Three Things Promised, One Thing Given | Parshas Terumah
G-d Promised Moshe the Luchos, the Torah, and the Mitzvah. Only the Luchos Arrived.
Let’s go back to the end of Parshas Mishpatim.
Moshe is about to go up to Har Sinai for forty days and forty nights. And right before he goes up, Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells him what he’s going to receive:
וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל מֹשֶׁה עֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה וֶהְיֵה שָׁם וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָם
And Y-K-V-K said to Moshe: “Come up to Me to the mountain and stay there. And I will give you the stone tablets, the Torah, and the Mitzvah, which I wrote to instruct them.”
Three things:
The stone tablets (לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן)
The Torah (הַתּוֹרָה)
The Mitzvah (הַמִּצְוָה)
Now, let’s pretend we don’t know anything.
We don’t know what the tablets are.
We don’t know what the Torah is.
We don’t know what the Mitzvah is.
Let us note — these terms aren’t explained here. Now, we obviously have a rather good idea of what the stone tablets are. But not necessarily as good an idea as what is meant by The Torah and The Mitzvah. Either way, I want to understand what these terms mean from within the experience of reading the Torah itself — not from any outside information or knowledge I may (or may not) have.
And on that front, the Chumash so far is silent. My expectation (or should I say hope) is that in the verses, chapters, and parshas to come, they will be explained.
And my expectation will be partially met.
It’s the part that will not be met, though, that interests me.
But first — let’s see where things “go right” (so to speak).
Tracking the Luchos
Let’s track the Luchos HaEven — the stone tablets. It’ll take us a little while. We’re at the very end of Parshas Mishpatim, the last few pesukim of chapter 24. We’re going to have to skip over the next two parshios and plant ourselves in the second aliyah of Parshas Ki Tisa.
What happens in these two-plus parshios?
We go step by step through the different keilim of the Mishkan.
We detail the structure of the Mishkan itself.
The clothes of the Kohen Gadol.
Who will be in charge of actually building the Mishkan.
Then, when all of that is done, Hakadosh Baruch Hu goes on a (seeming) tangent and reminds us to keep Shabbos. In other words, by all means, build the Mishkan. Just don’t violate Shabbos when doing so.
At this point, we are done. Fully done.
And then — two parshios and six chapters later — the promise is (partially) delivered. G-d gives Moshe the Luchos HaEidus — the stone tablets:
וַיִּתֵּן אֶל מֹשֶׁה כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ בְּהַר סִינַי שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת לֻחֹת אֶבֶן כְּתֻבִים בְּאֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים
And He gave to Moshe (when he finished speaking with him on Har Sinai) the two testifying tablets — stone tablets, written by the finger of G-d.
And so we have it, (part of) the moment we have been waiting for. The Luchos HaEven have been given to Moshe. Just like G-d promised.
Of course, there is more to this moment than Moshe just receiving the tablets. There is what he is supposed to do with those tablets. But for now, I have a question.
Where are the Torah and the Mitzvah?
We all know that the Luchos are wondrous — indeed, miraculous.
Written by the finger of G-d.
The tablets themselves are the work of G-d.
Engraved completely through — from side to side.
And we know what happens to those tablets. Moshe takes them down from the mountain and destroys them in a rage when he sees the golden calf.
In short, the Luchos get a lot of press. In terms of narrative focus, they are prominently displayed.
But the Torah and the Mitzvah?
Zip.
Zilch.
Nothing.
Nada.
No mention.
No hint.
No indication.
Just silence.
What happened? G-d told Moshe that He would give him the Luchos HaEven (the stone tablets), the Torah, and the Mitzvah.
And now we have the stone tablets.
But where are the Torah and the Mitzvah?
What happened to them?
And why the silence?
The Aron
We are now ready for Parshas Terumah.
But no longer are we simply reading the Parsha. Rather, we are searching it. We are looking within the Parsha for some hint, even a simple clue of the Torah and the Mitzvah.
The Parsha begins (as always) with its namesake. With terumot — raising up our physical possessions by voluntarily dedicating them to the building of the Mishkan.
There is a lot hidden within this little section. But for now, we are going to skip over the opening and move on to the list of vessels that are to be built for the Mishkan.
