בְּצֶ֥דֶק כָּל־אִמְרֵי־פִ֑י אֵ֥ין בָּ֝הֶ֗ם נִפְתָּ֥ל וְעִקֵּֽשׁ׃
מיט גערעכטיקײט זײַנען אַלע װערטער פֿון מײַן מױלניטאָ אין זײ פֿאַרדרײטס און קרומס.
Rabbeinu Chananel
ועשו ארון, the ark is a symbol of the righteous and intelligent man who is described as such only if his character qualities reflect the external image he portrays, projects. This is the reason why the ark was encased in gold both from the inside and the outside.
Just as the dimensions of the floor of the ark were two and a half cubits in length and one and a half cubits in width, resulting in a square area of four cubits minus one quarter cubit square, so the righteous person should remain constantly aware that the four elements which make up his physicality should not become the sum total of his existence, but should be augmented liberally by the physical performance of good deeds such as caring for others.
Just as the walls of the ark, when combined, total 12 cubits (when measuring the combined total of the exterior dimensions, 1,5+2,5;+1,5+2,5;+1,5+2,5). [the lid is not part of the measurements. Ed.] The combined lengths of the walls totaled 7.5 cubits, whereas the combined length of the short walls totaled 4.5 cubits. The righteous person is expected to fulfill all the 12 conditions set out in Psalm 15,1 as the necessary qualifications before one is deserving to sojourn in G’d’s holy tent, or on G’d’s holy mountain.
If one wishes to attain a loftier level of relative perfection than that of a “mere” righteous individual, the next step up is becoming a נביא, prophet, or at least acquiring the spiritual level expected of a prophet. This is symbolised by the kapporet above the Ark.
The fact that the entire kapporet was made of pure gold. that it was not merely overlaid with gold, indicates that it symbolised something even purer than the Ark itself. We know that a prophet is considered as כלו צדק, “totally righteous,” from Proverbs 8,8 “all the words of my mouth are with righteousness.” The cherubs above the kapporet are an allusion to the angels, beings on an even higher spiritual level than the prophets. They were spreading their wings heavenward as an allusion of their striving to be near the Shechinah, which is on a higher level spiritually than the angels, seeing that the angels are the throne, (foundation of) ever ready to welcome the attribute כבוד, i.e. the attribute which occupies the throne. This is the meaning of the words in verse 20: אל הכפורת יהיו הכרובים, “the faces of the cherubs will be turned toward the kapporet.” They had to look downwards, towards the lid and were forbidden to gaze at the Shechinah. Above everything is G’d Himself as is written in Samuel II 6,2 אשר נקרא שם שם ה' צב-אות יושב הכרובים עליו, “to which the Name was attached, the name of the Lord of Hosts Enthroned on the cherubs.” Solomon also constructed the cherubs in the Temple out of wood, as is written (Kings I 6,23) “he made in the sanctuary two cherubs out of olive wood.” [these wooden cherubs, ten cubits high, are not to be confused with the cherubs which are an integral part of the lid of the Holy Ark, made of solid gold, and which were in the Holy of Holies. Ed.]
Just as the dimensions of the floor of the ark were two and a half cubits in length and one and a half cubits in width, resulting in a square area of four cubits minus one quarter cubit square, so the righteous person should remain constantly aware that the four elements which make up his physicality should not become the sum total of his existence, but should be augmented liberally by the physical performance of good deeds such as caring for others.
Just as the walls of the ark, when combined, total 12 cubits (when measuring the combined total of the exterior dimensions, 1,5+2,5;+1,5+2,5;+1,5+2,5). [the lid is not part of the measurements. Ed.] The combined lengths of the walls totaled 7.5 cubits, whereas the combined length of the short walls totaled 4.5 cubits. The righteous person is expected to fulfill all the 12 conditions set out in Psalm 15,1 as the necessary qualifications before one is deserving to sojourn in G’d’s holy tent, or on G’d’s holy mountain.
If one wishes to attain a loftier level of relative perfection than that of a “mere” righteous individual, the next step up is becoming a נביא, prophet, or at least acquiring the spiritual level expected of a prophet. This is symbolised by the kapporet above the Ark.
