Terumah: Cherubim

I think that I was 8 or 9 years old the first time I learned Terumah.  I was shocked to hear about the cherubim that sat atop the aron, the ark . How could graven images be part of the holy of holies? Even though I now realize that the prohibition of idolatry is a complex subject, explicated in its own tractate of the Talmud , and the cherubim do not fall into that category, I still find the idea of statues placed over tablets that say:

לֹֽ֣א־תַֽעֲשֶׂ֨ה־לְךָ֥֣ פֶ֣֙סֶל֙ ׀ וְכׇל־תְּמוּנָ֔֡ה אֲשֶׁ֤֣ר בַּשָּׁמַ֣֙יִם֙ ׀ מִמַּ֔֡עַל וַֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר֩ בָּאָ֖֨רֶץ מִתָּ֑͏ַ֜חַת וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּמַּ֖֣יִם ׀ מִתַּ֥֣חַת לָאָֽ֗רֶץ׃

You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth.

 This would seem to be a prohibition on all representational art. The words that follow:

לֹֽא־תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֥֣ה לָהֶ֖ם֮ וְלֹ֣א תׇעׇבְדֵ֑ם֒

You shall not bow down to them or serve them.

Could come to restrict the prohibited representations mainly   to objects that are worshiped. That would allow for the creation of art objects, subject to the restriction that they not be fetishized.  That would certainly exempt the representation of the cherubim. Since they were commanded by Gd through Moshe, they were certainly not forbidden idols.

I am not certain that the cherubim on the ark were only a representation.  Although they were fashioned by a human, the tradition confers on them the ability to turn their gazes. 

 

כיצד הן עומדין רבי יוחנן ורבי אלעזר חד אמר פניהם איש אל אחיו וחד אמר פניהם לבית ולמאן דאמר פניהם איש אל אחיו הא כתיב ופניהם לבית לא קשיא כאן בזמן שישראל עושין רצונו של מקום כאן בזמן שאין ישראל עושין רצונו של מקום

Translation:

"How did they [the cherubim] stand? Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Elazar [disagreed]. One said: Their faces were toward each other. And one said: Their faces were toward the Sanctuary. But according to the one who said their faces were toward each other, isn't it written: 'And their faces were toward the Sanctuary'? This is not difficult: Here [when they faced each other] was when Israel was fulfilling Gd's will; here [when they faced the Sanctuary] was when Israel was not fulfilling Gd's will."

In some sense these were the actual cherubim.  But that is hardly enlightening. What are cherubim? Prior to the instructions given here, in Terumah, the cherubim are mentioned once.  They seem to be the guards that prevent a return to Eden and the Tree of Life

וַיְגָ֖רֶשׁ אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן֩ מִקֶּ֨דֶם לְגַן־עֵ֜דֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֗ים וְאֵ֨ת לַ֤הַט הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת לִשְׁמֹ֕ר אֶת־דֶּ֖רֶךְ עֵ֥ץ הַֽחַיִּֽים׃ (ס)

So He drove out the man; and He placed the keruvim at the east of the garden of ῾Eden, and the bright blade of a revolving sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

The Talmud ( daf Yomi last week, Sanhedrin 67) discusses the the וְאֵ֨ת לַ֤הַט הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת  the bright blade of a revolving sword. It uses these words to explicate the nature of the magic performed by the Egyptian magicians.  The mention of the sword, as an autonomous  object, turning by itself, liberates the cherubim from the role of deflectors.  It was the sword, not the cherubim that blocked the way to the tree of Life.  The cherubim that stand outside Eden do not block the re-entry; they signal the arrival.

Similarly, the cherubim signify the  arrival at the eitz chaim, the tree of life that we carry with us, the Torah

The Cherubim are on the kaporeth, the cover of the ark. ( they are also on the anagramic perocheth, the curtain that separates the ark from everything else in the mishkan)  The cherubim stand over the cover that blocks access to the contents of the ark, the tablets. Like the cherubim of Eden, they are a reminder that return is blocked, As long as the tshuva, the repentance is incomplete, it is a cover.

Holiness is demanding.  Its greatest heights are beyond human achievement. Even Moshe’s ascent was partial. We do our best. 

 

Mishpatim:  Interpretation

The spectacle of the giving of the law spans two chapters, Yithro and MIshpatim. Yithro, the outsider, offers a suggestion for the re-organization of the government. He recommends the decentralization of adjudication into a hierarchy. Let there be many judges and let the nature of the case determine the final judge. Moses will decide only those cases that are too difficult for the lesser judges.