First on the list, the Aron.
וְעָשׂוּ אֲרוֹן עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים
And they shall make an Aron of shittim wood.
Now this sounds promising. They’re going to build an Aron. And what’s going to be in that Aron?
Well, for one thing, the Torah — as we find out at the end of Sefer Devarim:
וַיְצַ֤ו מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם נֹ֥שְׂאֵ֛י אֲר֥וֹן בְּרִית־יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃ לָקֹ֗חַ אֵ֣ת סֵ֤פֶר הַתּוֹרָה֙ הַזֶּ֔ה וְשַׂמְתֶּ֣ם אֹת֔וֹ מִצַּ֛ד אֲר֥וֹן בְּרִית־יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָיָה־שָׁ֥ם בְּךָ֖ לְעֵֽד׃
And Moshe commanded the Levi’im, the carriers of the Aron of the Covenant of Y-K-V-K, saying: “Take this book of the Torah and place it from the side of the Aron of the Covenant of Y-K-V-K, your G-d. And it shall be there with you for a witness.”
That is quite interesting.
The Torah will be either on the side of the Aron HaKadosh or placed inside the Aron HaKadosh — alongside one of the walls.
Is this what was meant by “I’m going to give you the Torah and the Mitzvah”? Namely, I’m going to give you an Aron to house the Torah and the Mitzvah?
Perhaps, but it doesn’t sound quite right to me.
If I said to you, “I’m going to give you a beautiful set of jewelry.” If I show up with beautiful boxes — boxes for earrings, for bracelets, for necklaces — and they’re all empty — how impressed would you be?
“Just what I wanted! Beautiful boxes! I can’t wait to put my jewelry in there!”
The boxes, no matter how ornate they are, no matter how well-crafted — they are not the jewels that go inside them.
So it can’t be that the Aron in and of itself is the Torah and the Mitzvah that G-d promised to give Moshe. The Aron is the container. The Torah and the Mitzvah are the contents.
But perhaps it’s not that simple.
Back to the Luchos
Let’s take a (short) trip back to Parshas Ki Tisa — back to the moment when everything is finished. When all was said and done, what did G-d do? He gave Moshe the Luchos.
Now, let’s return to our Parsha when nothing was finished and nothing yet commanded. In essence, to the beginning. Yes, I know that the absolute beginning are the donations. The true beginning is when Am Yisrael collectively — albeit by individual volition — donate all the materials for the Mishkan.
But then, once we have all the “stuff”, everything that we need to start building the Mishkan, what is the first item mentioned before any other?
It is the Aron.
And that is interesting.
After all, it need not be so. Why not start with the foundation — with the boards and the bases that hold up the boards. Why not start with the structure of the Mishkan and then move to the vessels?
The Torah could have done that, but it didn’t. Instead, it started with the keilim (the vessels) — and not just any vessel, but the Aron.
And what is it that goes inside the Aron?
Yes, I know above we said it is the Torah.
But even if the Torah is inside the Aron, it is not there by itself:
וְנָתַתָּ֖ אֶל־הָאָרֹ֑ן אֵ֚ת הָעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֶתֵּ֖ן אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
And you shall put into the Aron the testimony that I will give you.
The “testimony”. What is the testimony? The Luchos, as we saw before in Parshas Ki Tisa:
וַיִּתֵּן אֶל מֹשֶׁה כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ בְּהַר סִינַי שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת לֻחֹת אֶבֶן כְּתֻבִים בְּאֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים
And He gave to Moshe (when he finished speaking with him on Har Sinai) the two testifying tablets — stone tablets, written by the finger of G-d.
In other words, the Mishkan begins with the Luchos and it ends with the Luchos. It begins with the Aron which houses the Luchos and it ends with the actual giving of those Luchos.
I know, I know — we are looking for the Torah and the Mitzvah. And I know that we still have not found them.
But this is what we have found. We have found that the Aron HaKadosh houses the Luchos and (eventually) will also house the Torah itself.
Or, alternatively, it houses the Luchos on the inside and will hold the Torah on the outside.
Either way, one Aron — two of the three promises.
I think we are on to something.
But we still have to look further.
And that something won’t be found inside of the Aron. But it will be found on top of it.