The fact that the entire kapporet was made of pure gold. that it was not merely overlaid with gold, indicates that it symbolised something even purer than the Ark itself. We know that a prophet is considered as כלו צדק, “totally righteous,” from Proverbs 8,8 “all the words of my mouth are with righteousness.” The cherubs above the kapporet are an allusion to the angels, beings on an even higher spiritual level than the prophets. They were spreading their wings heavenward as an allusion of their striving to be near the Shechinah, which is on a higher level spiritually than the angels, seeing that the angels are the throne, (foundation of) ever ready to welcome the attribute כבוד, i.e. the attribute which occupies the throne. This is the meaning of the words in verse 20: אל הכפורת יהיו הכרובים, “the faces of the cherubs will be turned toward the kapporet.” They had to look downwards, towards the lid and were forbidden to gaze at the Shechinah. Above everything is G’d Himself as is written in Samuel II 6,2 אשר נקרא שם שם ה' צב-אות יושב הכרובים עליו, “to which the Name was attached, the name of the Lord of Hosts Enthroned on the cherubs.” Solomon also constructed the cherubs in the Temple out of wood, as is written (Kings I 6,23) “he made in the sanctuary two cherubs out of olive wood.” [these wooden cherubs, ten cubits high, are not to be confused with the cherubs which are an integral part of the lid of the Holy Ark, made of solid gold, and which were in the Holy of Holies. Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
Rabbeinu Chananel, in connection with the symbolic/moral meaning of these various furnishings of the Tabernacle writes that the Ark was an allusion to the truly righteous and learned individual whose interior matches his exterior and vice versa. This is the meaning of the Ark being covered with gold both on the inside and on the outside. Just as the bottom of the Ark had an area of two and one half cubits by one and a half cubits giving us a total of 4 square cubits minus one quarter cubit square, so the righteous person should remain constantly aware that the four elements which make up his physicality should not become the sum total of his existence but should be augmented liberally with physical matters such as the performance of good deeds for others, etc. Just as the walls of the Ark when combined were twelve cubits (when measuring the combined total of the outside dimensions 1.5x2.5 1,5+2.5 +1,5+2.5) seeing the long walls measured a total of 7.5 cubits and the shorter walls forming the sides measured 4,5 cubits, so the righteous person is expected to fulfill all the 12 conditions mentioned in Psalm 15,1 as the qualifications for dwelling in G’d’s holy precincts (the entire Psalm is devoted to listing these 12 requirements). If one wishes to attain a loftier level of relative perfection than that of a “mere” righteous individual, the next step up is becoming a נביא a prophet, or at least acquiring the spiritual level expected of a prophet. This is symbolised by the kapporet above the Ark. The fact that the entire kapporet was made of pure gold, that it was not only overlaid with gold, indicates that it symbolises something even purer than the Ark itself. We know that a prophet is considered as כלו צדק, “totally righteous” from Proverbs 8,8 “all the words of my mouth are with righteousness.” The cherubs above the kapporet are an allusion to the angels, beings on an even higher spiritual level than the prophets. They were spreading their wings heavenward in an allusion to their striving to be near the Shechinah which is higher than the angels seeing the angels are the throne, ever ready to welcome the attribute of כבוד, occupant of that throne. This is the meaning of the words in verse 20 אל הכפורת יהיו פני הכרובים, “the faces of the cherubs will be turned toward the kapporet.” They had to look downwards towards the lid and were forbidden to gaze at the Shechinah. Above everything is G’d Himself as is written in Samuel II 6,2: אשר נקרא שם שם ה' צבאות יושב הכרובים עליו, ”to which the Name was attached, the name of the Lord of Hosts Enthroned on the cherubs.” Solomon also constructed the cherubs in the Temple out of wood as is written (Kings I 6,23) “he made in the sanctuary two cherubs out of olive wood.”
The table represented the kings of Israel who entertain the scholars of Israel at their table. This is what David told his son Solomon on his death-bed: “Barzilai‘s sons shall be amongst the people who are regular guests at your table” (Kings I 2,7). We also have a verse in Kings I 5,2 describing the lavishness of King Solomon’s table and the quantities of food consumed on a daily basis.
The Torah, in describing the table in the Tabernacle as overlaid with gold, illustrates that the function of Royalty was primarily to make a great impression on the outside world. After Samuel had told Saul that he would be replaced as king by someone more worthy, Saul still begged the prophet to honour him at least in public as he wanted to maintain the appearance of power although he knew this was no longer his position (compare Samuel I 15,30).
