Netvort Parshas Terumah 5771:   Do Not Remove
By Rabbi Joshua Hoffman

The first vessel of the mishkan that the Torah describes is the aron, the ark, which was to enclose the luchos, the tablets of the Torah, given to Moshe at Mt. Sinai.  The aron, together with the Torah it contained, was the central vessel of the mishkan, and, essentially, its raison d'ętre.  As the Ramban says in his introduction to parshas Terumah, the function of the mishkan was serve as a means to bring the experience of Mt. Sinai, when God gave the Torah to the nation, to everyday life, in a less open manner. Thus, just as the divine presence or shechinah, descended to Mt. Sinai, the mishkan was to serve as place for the divine presence to dwell, and it was above the aron that the shechinah dwelled.  The Ralbag points out that the cherubim, or angels, that sat atop the aron had their wings pointed above, to indicate that even such spiritual beings as angels strive for something higher, namely, to be attached to God. 

Given this general approach to the aron, one of the details of its construction is a bit enigmatic. The Torah tells us that rings should be made for the aron, into which poles should be placed, and that these poles should not be removed (Shemos, 25:12).  Some authorities, in fact, count this prohibition in their list of the 613 commandments. What was the purpose of this law?  The Sefer HaChinuch says that the prohibition was simply a precautionary measure, to assure that when the time came for the nation to travel and move the mishkan to a new place, there would be no need to search around for the poles.  The Ralbag, however, says that the this requirement reflected the nature of the aron to which the poles were attached, since the aron encased God's Torah, which is perfect, and the cherubim sitting atop the aron symbolized striving to reach God, who is also perfect.  Keeping the poles permanently attached to the aron indicated that when it came time to move the aron, nothing outside was needed to accomplish this act, because the aron together with its detailed striker, is complete in itself.

Interestingly, Rav Henoch Leibowitz, in his Chidushai Ha Lev, cites this teaching of the Ralbag (although only in regard to the perfection of the Torah, and not in regard to the symbolism of the cherubim on the aron), and raises the question of the need to teach the nation that the Torah is perfect.  Was there really any need to teach the people who had just witnessed the revelation at Mt. Sinai, this message?  Didn't they know it already?  Rav Leibowitz answers that even though someone may know something intellectually, as a human being he may often need something visible to remind him of that truth.  The symbolism of the poles remaining in the aron on a permanent basis was a means of doing this.

Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, who developed an elaborate system of Jewish symbolism in an essay included in his collected writings, as well as in his Torah commentary, also writes that the permanent placement of the poles in the rings of the aron had symbolic significance in regard to the nature of the Torah. He says that the message is that the Torah is always ready to be transported, and is not confined, in application, to any one place. The Malbim, in his commentary to parshas Terumah, writes similarly. This approach, particularly as presented by the Malbim, may reflect the transient status of many Jewish communities in the nineteenth century. The message would then be that no matter where the Jew had to migrate to, the Torah needed to travel with him, and it is applicable in all locations and situations. 

Following the symbolic approach of Rav Hirsch and the Malbim, perhaps we can add a further message of the portability of the aron. The Jewish nation was charged at Mt. Sinai, to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. According to Rav Avraham Yitzchak Ha Kohein Kook, this means that they were to demonstrate to all people, through the society that they were to create based on the Torah, that life in all its various facets can be lived in a way that promotes one's attachment to God, and that religion is not just something relegated to people living an isolated existence removed from the realities of life.  The aron, as we have seen, was meant to carry the message of Sinai into everyday life.  As part of this message, the nation needed to be reminded, through the symbolism of the portability of the aron, that they were charged with bringing the message of the aron, of living a life inspired by an attachment to God, to the outside world as well.  

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