The Kruvim
The Aron HaKadosh is remarkable. Obviously I have never seen it, but I can see its beauty nonetheless. It is described meticulously in the Chumash and the details are quite stunning.
Gold plated (with pure gold) inside and out.
A gold crown surrounding it.
Gold rings on its sides.
And a cover made of pure gold.
And on top of this cover (the kapores) are two Kruvim also made of gold. Indeed, made of the very same gold as the covering itself.
We have seen Kruvim before.
We saw them in Gan Eden, when man was expelled from the garden:
וַיַּשְׁכֵּן מִקֶּדֶם לְגַן עֵדֶן אֶת הַכְּרֻבִים וְאֵת לַהַט הַחֶרֶב הַמִּתְהַפֶּכֶת לִשְׁמֹר אֶת דֶּרֶךְ עֵץ הַחַיִּים
He placed the Kruvim east of Gan Eden, with a revolving fiery sword, to guard the path to the Eitz HaChaim (the tree of life).
The tree of life — eitz hachaim. What is the tree of life?
In Gan Eden, I don’t know. Today, though, I have an idea.
Not my idea, Shlomo HaMelech’s idea.
The Tree of Life
Mishlei is a difficult sefer — but that difficulty is worthwhile.
Let us note its beginning. Here Shlomo HaMelech tells us that he will write a book of proverbs and parables — what he calls meshalim.
A mashal is a type of example. Let me focus your attention on something that you understand and use that as a means for you to understand something that you do not understand.
A stitch in time saves nine.
If I use one stitch now, while a tear is small, I’ll save myself the trouble of having to use nine stitches later, when the tear is big.
In short, nip the problem in the bud.
Of course, this phrase is not really about sewing, but rather about life. There are many “tears” that need “sewing”. Take care of them now, don’t wait until the problem is much worse.
So that is the heart of Sefer Mishlei, examples from every day life designed to teach something larger than the example itself.
Now, what is that larger something that Shlomo HaMelech wants us to learn. He has a list. We’ll focus on the first item on the list:
לָדַ֣עַת חׇכְמָ֣ה וּמוּסָ֑ר
To know wisdom and restraint (aka musar).
We’ll ignore the restraint part for now. It’s the wisdom that interests us.
What does Shlomo HaMelech have in mind when he speaks about chachma (חכמה) — which I translated as wisdom?
I’m not sure. But may I note the following. In one of the last speeches he ever gave to the nation, Moshe Rabbeinu tells Am Yisrael to keep and observe the statutes and judgments he has taught them:
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֮ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם֒ כִּ֣י הִ֤וא חׇכְמַתְכֶם֙ וּבִ֣ינַתְכֶ֔ם לְעֵינֵ֖י הָעַמִּ֑ים
Keep and observe them, for that is your chachma and your understanding in the eyes of the nations.
The nations, he says, will look at us and declare:
רַ֚ק עַם־חָכָ֣ם וְנָב֔וֹן הַגּ֥וֹי הַגָּד֖וֹל הַזֶּֽה
Surely a wise and understanding people is this great nation.
And what makes us wise? What are these statutes and judgments? They are:
כְּכֹל֙ הַתּוֹרָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את
This entire Torah.
There is some essential connection between the Torah and its chukim and mishpatim that are wise and which give us chachma.
Is this what Shlomo HaMelech had in mind? Seems possible. Indeed, there are other proofs, but for now this will suffice.
Let’s continue in Mishlei. A few verses later:
שְׁמַ֣ע בְּ֭נִי מוּסַ֣ר אָבִ֑יךָ וְאַל־תִּ֝טֹּ֗שׁ תּוֹרַ֥ת אִמֶּֽךָ׃
My son, listen to the instruction of your father and do not forsake the Torah of your mother.
This is line eight of Sefer Mishlei (still the first chapter) and we finally have our first mention of the word Torah. But it’s not just any old mention, there’s another word hiding there in plain sight: מוסר (musar). The same “musar” that we found in the third verse alongside chachma.
All in all, there seems to be a close connection between wisdom (chachma) and Torah in Sefer Mishlei — and with both of them and musar.
