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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