In reading the portion in Shul today , I had the following Question that I posed to all .
Why did the ark , have to be made of wood , yet covered with Gold ?
If it’s the luxury that we want , then let it be pure gold like the Menorah , if on the other hand we re aiming for the simple, unadorned look ,and not for a pleasing aesthetic, then it should have remained just wood with no covering .
One approach that I threw out there was as follows , the wood represents the ordinary areas of our lives , our routines , Job,school ,family .
Gold on the other hand represents spiritual enlightenment , and transcendence .
The message of placing the Torah , which contains our creed for living ,in a wooden box inlaid with gold , is that Torah is meant to facilitate fusion in the disparate regions of our human experience .
Judaism is unique in it s emphasis on living a more holistic life .
The message is clear ,our faith , i.e. our “Gold “ our sacredness flows over the way we are ordinary in the world and gently cascades over “The wood places ”(the forest of our lives) that we inhabit , transforming simple and routine acts , into moments of sublime devotion .
Shavua Tov
Yossi
Random musings and reflections, jewish, spiritual, and otherwise...
Your comments, especially at the end make think of brachot - they make the ordinary holy. Thanks for the inspiration.
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