And it is in this light that we take a look at the third chapter of Mishlei. Which begins with a reference to the Torah:
בְּ֭נִי תּוֹרָתִ֣י אַל־תִּשְׁכָּ֑ח וּ֝מִצְוֺתַ֗י יִצֹּ֥ר לִבֶּֽךָ
My son, do not forget my Torah, and let your heart keep my Mitzvos.
Here we have Shlomo HaMelech speaking as G-d’s messenger — enjoining them to not abandon His Torah (see Rashi to Mishlei, 4: 2).
Now, why should we not forget G-d’s Torah? Because the Torah will lengthen our days, grant us years of life and give us peace:
כִּ֤י אֹ֣רֶךְ יָ֭מִים וּשְׁנ֣וֹת חַיִּ֑ים וְ֝שָׁל֗וֹם יוֹסִ֥יפוּ לָֽךְ
Because they will lengthen your days and grant you years of life, and they will give you peace.
Thus starts the first section of the third chapter.
Let’s move on to section two and its opening line:
מוּסַ֣ר יְ֭הֹוָה בְּנִ֣י אַל־תִּמְאָ֑ס וְאַל־תָּ֝קֹ֗ץ בְּתוֹכַחְתּֽוֹ׃
My son, do not reject the musar of Y-K-V-K, and do not despise His rebuke.
Torah, then musar.
Interesting.
Want to make a guess what word appears in the third section of the third chapter:
יְֽהֹוָ֗ה בְּחׇכְמָ֥ה יָסַד־אָ֑רֶץ כּוֹנֵ֥ן שָׁ֝מַ֗יִם בִּתְבוּנָֽה׃
Y-K-V-K with chachma laid the foundation of the earth; and built the heavens with bina.
Torah > musar > chachma.
I think they are connected.
And with that said, let us return to the second section, the one that starts with musar — and note its transition to chachma:
אַשְׁרֵ֣י אָ֭דָם מָצָ֣א חׇכְמָ֑ה וְ֝אָדָ֗ם יָפִ֥יק תְּבוּנָֽה׃
Fortunate is the man who finds chachma, and the man who acquires understanding.
Chachma and understanding. The same chachma and understanding that G-d used to lay the foundation of the earth and build the heavens.
This chachma is more valuable than silver and fine jewels.
The length of days are in its right hand.
It is a tree of life for all who take possession of it.
A tree of life. Eitz HaChaim.
The Torah is a Tree of Life.
And now, my mind races back. Not to the Garden of Eden, but to the waters of Marah.
To the time that the Jewish people first travelled in the desert. When they were in need of water. They had travelled for three days — and found no water.
No water means no life.
But then, they make their way to Marah. And finally, water. Life itself, right in front of them. But, alas, it is bitter. They cannot drink it.
Bitter water means no life.
But Hashem instructs them.
He shows them.
He מורה them.
וַיּוֹרֵ֤הוּ יְהֹוָה֙
And Y-K-V-K showed them.
Look at the root. It is the same root as the word Torah.
What does He instruct them in? What does He show them? What is He מורה them?
About a tree.
וַיּוֹרֵ֤הוּ יְהֹוָה֙ עֵ֔ץ
And Y-K-V-K showed them a tree.
A tree which sweetens the waters when you throw it into the waters.
וַיּוֹרֵ֤הוּ יְהֹוָה֙ עֵ֔ץ וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ֙ אֶל־הַמַּ֔יִם וַֽיִּמְתְּק֖וּ הַמָּ֑יִם
And Y-K-V-K showed them a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters were sweetened.
A tree of life! Sweet waters means life.
But this is the key — this is what makes this story so telling. What happens next? Once the waters are sweetened? Once they can drink water and live. What does Moshe (or is it Hashem) do?
He gives them some Torah!
שָׁ֣ם שָׂ֥ם ל֛וֹ חֹ֥ק וּמִשְׁפָּ֖ט
There he (or is it He) gave them chok and mishpat.
Do you see how it all comes together? Do you understand why, at that moment, He (or is it he) gives them Chok uMishpat?
Now they can appreciate life. And so now they can appreciate the Torah — which extends life and gives it vitality.
In other words, the Torah is also a tree that makes bitter waters sweet.
Of course, it doesn’t make literal waters sweet.
But then again, nipping a problem in the bud doesn’t mend a literal rip in a literal pair of pants either.
The Path to the Tree of Life
Back in Gan Eden, we partook of the Eitz HaDaas Tov v’Ra — the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And once we did, we could no longer partake of the Eitz HaChaim. You can’t have both.
But through it all — through the trials and tribulations of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, and the Shvatim, through the slavery and the redemption from slavery, through the desert, following G-d into the unknown — we had somehow removed ourselves from the venom of that first tree.
And so now we can partake of the Eitz HaChaim once again.
But not so fast. It’s one thing to be able to partake of the Eitz HaChaim. But first you have to reach the tree.
And that requires going down the right path.
Remember. After the chet of Adam and Chava.
After we were exiled from the garden.
Then (and only then) G-d stationed the Kruvim (vayashkein) to guard the path to the Eitz HaChaim.
וַיְגָ֖רֶשׁ אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן֩ מִקֶּ֨דֶם לְגַן־עֵ֜דֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֗ים וְאֵ֨ת לַ֤הַט הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת לִשְׁמֹ֕ר אֶת־דֶּ֖רֶךְ עֵ֥ץ הַֽחַיִּֽים׃
And He drove out the man, and He placed the Kruvim east of Gan Eden, with a revolving fiery sword, to guard the path to the Eitz HaChaim.
The English translation hides so much. The Hebrew word is (וַיַּשְׁכֵּן֩) which has the exact same root as the word Mishkan. As in the Mishkan that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is now commanding us to build. That same Mishkan which will have an aron which will have a cover which will have Kruvim on top of it.
What is the connection?
I don’t really know yet. But the word is there and so the (possible, I would say likely) connection is also there.
For now, though, we’ll focus on the word that is easier for us to understand — the word “shomer” (שְׁמֹ֕ר) — to guard.
What does it mean for the Kruvim to guard the path to the Eitz HaChaim?
On the one hand, it is obvious. They are to prevent unwanted visitors — those people who are unworthy — from getting to the tree of life.
After all, if you can’t get to the tree, you can’t partake of it.
But there is another sense which I think is equally obvious (once it is pointed out to you). And that is the sense of preserving.
There is a way to reach this tree. It’s not an obvious way. Not everyone knows it. But it is there. And it has to be preserved — even if no one is presently using it.
Because some day it will be needed. Someday there will be a people worthy of traveling down this road. And when that day comes, the path will still be there — because the Kruvim were entrusted (by G-d Himself) to preserve it.
If we put it all together: there is only one way to the Eitz HaChaim, and that is through the path to the Eitz HaChaim.
And there is only one way to walk that path, and that is by passing through its guards — aka the Kruvim.
Back to the Aron
So we have the Aron.
And on top of the Aron, we have the Kruvim.
And inside the Aron — the Luchos.
And now the Pasuk I have been waiting for.
וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁם וְדִבַּרְתִּי אִתְּךָ מֵעַל הַכַּפֹּרֶת מִבֵּין שְׁנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים אֲשֶׁר עַל אֲרוֹן הָעֵדֻת אֵת כׇּל אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּה אוֹתְךָ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
I will meet with you there, and I will speak with you from above the Kapores, from between the two Kruvim which are upon the Aron HaEidus — everything that I will command you concerning Bnei Yisrael.
Did you catch that?
No?
Then read it again.
And again.
And again — until you see something.
Don’t just have me spoon-feed it to you. Read that verse and see what you come up with. Then, I’ll give you my thoughts.
G-d is going to meet Moshe (וְנוֹעַדְתִּי). And when He meets him, He is going to speak with him (וְדִבַּרְתִּי אִתְּךָ).
And what are they going to talk about?
Everything that G-d wants to command the Jewish people through Moshe (אֵת כׇּל אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּה אוֹתְךָ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל).
Remember what Bnei Yisrael said to Moshe at Har Sinai?
קְרַ֤ב אַתָּה֙ וּֽשְׁמָ֔ע אֵ֛ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֹאמַ֖ר יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְאַ֣תְּ ׀ תְּדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֵ֗ינוּ אֵת֩ כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְדַבֵּ֜ר יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּ אֵלֶ֖יךָ וְשָׁמַ֥עְנוּ וְעָשִֽׂינוּ׃
You draw near and listen to all that Y-K-V-K our G-d will say, and you shall speak to us all that Y-K-V-K our G-d will say to you, and we will listen and do.
In other words, G-d is going to communicate to Moshe the Torah.
And where is He going to communicate it — between the Kruvim (מִבֵּין שְׁנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים)!
That is the path to the Torah.
That is the road to the Eitz HaChaim.
Through the Kruvim who are on top of the Aron which house the Luchos.
Because that is the only way to get the Torah.
But I get ahead of myself (again).
The Other Direction
It’s starting to become clear.
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה עֲלֵ֥ה אֵלַ֛י הָהָ֖רָה וֶהְיֵה־שָׁ֑ם וְאֶתְּנָ֨ה לְךָ֜ אֶת־לֻחֹ֣ת הָאֶ֗בֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה֙ וְהַמִּצְוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּתַ֖בְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָֽם
And Y-K-V-K said to Moshe: “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there, and I will give you the Luchos HaEven and the Torah and the Mitzvah that I have written to instruct them.”
How will I give you the Torah?
By giving you the Luchos.
It’s as if the vav of “and the Torah (וְהַתּוֹרָה֙)” means “therefore”.
I will give you the Luchos and (therefore) I will (be able to) give you the Torah...
Because by putting the Luchos in the Aron HaKadosh (inside the Mishkan), My word will be able to travel through the Kruvim to you.
You see, we had it all wrong.
We don’t travel through the Kruvim, onto the path to the Eitz HaChaim.
No, the Eitz HaChaim travels on the path, through the Kruvim to us.
We receive the Eitz HaChaim. We don’t take it.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to do. That we just sit back and wait for it to come to us. It doesn’t work that way.
But the direction is clear.
What is not yet clear is why.
Why this way? Why through the Kruvim?
What is it about the Kruvim that makes this work?
A Closer Look at the Kruvim
Let’s look at the Kruvim a bit more carefully.
וְעָשִׂיתָ שְׁנַיִם כְּרֻבִים זָהָב מִקְשָׁה תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם מִשְּׁנֵי קְצוֹת הַכַּפֹּרֶת
You shall make two Kruvim of gold, hammered from one piece, from the two ends of the Kapores.
Two points.
First: מִקְשָׁה — hammered from one piece. They come from the same stock. They are united in their source, in their etzem, in their essence.
Second: מִשְּׁנֵי קְצוֹת — from the two ends. The two extremes. Two opposites — as far apart as they physically can be while still being on top of the aron.
In short, same source, opposite positions. And our two extremists are facing each other.
And let’s not try and wiggle out of their extremism — the Torah emphasizes this over and over again:
וְעָשִׂ֛יתָ שְׁנַ֥יִם כְּרֻבִ֖ים זָהָ֑ב
מִקְשָׁה֙ תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֹתָ֔ם
מִשְּׁנֵ֖י קְצ֥וֹת הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃
וַ֠עֲשֵׂ֠ה כְּר֨וּב אֶחָ֤ד מִקָּצָה֙ מִזֶּ֔ה
וּכְרוּב־אֶחָ֥ד מִקָּצָ֖ה מִזֶּ֑ה
מִן־הַכַּפֹּ֛רֶת תַּעֲשׂ֥וּ אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֖ים עַל־שְׁנֵ֥י קְצוֹתָֽיו׃And you shall make two Kruvim of gold,
hammered from one piece,
from the two ends of the Kapores.
And make one Keruv on one end
and one Keruv on the other end,
from the Kapores you shall make the Kruvim on its two ends.
At the same time, it emphasizes their singular, shared source.
They will be “hammered from one piece“.
They will be made from the Kapores.
Each Kruv has its position. Each has its perspective. Each has its edge — its extreme.
And yet, they are both sourced from the same gold, from the same Kapores.
They are opposites, but they are unified in their source.
And they face each other.
Why?
What does it mean to face each other?
What does that look like?
Let me give you an example of two people who faced each other and tell me, is this the vision you have of the Kruvim?
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
In case I date myself, let’s put it this way. Imagine two boxers, in the ring. One in this corner, the other in the opposite corner.
Two extremists.
The bell rings and they each work their way to the center of the ring to face each other — and to try and knock each other’s face off.
Is that what you have in mind when you think of the Kruvim?
No? Why not? Isn’t that an example of two people facing each other — in battle, conflict, confrontation?
Why wouldn’t our Kruvim be like that? After all, they are opposites.
And what’s worse — they come from the same stock.
Tell me, who hates each other more.
A capitalist sitting in the United States and a communist sitting in Cuba
OR
A capitalist sitting in the United States and a communist sitting in the United States?
How about MAGA and leftists?
Bibi and leftists?
I could go on and on.
So is this the way to revelation?
By staking out our position, sticking to it and hating those who oppose it.
I don’t think so.
But it’s not as far off as we may imagine.
For now, though, let’s change the vision. Let’s leave behind the battles and hatred and be a bit more positive.
What is the phrase — opposites attract?
Or how about the idea that men and women are two halves of a whole?
That also sounds a bit like our Kruvim, doesn’t it?
Love, care and respect — all wrapped up in a strange sort of attraction alongside a natural sort of frustration. Husbands frustrate wives and wives frustrate husbands.
The modern way of saying this is that men are from venus (or is it mars) and women are from the other one.
The Torah way of saying this is that woman was created from the side of man — and thereby became a helper, opposite him.
Or perhaps we could just say that men are hewed from one side of the Aron and women from the other side.
So, which is it?
Opposites attract.
The battle of the sexes.
A fight to the death.
It’s all of the above.
And within the world of the Torah, we have one particular relationship which contains all of these elements in one — it’s called a chavrusa.
A chavrusa — from the word “chaver” — a friend. But what kind of friend?
The kind you yell at when they say something ridiculous.
The kind you battle against when they say something foolish.
And the kind you listen to when you (finally) realize that it was you who was saying something foolish and ridiculous all along.
Of course, it’s not just a Chavrusa.
It’s Satmar vs Chabad.
Or Satmar vs Zionism.
Or Zionism vs Chabad.
Or Daati Leumi vs Chareidi.
Or Modern Orthodox vs Chareidi.
Or Litvish vs Chassidish.
Or Musar vs Chassidus.
Battles.
Look at all these battles.
And look at all the Torah that has come out from them.
Is it pretty? No!
Is it enjoyable? Oftentimes doubly no.
And yet, we keep doing it. Because we care! Because it’s about the Torah and truth and values and what is right and what is wrong.
And I have a secret. Through all those battles. All that yelling and passion and more, there is something much deeper — love.
You don’t believe me?
Let’s see.
A number of years ago, a young man named Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas.
Now, that very same week, a young boy from Yitzhar was also murdered. I wish I remembered his name. I ask him and his family for mechila that I do not remember his name. But I remember him. He was hitch-hiking outside of Beitar and was picked up by Hamas (or some other similar terrorist group).
And minutes later, they brutally murdered him (because that is what Hamas does). Hashem Yikom Damo!
Now, all of this happened around the time of disengagement. I don’t remember if it was before, during or shortly after. But it was that time period.
And, as is often the case with the Jewish people — we were divided. We were each of us in our camps, in our extremes.
I remember my mother was sure that it was going to come to bloodshed. “I hope I’m wrong”, she said. But she didn’t see how such heated passions over such fundamental issues could end otherwise.
Thankfully, my mother was wrong. And that should already tell us something.
But that is not the point I want to make. The point I want to make is about this young man’s mother. Let us remember, she lives in Yitzhar. I don’t personally know her, but one can imagine Yitzhar on one extreme of the Jewish world. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, right or wrong. That’s not the point of this story. I’m just noting that it is on a polar opposite of the political spectrum of those who fervently believed in disengagement.
And during that week, she said something akin to the following:
There are big disagreements in our nation and heated passions surrounding those disagreements. We are in many ways divided. And I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
But this week, I saw something deeper. I saw that deeper than all of those divides is a love that unites us all. I saw Jews from all walks of life, all ends of the political and religious spectrum come to support us and show us their love.
So yes, there are differences. But there is a unity much deeper than those differences.
I think this is one of the most profound and honest truths that I have ever heard. And I think it describes our nation to the t.
