Ever since Raiders of the Lost Ark, I (and I'm sure many of you out there) have had a fascination with the Aron HaKodesh. After all, if Hashem's voice emanated from above the Aron - which was the only object in the entire Kodesh K'dashim (Holy of Holies) - then this was arguably the holiest spot in the universe.
The most intriguing part of the Aron was the kaporet, the Ark-cover, upon which stood the K'ruvim. What were the K'ruvim, you ask? Well, so mysterious are they, that they are translated as... K'ruvim (or "cherubs," if that helps you). So, who - or what - were they?
The rabbis have different opinions. Some say they were a man and a woman, some say an eagle and a lion. But the most popular opinion is that the K'ruvim were child-like figures, with wings whose tips touched one another. Hashem's voice emerged from between those wings.
The idyllic, pastoral image presented here seems to contrast quite vividly with the first reference in the Torah to K'ruvim. Near the close of parshat B'reisheit (Genesis 3:22), we are told that G-d wanted to guard the Tree of Life, and so he placed K'ruvim east of Eden, each of whom brandished a flashing, double-edged sword.
Angelic little children - fierce warriors. How do we reconcile these starkly different pictures of the K'ruvim?
I suggest to you that the answer can be found very close to home, in the person of our brave Israeli soldiers. Look at their faces. Most of them are just children; teenagers, fresh out of high school, sent to guard the Etz HaChayim that grows in Eretz Yisrael.
These angelic figures stand between Gan Eden (according to Chazal, located in Israel) and the vicious enemies who seek our destruction. They confidently hold their weapons and they carry out heroic missions, but in truth they have the purity and innocence of young children. These kids are giants of courage, and each of us ought to afford them the respect they deserve. If Hashem's presence/voice cannot be found among these modern-day K'ruvim, it cannot be found anywhere.
Our young people in uniform represent the epitome of what giving is all about. They may have orange hair and three earrings (those are the males, folks), but no Jew in this generation gives more than they do to sustain Klal Yisrael. They are, literally, the cover on the Luchot.
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Rabbi Weiss is the director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.
The most intriguing part of the Aron was the kaporet, the Ark-cover, upon which stood the K'ruvim. What were the K'ruvim, you ask? Well, so mysterious are they, that they are translated as... K'ruvim (or "cherubs," if that helps you). So, who - or what - were they?
The rabbis have different opinions. Some say they were a man and a woman, some say an eagle and a lion. But the most popular opinion is that the K'ruvim were child-like figures, with wings whose tips touched one another. Hashem's voice emerged from between those wings.
The idyllic, pastoral image presented here seems to contrast quite vividly with the first reference in the Torah to K'ruvim. Near the close of parshat B'reisheit (Genesis 3:22), we are told that G-d wanted to guard the Tree of Life, and so he placed K'ruvim east of Eden, each of whom brandished a flashing, double-edged sword.
Angelic little children - fierce warriors. How do we reconcile these starkly different pictures of the K'ruvim?
I suggest to you that the answer can be found very close to home, in the person of our brave Israeli soldiers. Look at their faces. Most of them are just children; teenagers, fresh out of high school, sent to guard the Etz HaChayim that grows in Eretz Yisrael.
These angelic figures stand between Gan Eden (according to Chazal, located in Israel) and the vicious enemies who seek our destruction. They confidently hold their weapons and they carry out heroic missions, but in truth they have the purity and innocence of young children. These kids are giants of courage, and each of us ought to afford them the respect they deserve. If Hashem's presence/voice cannot be found among these modern-day K'ruvim, it cannot be found anywhere.
Our young people in uniform represent the epitome of what giving is all about. They may have orange hair and three earrings (those are the males, folks), but no Jew in this generation gives more than they do to sustain Klal Yisrael. They are, literally, the cover on the Luchot.
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Rabbi Weiss is the director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.