As part of our study of Parshat Terumah, we focused on the mitzvah of building the ארון, the Tabernacle (Shemot, Perek 25).  The Aron was constructed of three cubic layers, acacia wood in the center surrounded on both sides by solid gold. Moshe placed the Luchot bearing the Ten  Commandments inside the Aron. A gold cover, the כפרת, was placed over the opening of the Aron. On it were mounted two cherubs with youthful faces, looking each other. Their wings spread upward  and shielded the cover and the faces were turned downward towards the cover.  

The women in our class expressed wonder that Hashem had chosen to incorporate the cherubs into a system of worship that is so adamantly opposed to idol worship. The Rambam addresses this very point in the Guide to the Perplexed. He explains that the cherubim were incorporated to teach בני ישראל the fundamental principle of the existence of מלאכים, angels. (In fact, the Seforno says that when a prophet saw an angel in a vision, it was represented by the image of a cherub). The Rambam says that, had there been only one cherub, people may have made a mistake and assumed that this was a representation of a god. However, since there were two, and the Torah openly proclaims the monotheistic philosophy of,   שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד, no one would make the mistake of associating the cherubim with false gods.   

Interestingly, the Medrash on Megilat Eicha (9) recounts that when the first Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, Amonites and Moavites entered the קדש הקדשים, Holy of Holies and found the two cherubim. They put them in a cage and paraded them through the streets of Jerusalem, saying, " Didn't you say that this nation doesn't worship idols. Look what we found and what they were worshipping. They are no different than the rest of us!"

We noted that the significance of the Aron is revealed through the passuk (Shemot; 25, 22),

וְנוֹעַדְתִּ֣י לְךָ֮ שָׁם֒ וְדִבַּרְתִּ֨י אִתְּךָ֜ מֵעַ֣ל הַכַּפֹּ֗רֶת מִבֵּין֙ שְׁנֵ֣י הַכְּרֻבִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־אֲרֹ֣ן הָעֵדֻ֑ת אֵ֣ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֧ר אֲצַוֶּ֛ה אוֹתְךָ֖ אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

There I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the cover, from between the two cherubim that are on the Ark of the Testimony, all that I will command you concerning B'nei Yisroel.

The Aron demonstrates how, after the public revelation at Har Sinai, Hashem established a more private channel of revelation and communication with the people. Hashem's "voice" descended from Heaven, and then between the cherubim. The angels, who are non-physical messengers of Hashem, had their wings spread toward heaven but their faces looking toward the Ark.  They are the means through which Hashem bridges the gap with human beings, by making His knowledge known and implementing His will. The Luchot represent the system of mitzvot; they teach the people how to  translate that knowledge of Hashem into appropriate action.  

When the Amonim and Moavim paraded the cherubim in the streets of Jerusalem, they removed the angels from their proper context. By presenting them as essential entities, they  perverted the entire concept of Hashem's relationship with B'nei Yisroel and tried to equate it with other forms of idol worship. In education, we must always be aware that context is critical. Miscommunications arise when words or actions are taken out of context. Sometimes this results in a distortion of abstract ideas; other times it creates rifts in relationships between people. At SBTAG we strive to achieve harmony by paying close attention to both the individual and the context in which individuals relate to each other. We emulate the concept of ה' אחד, by striving for a unified understanding of our world within a unified environment. This is a lesson that serves us well as we enter the month of Adar and contemplate the age old story of Jewish survival, as well as the struggle for survival that we witness every day in the world around us.