(יח) וְעָשִׂיתָ שְׁנַיִם כְּרֻבִים זָהָב מִקְשָׁה תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם מִשְּׁנֵי קְצוֹת הַכַּפֹּרֶת. (יט) וַעֲשֵׂה כְּרוּב אֶחָד מִקָּצָה מִזֶּה וּכְרוּב אֶחָד מִקָּצָה מִזֶּה מִן הַכַּפֹּרֶת תַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת הַכְּרֻבִים עַל שְׁנֵי קְצוֹתָיו. (כ) וְהָיוּ הַכְּרֻבִים פֹּרְשֵׂי כְנָפַיִם לְמַעְלָה סֹכְכִים בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם עַל הַכַּפֹּרֶת וּפְנֵיהֶם אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו אֶל הַכַּפֹּרֶת יִהְיוּ פְּנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים.
Questions:
- Why do you think there are Keruvim-- Cherubim in the mishkan (sanctuary)-- at the" two ends of the ark cover"?
- What do you think they mean and represent?
- Why do you the importance was of their facing one another? Where else are "face to face" encounters mentioned in the Torah or outside of the Torah?
- How do you imagine these "keruvim" visually?
Make two cherubim of gold (25:18): The cherubim had the faces of children (Rashi).
Question:
- Why do you think Rashi imagines the faces of the keruvim as children?
- Do you imagine them differently or similarly?
Text:
They were representations of the images seen by Ezekiel in his vision of the divine "chariot" (Nachmanides).
Create Art Midrash: Look up Ezekiel chapter 1. Consider an art project on the images in any of these texts.
Talmud:
But in another verse (II Chronicles 3:13) it says, "they faced [the walls of] the room"? When the people of Israel fulfilled God's will, the cherubim would face each other; and when the people of Israel did not fulfill God's will, the cherubim would face the walls of the room.
(Talmud, Bava Batra 99a)
Question:
- Why do you think the cherubim face each other when the children of Israel fulfill God's will, and vice a versa?
Conversation: Think of times when you were able to face someone else you were close to, and times when you needed to face away. What allows us to "face" someone?
My Questions:
My comments.