha, tells us that the “secret” of the Miqdash is that it was intended to represent and make permanent the Divine revelation which all Israel experienced at Mt. Sinai, which appears to have its source in the Holy Zohar (ח"ב רכ"ט., וע"ע העמק דבר ר"פ תצוה שם מגדיר את המשכן כתבנית ודגם העולם הנברא שגם הוא מקורו בזה"ק בכמה דוכתי).
The Ramban’s point is buttressed by what we read, וישכן כבוד ד' על הר סיני (“And the glory/honor [kavod] of Ha-Shem settled [va-yishkon] upon Mt. Sinai”; XXIV, 16), on which root the name of the original structure erected in the desert, Mishkan, is formed. Hence, the heart of the structure is the מקום מנוחת השכינה שהוא הארון (“the resting place of the Shëchina, which is the aron”), which is therefore the first item fashioned from those donations to be described in our parasha.
G-d tells Moshe ונועדתי לך שם ודברתי אתך מעל הכפרת מבין שני הכרבים אשר על ארון העדת וגו' (“And I shall have appointments to meet with you there, and I shall speak with you from the kapporeth, from between the two këruvim which are on the aron of the Testimony”; XXV, 20). When King David gave his son Shëlomo a model of the work to be done in erecting the Béyth ha-Miqdash, we learn ולתבנית המרכבה הכרובים זהב לפרשים וסככים על ארון ברית ד' (“and for a model of the Merkava, the këruvim, gold, for those spreading and sheltering over the aron of Ha-Shem’s covenant”; I Chronicles XVIII, 18). Merkava means a wheeled vehicle, often translated “chariot,” and is the term used to describe the prophet Yëhezqél’s vision (עיי' משניות חגיגה פ"ב מ"א, פירוש ר, עובדי' מברטנורה ומנחת יתחק שם), which included beings תחת אלקי ישראל בנהר כבר ואדע כי כרובים המה (“beneath Israel’s G-d, at the River Këvar, and I knew that they were këruvim”; Ezekiel X, 20).
We shall not attempt a detailed discussion of the metaphysical reality which underlies the physical analogue in the Miqdash, but it is to be noted that G-d is repeatedly described as “sitting” or “riding” upon këruvim (cf. e.g. I Samuel IV, 4; II Samuel VI, 2; Psalms LXXX, 2; עבודה זרה ג: ).
Why two këruvim? The Ramban notes the peculiar stress given the phrase וכבוד ד' מלא את המשכן (“and Ha-Shem’s kavod fills the Mishkan”; XL, 34-35), repeated twice, and offers that one instance refers to His kavod and the other to His godel, “greatness” or “magnitude”; cf. Deuteronomy V, 21: הראנודג' אלקינו את כבדו ואת גדלו (“Ha-Shem our G-d showed us His kavod and His godel”). He also notes the verse וישמע את הקול מדבר אליו מעל הכפרת אשר על ארן העדת מבין שני הכרבים וידבר אליו (“And [Moshe] heard the voice speaking to him from upon the kapporeth which was on the aron of testimony from between the two këruvim, and He spoke to [Moshe]”; Numbers VII, 89) which repetition reflects the transmittal of the Divine voice from the heavens, and the transition from the metaphysical state to its physical manifestation (ע"ע במדבר רבה פי"ד סי' ל"ב). (In this connection, note the highly unusual form of the participle in the first clause, middabbér, generally understood to be in the reflexive hithpa‘él – in the metaphysical state, Ha-Shem’s “voice” “speaks” to Itself, and becomes manifest here below).
Finally, why did they have to be of gold? The Divine Presence was felt and the Voice heard in a fashion analogous to Moshe’s original revelation at the burning bush, as Moshe himself tells us: מן השמים השמיעך את קלו כו' ועל הארץ הראך את אשו הגדולה ודבריו שמעת מתוך האש (“From the heavens He made heard to you His voice... and on the earth He showed you His great fire, and His words you heard from the fire’s midst”; Deuteronomy IV, 36). The bright, shining gold is emblematic of the Divine fire.
So the aron with its këruvim is the first thing fashioned from the donations to be discussed, because it was the actual centre of the Mishkan and its raison d’être. As G-d subsequently tells Moshe, איועד לכם שמה לדבר אליך שם: ונעדתי שמה לבני ישראל ונקדש בכבדי (“I shall keep appointments with you [plural] there to speak to you [singular; i.e. Moshe]. And I shall keep appointments there for the bënei Yisra’él and it will be holy through My kavod”; Exodus XXIX, 42-43).
D.
The Talmud tells us that the original aron qodesh was buried beneath the Béyth ha-Miqdash by King Yoshiyahu: מעשה בכהן א' שהי' מתעסק וראה את הרצפה שהיא משונה מחברותי' בא ואמר לחבירו לא הספיק לגמור את הדבר עד שיצתה נשמתו וידעו בייחוד ששם הארון גנוז (“It is told that a certain kohén was working [in the Second Temple] and saw that the floor was different from the other sections of flooring. He came and told his fellow, and before he was able to finish the matter his soul departed, and they knew with certainty that the aron was hidden there”; ירושלמי שקלים פ"ו ה"א במשנה ובגמרא שם וע"ע יומא נ"ב:). Thus protected, we may be assured that it has never been found, and is still there, waiting for us.
The verb ivva‘éd, translated “I shall keep appointments” is imperfective in form. The imperfective implies something continuous, unending, possessed of future potential. Since the destruction of the Béyth ha-Miqdash the Shëchina has been in exile, together with His holy nation. But the prophets have promised that the Béyth ha-Miqdash will be rebuilt, that the aron qodesh will be found, and the Shëchina will return with us from exile, to settle in our midst.
After all, we have appointments to keep.
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