 

A corollary to this system is that the people should have a clear set of laws to obey; personal sense of justice should be replaced by commandments. These brilliant suggestions of Yithro, accepted by Gd, are followed by a description of  Divine power  erupting from  a mountain, and Moses delivering the ten commandments.

 

Jethro, the symbol of the enlightened Gentile, had left for his own people before the spectacle, emphasizing that the Sinai/Ten commandment experience was uniquely Israelite, the moment of their bonding with Gd and with each other. The ten commandments, nevertheless, became widely accepted (catholic). The messages on the tablets: Do Not Murder, Do Not Steal, etc.  became the great gift from the (Gd of the ) Hebrews to the world.

 

 Mishpatim, this week’s chapter, deals with laws that did not make it into the top ten. To Jews, these subsequent laws, power sprayed in this chapter, have validity  and valence  equal to the ten commandments.

 

The end of Psalm 147  is part of the daily morning service:

 

גִּ֣יד דְּבָרָ֣ו לְיַעֲקֹ֑ב חֻקָּ֥יו וּ֝מִשְׁפָּטָ֗יו לְיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ מַ

He issued His commands to Jacob,

His statutes and rules to Israel.

לֹ֘א עָ֤שָׂה כֵ֨ן ׀ לְכׇל־גּ֗וֹי וּמִשְׁפָּטִ֥ים בַּל־יְדָע֗וּם

He did not do so for any other nation;

of such rules they know nothing.

 

The laws, including the mishpatim, the rules, that are the title and subject of this week’s sedra, are issued exclusively to the Israelites. These rules are particular to the progeny of Jacob.  They are parochial.

 

The laws stated in this week’s parsha are the grist for the (most popular parts of the) Talmud.  

 

וְכִֽי־יִגֹּ֧ף שֽׁוֹר־אִ֛ישׁ אֶת־שׁ֥וֹר רֵעֵ֖הוּ וָמֵ֑ת וּמָ֨כְר֜וּ אֶת־הַשּׁ֤וֹר הַחַי֙ וְחָצ֣וּ אֶת־כַּסְפּ֔וֹ וְגַ֥ם אֶת־הַמֵּ֖ת יֶֽחֱצֽוּן׃

When any party’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and it dies, they shall sell the live ox and divide its price; they shall also divide the dead animal.

א֣וֹ נוֹדַ֗ע כִּ֠י שׁ֣וֹר נַגָּ֥ח הוּא֙ מִתְּמ֣וֹל שִׁלְשֹׁ֔ם וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמְרֶ֖נּוּ בְּעָלָ֑יו שַׁלֵּ֨ם יְשַׁלֵּ֥ם שׁוֹר֙ תַּ֣חַת הַשּׁ֔וֹר וְהַמֵּ֖ת יִֽהְיֶה־לּֽוֹ׃ {ס}        

If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has failed to guard it, that person must restore ox for ox, but shall keep the dead animal.

 

The Talmudic interpretations of this passage has been the beginning of Talmud study for generations. The principles of approximating justice in a world that is beyond human control are flushed out in the discussion of the ancient sages and the commentators. Recognizing the loss of the malefactor, as well as the vanquished, is a revolutionary  idea. Uniquely Hebrew ideas of responsibility and fair compensation emerge from this text and its analysis.

 

 The laws stated in the text are not ready for application. The tradition is very explicit about the need for interpretation. Elements of the Code of Hammurabi are quoted verbatim.  All the commentators pounce with the warning that THEY ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY.  Monetary compensation is not justice, but it is the better approximation to objectivity  in the Jewish world view.

 

I grew up in the USA. The principle that all people were created equal was heavily reinforced in me; and I accept(ed) it. The ideas of democracy, equality, respect for all  - were more appealing than the notion of being special and sharing an esoteric knowledge.  As I grew up, I realized that the practical application of those words of equality needed interpretation.  When the veneer was peeled back, the stated fairness hid a system that empowered the privileged and maintained the servitude of the masses. On the surface, the American idea stated in the Declaration of Independence is appealing, after editing out the sexism and the implied racism ( slaves were excluded). The prejudice and self-service were  really never shed The true intentions were in the implementations.  Now the membership in the people of the book, the whole book, not only the ten commandments, became a haven. The less public books, the Talmud, and its interpreters, deepens the appeal of this alternative.

