Three Reflections on the Aron
Terumah
Splitting the soul into Three Boxes
The Aron was a wooden box coated with gold. It was actually made as three boxes; the innermost and outermost were boxes of gold. In between was a box of acacia wood. The exposed tops of the wooden box were then plated with gold.
Like the Aron, our Neshama also has multiple layers.
Gold cannot decay and will not tarnish. It is pure and will always be beautiful. Wood on the other hand is subject to decay. It can be beautiful and polished but it can also be rotten.
The inner core essence of every soul is pure gold. It desires only goodness and connection with Hashem.
The middle layer is our psyche of feelings and ideas. Here we have the emotions and understandings of our G-dly soul, but we also have the desires and dark emotions of our animalistic side. We cannot stop ourselves from having these feelings. Like wood, our middle layer can be beautiful but it can also be downright rotten.
Our outer layer are our behaviours; our thoughts, our speech and our actions. Tanya teaches that no matter what we may feel on the inside, we have the ability to rule over our negative inner feelings to not give them expression.
So while the middle box may be a place of inner turmoil. Our outer box, our behaviours can and should still be like pure gold.
Through this, we too become a fitting vessel for Hashem’s presence to rest and be manifest.
The Faces of Love
On top of the Kapores, the cover of the Aron, stood two golden Keruvim. The Keruvim depicted the love between Hashem and the Jewish people.
According to the Zohar, one of the Keruvim was in the form of a man. The other was in the form of a woman.
When the Jewish people would visit the Beis Hamikdash for the Festivals, they would open the curtain of the Kodesh Hakodashim and show the Jewish people the Keruvim embracing one another. They would say “see how you are beloved to Hashem, like a woman is beloved to a man”. The love between husband and wife represents passionate desire.
According to the Gemara both Keruvim had the face of a man; one had the face of an adult and the other the face of a young child. The love of a father to their child is a metaphor for Hashem’s love for the Jewish people.
A parent’s love for their child is not based on the child’s qualities and achievements. It is not based on what the child does and how they behave or if they embrace their parent’s values or not. The love of a parent to their child is an essential, unconditional love - because the child is part of them.
This is true for every child, but the younger the child, the more apparent this is. A newborn baby has no achievements to boast and yet we love them deeply.
At the deepest level of our relationship with Hashem, the experience of the Kodesh Hakodashim, Hashem’s love for every Jew runs deeper than our observance of the Mitzvos. Every Neshama is part of Hashem Above. He loves us deeply and unconditionally because we are part of Him.
The Important Pole Position
A number of the Keilim in the Mishkan had poles (Badim); the Aron, Shulchan, the golden incense altar and the copper sacrificial altar.
The Badim were not integral parts of the Keilim. They were used to transport the Keilim when travelling. When they were not required, the poles were removed.
The exception was the Aron, whose poles remained in place even when it rested permanently in the Kodesh Hakodoshim. There is Biblical prohibition on removing the poles of the Aron. For the other Keilim, the Badim were functionary. In the Aron, the Badim were an integral part of the Keili and had to remain forever in place.
The Aron, with its solid gold cover and Keruvim was incredibly heavy. When the Kohanim would carry the Aron with its poles, our sages teach that actually the Aron miraculously carried those who carried it.
The Aron represents the study of Torah. The Badim represent those who ‘carry’ the study of Torah by financially supporting Torah scholars and institutions.
Like the Badim of the Aron, the supporters of Torah are an integral part of the Aron itself. This support must be constant and perpetual and cannot be removed.
It may be a heavy burden, but like the Aron, support of Torah does not conform to the limitations of nature. Those who support Torah are uplifted and carried themselves, with blessings for material and spiritual success.
The Aron was a wooden box coated with gold. It was actually made as three boxes; the innermost and outermost were boxes of gold. In between was a box of acacia wood. The exposed tops of the wooden box were then plated with gold.
Like the Aron, our Neshama also has multiple layers.
Gold cannot decay and will not tarnish. It is pure and will always be beautiful. Wood on the other hand is subject to decay. It can be beautiful and polished but it can also be rotten.
The inner core essence of every soul is pure gold. It desires only goodness and connection with Hashem.
The middle layer is our psyche of feelings and ideas. Here we have the emotions and understandings of our G-dly soul, but we also have the desires and dark emotions of our animalistic side. We cannot stop ourselves from having these feelings. Like wood, our middle layer can be beautiful but it can also be downright rotten.
Our outer layer are our behaviours; our thoughts, our speech and our actions. Tanya teaches that no matter what we may feel on the inside, we have the ability to rule over our negative inner feelings to not give them expression.
So while the middle box may be a place of inner turmoil. Our outer box, our behaviours can and should still be like pure gold.
Through this, we too become a fitting vessel for Hashem’s presence to rest and be manifest.
The Faces of Love
On top of the Kapores, the cover of the Aron, stood two golden Keruvim. The Keruvim depicted the love between Hashem and the Jewish people.
According to the Zohar, one of the Keruvim was in the form of a man. The other was in the form of a woman.
When the Jewish people would visit the Beis Hamikdash for the Festivals, they would open the curtain of the Kodesh Hakodashim and show the Jewish people the Keruvim embracing one another. They would say “see how you are beloved to Hashem, like a woman is beloved to a man”. The love between husband and wife represents passionate desire.
According to the Gemara both Keruvim had the face of a man; one had the face of an adult and the other the face of a young child. The love of a father to their child is a metaphor for Hashem’s love for the Jewish people.
A parent’s love for their child is not based on the child’s qualities and achievements. It is not based on what the child does and how they behave or if they embrace their parent’s values or not. The love of a parent to their child is an essential, unconditional love - because the child is part of them.
This is true for every child, but the younger the child, the more apparent this is. A newborn baby has no achievements to boast and yet we love them deeply.
At the deepest level of our relationship with Hashem, the experience of the Kodesh Hakodashim, Hashem’s love for every Jew runs deeper than our observance of the Mitzvos. Every Neshama is part of Hashem Above. He loves us deeply and unconditionally because we are part of Him.
The Important Pole Position
A number of the Keilim in the Mishkan had poles (Badim); the Aron, Shulchan, the golden incense altar and the copper sacrificial altar.
The Badim were not integral parts of the Keilim. They were used to transport the Keilim when travelling. When they were not required, the poles were removed.
The exception was the Aron, whose poles remained in place even when it rested permanently in the Kodesh Hakodoshim. There is Biblical prohibition on removing the poles of the Aron. For the other Keilim, the Badim were functionary. In the Aron, the Badim were an integral part of the Keili and had to remain forever in place.
The Aron, with its solid gold cover and Keruvim was incredibly heavy. When the Kohanim would carry the Aron with its poles, our sages teach that actually the Aron miraculously carried those who carried it.
The Aron represents the study of Torah. The Badim represent those who ‘carry’ the study of Torah by financially supporting Torah scholars and institutions.
Like the Badim of the Aron, the supporters of Torah are an integral part of the Aron itself. This support must be constant and perpetual and cannot be removed.
It may be a heavy burden, but like the Aron, support of Torah does not conform to the limitations of nature. Those who support Torah are uplifted and carried themselves, with blessings for material and spiritual success.