Rabbi's Sermons

Shabbat Shalom!

Those of you who have seen the movie “The fiddler on the roof”, may remember, the funny part at the beginning of the movie, when they ask the Rabbi, whether a horse that was sold, was old or young: The first person says: “Rabbi! The horse was old, his teeth indicated it!”, and the Rabbi answers him: “you are right”; and then, another person argued: “But Rabbi, the horse was young! His muscles indicated it”, so the Rabbi answers again: “You're right”; then, a third person tells the Rabbi: “But Rabbi, they cannot be both right!” – and the Rabbi replies: “You know what? You are also right!”.

This week's Parashat T'ruma begins with the divine ordinance of building the tabernacle. The weekly portion provides a very detailed indication of the materials to be used, and the specifications of how to build it. This elaborated information, explains how the columns were made from acacia wood, the fine linen walls, the tent and the menorah, and the most important was the holiest place, the ark of the covenant, where the second set of tables with the Ten Commandments were kept. The Ark was covered with a lid that had two mystical cherubs or angels engraved, as we read in Exodus chapter 25:

“¹⁷ You shall make a cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long (almost 4 feet) and a cubit and a half wide (27 inches). ¹⁸ Make two cherubim of gold — make them of hammered work — at the two ends of the cover. ¹⁹ Make one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end; of one piece with the cover shall you make the cherubim at its two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. They shall confront each other, the faces of the cherubim being turned toward the cover. ²¹ Place the cover on top of the Ark, after depositing inside the Ark the Pact that I will give you. ²² There I will meet with you, and I will impart to you — from above the cover, from between the two cherubim that are on top of the Ark of the Pact — all that I will command you, concerning the Israelite people”.

There is another mention of the Cherubs in the 2^nd book of Chronicles Ch. 3, describing Salomon’s work to build the temple, and it reads as follows:

“¹⁰ For the Most Holy Place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits (30 feet). One wing of the first cherub was five cubits (7.5 feet) long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub. ¹² Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall”.

These is a very different description of the querubs. Which is right? Which is wrong? The Torah version? Or King Solomon’s version? The sages also asked this question, and the Talmud Babel volume Baba Batra 99a explains: “And how they {the cherubs} stand? Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Eliezer [debate]: One taught that the two keruvim faced one another; the other taught that they faced the Temple. And to the one who said that they are facing one another - the verse in Exodus 25:20 says that they faced each other, while for the one who said that they face the Temple, In Divrei Ha-Yamim 2, Chp. 3:13 it says that they faced the Temple. This [difference in text] does not pose a problem; Here {Rabbi Yochanan} it refers to the time when the people of Israel were doing the will of God. Here {Rabbi Eliezer} it refers to the time that the people of Israel were not doing the will of God”. Again, both are right as the Rabbi from “The Fiddler on the roof”...

In fact, this explanation has introduced a mystical problem, because it implied that the cherubs could move on their own! They acted as a flag, to indicate Israel’s relationship with God. One represented God, and other represented the people of Israel. When Israel was doing God’s will, they would face each other; otherwise, they would face the Temple, not seeing each other’s face. However, this arises an additional question: When Israel was not fulfilling God’s will, why the second Cherub, representing God, would ALSO turned his face away? The plain logic would indicate that the cherub representing Israel, would be the ONLY one to turn away its face, not both of them!

In his book, Nefesh Haim, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin explains, that it is a relative issue of perspective. From the moment we turn apart from someone or something, it looks like that person or object is getting away from us. The opposite, if we get closer, it looks like the other person or object gets closer to us as well. Therefore, we are the ONLY ones responsible to make a difference towards God, and towards others. If we walk towards or search for other people or for God, with interest, joy or a smile on our faces, in the same manner, our gestures will receive a similar response.

Other beliefs or religions view God, as a separated entity, unrelated whatsoever to the actions or desires of the individual. Judaism teaches exactly the opposite! Moises had to communicate with God, NOT through the Cherubs, but through the space between them, through their relation between one another.

There is a common saying, that goes: “Seeing is believing”. Judaism teaches us the opposite: “First believe, then you will see”. Come closer with your faith, and the Cherub symbolizing God will automatically turn to you and will find you on your way.

If we live under this perception, that God is always close to us, in an everlasting presence, we will experience a quite different reality, we turn the KERUV (כרוב angel) into KAROV (קרוב near), close to our hearts.

Rabbi Yehuda Halevy, the author of “The Cuzari”, wrote about it in a magnificent poem:

"דרשתי קירבתך בכל לבי קראתיך, ובצאתי לקראתך... לקראתי מצאתיך"

These words make my feelings vibrate, every time I read them:

DARASHTI KIRBATECHA, BECHOL LIBI KARATICHA, I yearned for your closeness, and with all my heart, I looked for you.

UBETZETI LIKRATCHA, And when I went out towards you, LIKRATI MATZATICHA, towards ME I found you on the way.

Shabat Shalom!

Rabbi David Laor

February 28^th, 2025