Safety From Within

In this week’s double Torah portion, Vayakhel/Pekudei, the Israelites finally set about to build to Mishkan (“tabernacle”), led by the master artisan Bezalel. Among the many details of the construction, we read:

(Bezalel) made a cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work, at the two ends of the cover: one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end…The cherubim had their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. They faced each other, the faces of the cherubim were turned toward the cover. (Exodus 37:6-9)

While most of us tend to picture cherubs as cute flying babies, the original cherubim (in Hebrew: “cheruvim”) were often fearful and ferocious creatures. Near Eastern scholars point out that statues of cheruvim were common in the ancient world, and were typically understood to be the guardians of sacred places. They were often represented with the body of an animal (such as a bull or a lion) and the face of a human. (The Egyptian sphinx is probably the most well known example of an extant cheruv.)

In the Torah, there are several important references to cheruvim. It is a cheruv that guards the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden after the expulsion of Adam and Eve. In some prophetic visions, cheruvim guard the Heavenly Throne itself; in Ezekiel they are famously described as creatures with four faces: a human, a lion, an ox and an eagle. Our Torah portion does not identify the precise form of the cheruvim that guard the Ark of the Covenant, but it seems clear that they have a similar protective function – “ancient Israelite gargoyles,” as it were.

If this was indeed the case, the physical stance of the cheruvim seems more than a little curious. As described in our portion, the cheruvim are facing each other, with their wings outspread over the ark. But if the function of the cheruvim was to guard the holy ark, wouldn’t it make more sense that they would face outward (i.e. toward a potential intruder?)

Many commentators suggest that the image of the cheruvim is one of mutuality and intimacy, not vigilance, per se. It is powerful to contemplate this image: the ark, which resided in the holiest of holy places, was “guarded” by symbolic sentries that were turned eternally toward each other. It might be said that only here could there be a place truly worthy of the Divine presence.

Perhaps this image also suggests that true vigilance is not be directed outward but inward. What does it mean, for instance, when when a civilization betrays its most sacred values in the name of “national security?” Indeed, history has demonstrated that the downfall of empires from ancient Rome to the Soviet Union have not come at the hand of external enemies, but rather a gradual rotting away from within. In a world constantly on alert, ever on guard, the image of the Holy of Holies may have much to teach us about the true source of safety and peace.