 

I now live in a country and a world where the interpretation of the law is rapidly changing and has become unfamiliar. Greed has emerged as a positive value. The question is always: “what’s in it for me?”  It may have always been so, but the façade of kindness as a value was comforting.  If I was fooled, I liked being fooled. That world was demolished one month ago. Justice means something I did not conceive of previously.  It is a good time to have an alternative.

 

The devil is in the details, but the devil is not alone there.

 

 

 

 Yithro: the Law as a Unifier

 

The climax of this week’s parsha is the Sinai experience. Mount Sinai is portrayed as the great collective experience of the Israelites. It is the event that attested to a direct interaction between Gd and Israel. The stone tablets with the ten commandments are the certificate of that experience.  The law itself is the lasting authentication of the experience.

Witnessing the incredible is no longer convincing. The entertainment industry has made impossible experiences commonplace and increasingly intimate. The glasses and gloves and haptic vests of virtual reality make any implausible experience visible and palpable. Rock concerts are Sinai re-enactments. These inventions impugn the significance of the event. Did humans really land on the moon, or was it all staged?

The tablets of testimony were made unavailable.  The story in this week’s parsha is disturbed by the details that are described later. These tablets are shattered. The physical evidence is destroyed. The replacement tablets are immediately entombed in the ark, not available for public or private viewing. Only the narrative survives.

The law itself, what was inscribed on the tablets, is what survives. By virtue of the sanctification of that law the story of the awesome collective experience endures. The law evokes the memory of the unification of the Israelites and their interaction with the Divine. The law is the central principle that creates the nation, and the giving of the law is the foundational story.

Attendance at Sinai becomes the defining experience. The tribes of Israel are those that beheld the spectacle and respected this law. The sentence that preceded the arrival at Sinai reports:  (18;27)

Moshe sent his father-in-law off,

 and he went home to his land.

Yithro’s absence means that he and his people are separate. Although  it was Yithro who suggested the principle of a public declaration of the law, he absented himself, and presumably his people, from the great declaration . This sequence of events is somewhat related to the topic of the current daf yomi  ( Sanhedrin 59). The current topic in the Talmud Page of the Day is the Rabbinic understanding of the distinction between the law as it applies to Israelites and Gentiles. This section of Talmud is an origin of the idea that  there are seven universal laws, six that were understood by Adam and a seventh ( the prohibition of eating the flesh of an animal while it is still alive)  was proscribed to Noah and his descendants. Israelites were given 613: the Torah ( by gematria, the  Torah's value of 611} combined with the two commandments heard directly from God at Sinai. The Torah, our unique law, defines the Israelite.  (12;49)

תּוֹרָ֣ה אַחַ֔ת יִהְיֶ֖ה לָֽאֶזְרָ֑ח וְלַגֵּ֖ר הַגָּ֥ר בְּתוֹכְכֶֽם׃

There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you.

 

The law conveys history forward. The judgments of the past are brought forward as rules. The sanctification of the ten commandments imbues them with the privilege of analysis.  They are studied until they make sense. They are hallowed and repeated as the basis of rationality and wisdom. At core, they are sacred.

The sanctity of the law, the laws that apply to all, devolves from its acceptance. Now we see that agreement threatened by populism. The impulse of the moment, the prejudice conjured by politicians, ineffectual greed, eclipses the consistency that makes the law meaningful. When the application of the law is distorted, it no longer unifies; it is weaponized.

 If the law is not flexible, it is not just.   When the starving serf "steals" the grain he has produced by his labor from the lord of the manner it is not the same as a crypto fraud. But the law cannot be so fluid that the lawyers for the rich and powerful can circumvent necessary justice by creating technical delays and brokering political deals.

 

I hope that the law is not a nice idea whose time has passed. The torah still binds me to my Gd and my people

no AI

Beshalach: Deepseek

 

**Beshalach: A Journey of Divine and Human Agency**

 

This tension between divine and human agency is a central theme in Beshalach, weaving through the narrative and challenging our understanding of who is truly in charge.

 

The parsha begins with the Israelites leaving Egypt "b'yad ramah" (Exodus 14:8), with a high hand, as if they are marching out under their own power. Yet, it is G’d who orchestrates their escape, leading them through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The Israelites, however, are far from confident. When they find themselves trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea, they cry out to Moses, accusing him of leading them to their deaths. Moses responds by telling them to be still, for G’d will fight for them. G’d’s reply is unexpected: "Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward" (Exodus 14:15). It seems that Gd did not reveal the battle plan to anyone, not even to Moses.  G’d instructs Moses to lift his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea, and the waters part, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land. The Egyptian army, pursuing them, is drowned as the waters return.

