This sheet on Exodus 37 was written by Steven Philp for 929 and can also be found here
This chapter is one in a series that outlines the creation of the mishkan, the portable shrine that the Israelites carried with them as they wandered through the desert. Its furnishings are described in fine detail; the attention paid to their craftsmanship is appropriate, given their sacred purpose. Yet this acute focus also points us to a broader truth.
The Torah asserts that humankind is formed in the divine image. This bold statement is reflected in our generative potential: we have the ability to create, to make things that never existed prior to this moment. Like God (or the Big Bang) we can fashion entire worlds of our own imagination – be they life-giving or destructive. The mishkan was a microcosm of redemption, a place of beauty where people could stand face-to-face with the divine.
At the center of this shrine is the ark, fashioned out of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Crowning the ark are two cherubim, angelic figures with “their wings spread… facing one another” (37:9). It was from this space that God spoke to the people – and it is within this space that we are also able to encounter the transcendent. Each of us carries a unique facet of the divine image, a creative energy that only we possess. Unfortunately, we live in a world that obscures this reflection, one that emphasizes what we lack rather than what we are able to offer. We are taught to hide behind carefully manufactured facades, online and in person.
Yet only by standing in the presence of another person – unguarded and unedited – are we able to catch a glimpse of the divine image, because our generative potential flows from our whole selves. By asking ourselves what facet of the divine is reflected in the other, we are reminded of our own inherent dignity and inalienable worth. And like the point between the two cherubim, it is from this space of mutuality and appreciation that more holiness is brought into the world.
The Torah asserts that humankind is formed in the divine image. This bold statement is reflected in our generative potential: we have the ability to create, to make things that never existed prior to this moment. Like God (or the Big Bang) we can fashion entire worlds of our own imagination – be they life-giving or destructive. The mishkan was a microcosm of redemption, a place of beauty where people could stand face-to-face with the divine.
At the center of this shrine is the ark, fashioned out of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Crowning the ark are two cherubim, angelic figures with “their wings spread… facing one another” (37:9). It was from this space that God spoke to the people – and it is within this space that we are also able to encounter the transcendent. Each of us carries a unique facet of the divine image, a creative energy that only we possess. Unfortunately, we live in a world that obscures this reflection, one that emphasizes what we lack rather than what we are able to offer. We are taught to hide behind carefully manufactured facades, online and in person.
Yet only by standing in the presence of another person – unguarded and unedited – are we able to catch a glimpse of the divine image, because our generative potential flows from our whole selves. By asking ourselves what facet of the divine is reflected in the other, we are reminded of our own inherent dignity and inalienable worth. And like the point between the two cherubim, it is from this space of mutuality and appreciation that more holiness is brought into the world.
(ט) וַיִּהְי֣וּ הַכְּרֻבִים֩ פֹּרְשֵׂ֨י כְנָפַ֜יִם לְמַ֗עְלָה סֹֽכְכִ֤ים בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם֙ עַל־הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת וּפְנֵיהֶ֖ם אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־אָחִ֑יו אֶל־הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת הָי֖וּ פְּנֵ֥י הַכְּרֻבִֽים׃ (פ)
(9) 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.
Steven Philp is a fifth-year rabbinical student at JTS, and a rabbinic intern at Beit Simchat Torah, the LGBTQ synagogue of New York.
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