The reason that the length of the table was two cubits was in order to symbolise two requirements of every king. 1) He must be competent in meting out justice; 2) he must be competent in waging war. This is what the people had told the prophet Samuel when they asked him to appoint a king for them (Samuel I 8,20). They said: “that we may be like all the other nations; let our king rule over us and go out at our head and fight our battles.”
The size and height of the walls which amount to nine cubits symbolise the nine commandments specifically addressed to a Jewish King. They are: 1) “he shall not keep many horses,” or 2) “send people back to Egypt to add to his horses;” 3) “he shall not have too many wives.” 4) “He shall not become haughty,” and 5) “he must not turn away from G’d’s commandments to right or to the left.” 6) “he shall write for himself 2 copies of the Torah.” 7) “He shall read in the Torah every day of his life.” 8) “He shall not amass too much silver and gold.” 9) “He shall not turn away from the commandments.” (Deut. 17,8-20.)
The purpose of the border around the table was to prevent the show-breads sliding off it for whatever reason. It was intended to protect the show-breads just as the priests and the Levites are supposed to be on guard against the kings deviating from the path of the Torah. We have an example of this in Chronicles II 24,2: “Yoash (the King) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as long as Yehoyadah the High Priest was alive.” In connection with King Uzziah we read in Chronicles II 26,5: “he applied himself to the worship of G’d during the time of Zechariah, instructor of the visions of G’d.”
All the details that the Torah writes about in connection with all the vessels of the Tabernacle have similar moral allusions. The Ark represents the righteous people. The table corresponds to the kings of Israel. The Menorah corresponds to the scholars of Israel. The golden altar corresponds to the priests, whereas the copper altar corresponds to the people of Israel at large. Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel.
The table represented the kings of Israel who entertain the scholars of Israel at their table. This is what David told his son Solomon on his death-bed: “Barzilai‘s sons shall be amongst the people who are regular guests at your table” (Kings I 2,7). We also have a verse in Kings I 5,2 describing the lavishness of King Solomon’s table and the quantities of food consumed on a daily basis.
The Torah, in describing the table in the Tabernacle as overlaid with gold, illustrates that the function of Royalty was primarily to make a great impression on the outside world. After Samuel had told Saul that he would be replaced as king by someone more worthy, Saul still begged the prophet to honour him at least in public as he wanted to maintain the appearance of power although he knew this was no longer his position (compare Samuel I 15,30).
The reason that the length of the table was two cubits was in order to symbolise two requirements of every king. 1) He must be competent in meting out justice; 2) he must be competent in waging war. This is what the people had told the prophet Samuel when they asked him to appoint a king for them (Samuel I 8,20). They said: “that we may be like all the other nations; let our king rule over us and go out at our head and fight our battles.”
The size and height of the walls which amount to nine cubits symbolise the nine commandments specifically addressed to a Jewish King. They are: 1) “he shall not keep many horses,” or 2) “send people back to Egypt to add to his horses;” 3) “he shall not have too many wives.” 4) “He shall not become haughty,” and 5) “he must not turn away from G’d’s commandments to right or to the left.” 6) “he shall write for himself 2 copies of the Torah.” 7) “He shall read in the Torah every day of his life.” 8) “He shall not amass too much silver and gold.” 9) “He shall not turn away from the commandments.” (Deut. 17,8-20.)
The purpose of the border around the table was to prevent the show-breads sliding off it for whatever reason. It was intended to protect the show-breads just as the priests and the Levites are supposed to be on guard against the kings deviating from the path of the Torah. We have an example of this in Chronicles II 24,2: “Yoash (the King) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as long as Yehoyadah the High Priest was alive.” In connection with King Uzziah we read in Chronicles II 26,5: “he applied himself to the worship of G’d during the time of Zechariah, instructor of the visions of G’d.”
All the details that the Torah writes about in connection with all the vessels of the Tabernacle have similar moral allusions. The Ark represents the righteous people. The table corresponds to the kings of Israel. The Menorah corresponds to the scholars of Israel. The golden altar corresponds to the priests, whereas the copper altar corresponds to the people of Israel at large. Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel.