Illustration credit: Rivka Tsinman
The cover of the אָרוֹן (aron, ark) was called the כַּפֹּרֶת (kaporet), and on top of that were statues of כְּרֻבִים (keruvim, winged angels). Here’s how the Torah describes them.
וְעָשִׂיתָ שְׁנַיִם כְּרֻבִים זָהָב
מִקְשָׁה תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם
מִשְּׁנֵי קְצוֹת הַכַּפֹּרֶת׃
וַעֲשֵׂה כְּרוּב אֶחָד מִקָּצָה מִזֶּה וּכְרוּב אֶחָד מִקָּצָה מִזֶּה מִן הַכַּפֹּרֶת תַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת הַכְּרֻבִים עַל שְׁנֵי קְצוֹתָיו׃
וְהָיוּ הַכְּרֻבִים פֹּרְשֵׂי כְנָפַיִם לְמַעְלָה
סֹכְכִים בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם עַל הַכַּפֹּרֶת
וּפְנֵיהֶם אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו
אֶל הַכַּפֹּרֶת יִהְיוּ פְּנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים׃
Make two keruvim of gold
by hammering them from one piece
at the two ends of the kaporet.
Make one keruv at one end and the other keruv at the other end; make the keruvim from the kaporet at its two ends.
The keruvim shall have their wings spread above, covering the kaporet with their wings. They shall face each other, the faces of the keruvim shall be toward the kaporet.
- What do you notice? What are you wondering about?
- What stands out about how the keruvim are made, or about where they belong?
- Do you notice anything confusing about where the keruvim are supposed to face? What can we learn from this?
- This is not the first time that keruvim are mentioned in the Torah. When Adam and Havah were sent out of גַּן עֵדֶן (Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden), two keruvim were stationed to guard the tree of life. (Look it up! Bereishit 3:24.) Do you think the keruvim in our parashah serve a similar role?
- Some midrashim say that the mishkan was similar to Gan Eden in a lot of ways (Tanhuma Pekudei 2). As you read more about the mishkan this week and in the coming weeks, what other connections to Gan Eden can you find?
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