Terumah: packaging

 

This parsha is all about the box.  The ark of covenant is covered by the cherub adorned lid, the kaporeth The complex of ark and cover are housed in the  Holy of Holies.  It is separated from the remainder of the inner sanctum by a parocheth curtain, adorned with cherub tapestry. The Holy of Holies also contains a table  that is never devoid of bread and the menorah source of light.  Next week, a small incense altar will be added. The inner sanctum is contained within a sanctuary that houses the main altar. A large courtyard houses the visitors.

 

I am not a fan of jewelry. The beautiful, expensive, highly considered advertisements for jewelry that appear in the newspaper, (especially the glossy parts) suggest the function of jewelry is primarily sexual.  It is a gift for mating, given either as a reward or inducement; or part of the attempt to recover from an indiscretion.

 A large part of the appeal of jewelry is the expense.  It is part of the human ritual of mate selection, proof that the suitor is able and willing to care for the the wife who will be disabled by pregnancy and the defenseless offspring that will be born. In the Jewish marriage ceremony, it is purely monetary value that validates the ring of precious metal as a vehicle for marriage.  In the Yeshiva world, ornamentation on the wedding ring is discouraged, since its contribution to the value is harder to evaluate. Gold or silver has a very strong and public market value.

My favorite part of jewelry is the box, the packaging. Fine jewelry is delivered in a velvet lined case. It is often displayed lying in a bed of velvet, usually red velvet. The internal shape of the box is firm. Under the velvet is a supporting frame of cardboard or plastic  or wood.  The outer box is often wood. In my opinion, it should be wood – like the ark of the covenant. The hinge is very important. Opening the box must entail a small level of difficulty; it is the foreplay of the experience. It is best if the hinge is tight and capable of  partial openings.

 

A coffin has similar properties, although it is generally much bigger and contains a corpse instead of jewels.   The insensate dead is place on a  plush material that  looks like it would bring comfort because it is soft.  But we know that it is a thin veneer over a hard base – like the jewelry box.  The coffin’s wood is the expensive part. The wood determines the status. The purpose of the coffin is to broadcast the status of its occupant.

 

Is the ark of the covenant a jewelry box or is it a coffin? It is a box that was ( almost) never opened.  The box contains the token of agreement between Israel and The Law/Gd. The tablets are called the testimony, ayduth.  They are the wedding gift, the guarantee that the greater power will care for the obedient people.  How could we have lost such a precious gift?

 

The ark is the human response. It broadcasts the status of its contents.  It is lined with and covered with pure  ( 24 karat) gold and covered with the gold kaporeth, with a pair of cherubim on top. The container itself is too holy to rest in the Holy of Holies.  It requires its own room, separated from the mere extremely holy, by a cherubic tapestry.  The roofed inner sanctum is separated from the relatively mundane sacrificial rite.

 

The ark is surrounded by apology.  The cover, the kaporeth, כַפֹּ֖רֶת, is related to the the kpr, כַפֹּ֖רֶ of Yom Kippur.  I think that the ark cover informs the meaning of Yom Kippur.  It is a cover (up) more than an atonement.  The transgressions are not erased, they are covered, in part, by apology.  Atonement is a nice word: Getting back in tune with the Universe; abandoning our tone-deafness.  We need a moment to cover our horror

What is the atonement  in the ark cover?

Notice, the letters כַפֹּ֖רֶת, CaPoReth are rearranged to make another separation between the ark ( and its contents) פָרֹ֗כֶת,PaRoCheth. Both of these are adorned by כְּרֻבִֽים, CheRuBim. 

The Cherub first appeared in Genesis as the guardian that blocks the way back to Eden.  The cherub prevents the achievement of the goal of repentance. The cherub makes atonement futile – if the goal is to return to Eden. The cherub is the embodiment of the second “Law” of thermodynamics: nothing is completely reversible. A corollary is that there is a law, consequences are predictable.

 

The cherubim of the ark cover and curtain come in pairs.  They are distracted by their love for one another. If they are sufficiently involved with one another, perhaps sneaking a return to Eden is possible.

Gd told Moshe to make the cherubim this way; in pairs. We were given a way to return.  The people made the cherubim.  They recognize the magnitude of their error and its irreversibility. Gd and Israel are apologizing to each other.

ChRuB כְּרֻבִֽ had one letter that is different from כַפֹּ֖רֶת,CaPoReth and PaRoCheth, The beith instead of the Pey.  Look at the Letter Pey: (in some calligraphies)

                                         פ

There is a  ב   inside.