 

This moment is a profound lesson in faith and action. The Israelites are called to move forward into the sea, an act that defies logic and reason. It is a moment of desperation, but also of courage. The miracle of the splitting sea is not just a demonstration of G’d’s power, but also a test of the Israelites’ willingness to trust in that power

 

After the miraculous crossing, the Israelites sing the *Shirat HaYam*, the Song of the Sea, celebrating their deliverance and G’d’s triumph over their enemies. Yet, their relief is short-lived. Almost immediately, they face new challenges: bitter water at Marah, hunger in the wilderness, and thirst at Rephidim. Each time, they complain, and each time, G’d provides a solution. At Marah, G’d shows Moses a piece of wood that sweetens the water. In the wilderness, God sends manna from heaven. And at Rephidim, Moses strikes a rock with his staff, and water gushes forth.

 

These miracles are not just acts of divine benevolence; they are also lessons in dependence and trust. The Israelites, newly freed from slavery, are learning to rely on G’d rather than Pharaoh. Yet, their journey is fraught with confusion and doubt. When they ask, "Is the Lrd present among us or not?" (Exodus 17:7), they reveal their uncertainty about G’d’s role in their lives. This question echoes throughout the parsha, as the Israelites struggle to understand the balance between divine intervention and human responsibility. They must sort out the roles of G’d, Moses and their own actions.

 

The parsha concludes with the battle against Amalek. Here, the role of Moses and his staff is once again central. As long as Moses holds his arms aloft, the Israelites prevail in battle; when he lowers them, they falter. Aaron and Hur support his arms, ensuring that they remain raised until victory is secured. This scene  is complex.  It is an undoing of the divine decision, in the opening sentence of the chapter, to detour the people away from battle with the Philistines. It represents the statement that the people could now do battle after their experiences in the desert. Is  the dependence upon the raised staff in the weary hands of Moses a compromise with the emotional state of the Hebrews? Is it a statement that success is multifactorial, complex and partially beyond our control?

 

Throughout Beshalach, the interplay between divine and human action is complex and often confusing. The Israelites are called to take bold steps of faith, even when the path ahead seems impossible. They are reminded that G’d is with them, but they must also play their part. The staff, the symbol of divine power, is wielded by human hands, and the miracles that sustain them require their active participation.

 

In the end, Beshalach is a story of transition. The Israelites are moving from slavery to freedom, from dependence on Pharaoh to reliance on G’d and themselves. It is a journey filled with miracles, but also with challenges and doubts. The parsha teaches us that faith is not passive; it requires action, courage, and trust. But faith can afford the courage to confront the seemingly impossible and triumph.

 

As we reflect on Beshalach, we are reminded that the journey of faith is not always clear. We may find ourselves trapped between the sea and the enemy, unsure of the way forward. But like the Israelites, we are called to move forward, to trust in the divine presence that guides us, and to play our part in the unfolding story of redemption.

Deep Seek

Lyrics

Oh, my name, it ain't nothin', my age, it means less
The country I come from is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there, the laws to abide
And that the land that I live in has God on its side

Oh, the history books tell it, they tell it so well
The cavalries charged, the Indians fell
The cavalries charged, the Indians died
Oh, the country was young with God on its side

The Spanish-American War had its day
And the Civil War too was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes I was made to memorize
With guns in their hands and God on their side

The First World War, boys, it came and it went
The reason for fightin' I never did get
But I learned to accept it, accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead when God's on your side

The Second World War came to an end
We forgave the Germans, and then we were friends
Though they murdered six million, in the ovens they fried
The Germans now too have God on their side

I learned to hate the Russians all through my whole life
If another war comes, it's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them, to run and to hide
And accept it all bravely with God on my side

But now we've got weapons of chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to, then fire them we must
One push of the button and they shot the world wide
And you never ask questions when God's on your side

Through many dark hour I been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you, you'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side

So now as I'm leavin', I'm weary as hell
The confusion I'm feelin' ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head, and they fall to the floor
That if God's on our side, he'll stop the next war

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Bob Dylan

With God on Our Side lyrics © Special Rider Music, Universal Tunes