And I don’t think this is a one-off occurrence. I think we all experienced it on October 8th (even if we don’t all still experience it right now).
We have seen the love that can shine. And we have for sure seen the divisions that can also shine.
And when these two elements are properly combined, you have a special unit known as Kruvim (notice the plural).
Divided in their extremism, united in their source — and therefore in their love.
And they are facing each other, but not only each other.
וּפְנֵיהֶ֖ם אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־אָחִ֑יו אֶ֨ל־הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת יִהְי֖וּ פְּנֵ֥י הַכְּרֻבִֽים
And their faces, one towards the other, towards the Kapores shall the faces of the Kruvim be.
They are looking at each other while also looking down towards the Kapores (the Kapores which covers the Aron which contains the Luchos).
They see each other while they simultaneously see the Torah.
In other words, Kruvim don’t battle each other.
They battle for the Torah.
They aren’t trying to win.
They aren’t trying to overpower.
They are trying to understand.
They each come from their perspective. They each have their point of view. But it is a perspective focused on the Torah.
What does it mean?
What does Hashem want from us?
What am I supposed to do?
This is what I think the Torah says.
No, that’s wrong — this is what it says.
It’s about the Torah.
It’s what Chazal call a machlokes l’shem shamayim.
Machlokes — from the word “chalak” — to divide.
A division for the sake of heaven.
I am divided not because I’m distant from you, but because I see the Torah differently than you do. But I am facing you, because I am facing how you see the Torah. I face you as I face the Torah. And you do the same with me.
And through that, we remain divided — but in service of the same Torah. And through that honest division, we reach new understandings. And we even sometimes change our minds:
חזרו בית הלל להורות כדברי בית שמאי
The School of Hillel revised (their opinion) to teach according to the position of the School of Shamai.
So you have these two Kruvim. Made from the same Kapores, housing the same Luchos, but from the two different sides. The two different perspectives. The two different angles. Facing each other — hammering it out with love, with care, but with passion and with strength.
And that space between these two lovingly different perspectives has a name — the path to the Eitz HaChaim.
The path is found between this divide — in the space that is formed when two extremes can lovingly, yet honestly face each other in their unified, but different love for the Torah.
If you can master that, then you can receive the Torah which G-d sends down that path.
And the one man who could master that more than anyone else was Moshe Rabbeinu.
We all know (or should know) the different Gemaras and midrashim. That anything that a Talmid vatik was destined to say was already given over to Moshe on Har Sinai.
That he (Moshe) received the Tanach and the Mishnah and the Gemara.
Okay — but how? How could Moshe receive all of this? What did he possess that enabled this?
Let me make a suggestion — by mastering the art of being an extremist.
Because, let’s be honest. There is no reason why one man can’t be an extremist on both sides. Why he can’t see both sides of the argument and both perspectives.
After all, we walk into Yeshiva and spend our time understanding the machlokes between:
Beis Hillel and Beis Shamai.
Between Abaye and Rava.
Between Rashi and Tosfos.
Between the Rambam and the Raavad.
And then we stop. Some of us may go a little further — until it reaches something we care about. Then, we don’t try to understand, we try to be right.
But who says we have to wait until after the machlokes to understand both sides? There is no law of nature that that need be the case.
Indeed, if we can understand both sides of an issue after the fact, then it is at least theoretically possible to understand both sides of an issue before the fact.
And my guess is that Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t just understand both sides of a machlokes — he lived them. He stood at both ends of the Kapores. He felt the truth and passion of each position without being captured by either — holding the contradictions in his love for the Torah.
He was, in a sense, both Kruvim at once.
And that is why G-d spoke to him from between them.
Done, but Not Done
We aren’t done yet. We still have to find the Mitzvah.
But we are (basically) done for now with the hope that we can continue another time.
But I do want to leave you with a hint. I think the Mitzvah is also hidden within the Mishkan. Indeed, I think it’s hidden within the very next kli — the Shulchan.
Somewhere within there is the Mitzvah. I hope to write about it soon.
For now, though, take a look yourself and see what you see.
You can start from whichever extreme position you want. So long as you are also looking down at the Torah (while simultaneously lovingly sheltering it with your wings), I’m happy to meet you there.
B’hatzlachah.