Teruma: The Cherubim and the Bibas Children
This coming week we read Parashat Terumah which describes the details of the construction of the Tabernacle—the Mishkan—and its appurtenances. Once completed, the Mishkan was to serve as a sanctuary (mikdash) for the divine presence that would henceforth reside among the people (Exodus 25:8).
The most important object within the Mishkan was the ark that housed the stone tablets of the covenant (Exodus 25:16). Above it was the cover (kaporet) and, above the cover, there were two golden cherubim with outstretched wings, one on each end facing downwards toward the ark. It is in the narrow space above the ark and between the cherubim that God would reveal His presence and communicate with Moses (see Exodus 25:22, and I Samuel 4:4, and II Samuel 6:2). But what are these cherubim and what do they symbolize?
