"[The cloud] was the manifestation of God's Presence in the Tabernacle."
Ovadia Sforno, (15th-16th c. Italy)
Ovadia Sforno, (15th-16th c. Italy)
As a symbol of guidance and direction:
(כא) וַֽיי הֹלֵךְ֩ לִפְנֵיהֶ֨ם יוֹמָ֜ם בְּעַמּ֤וּד עָנָן֙ לַנְחֹתָ֣ם הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וְלַ֛יְלָה בְּעַמּ֥וּד אֵ֖שׁ לְהָאִ֣יר לָהֶ֑ם לָלֶ֖כֶת יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃ (כב) לֹֽא־יָמִ֞ישׁ עַמּ֤וּד הֶֽעָנָן֙ יוֹמָ֔ם וְעַמּ֥וּד הָאֵ֖שׁ לָ֑יְלָה לִפְנֵ֖י הָעָֽם׃ (פ)
God went before them by day with a pillar of cloud, to guide them along the way. By night it appeared as a pillar of fire, providing them with light. They could thus travel day and night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night never left the people.
As a symbol of protection:
According to tradition, the protective cloud that had accompanied the Israelites out of Egypt dissipated when the people worshipped the golden calf. ... The people were confused; they felt vulnerable and abandoned due to [Moses'] absence, and they failed to appreciate that God's Presence was still very much with them in the form of the protective cloud. And because they turned a blind eye toward the ever-present manifestation of God, taking the cloud for granted, it was taken from them. This is the price to be paid for not appreciating God's protection: The protection is revoked. The cloud vanishes.
-- Rabbi Ari Kahn
As a symbol of forgiveness:
The true significance of the final verses of [Exodus]: The cloud has returned. For the first time, the people are granted a clear sign that the sin perpetrated at the foot of the mountain, the sin that had banished the cloud, has been forgiven. The cloud expresses the rekindled intimacy between the Jewish People and God.
-- Rabbi Ari Kahn
As a symbol of humility:
The Mishkan, where the Tablets were housed, may be used to symbolize a Torah scholar. If a Torah scholar publicizes himself as the day is public, God will bring a cloud of obscurity over him. However, if a Torah scholar diminishes himself, like an object concealed at night, God will spread his fame like a fire seen from a distance.
-- The "Siach Yitchak" of Rabbi Yitzchak Weiss (20th c. Czechoslovakia)