The Poles of the Ark and the Other Vessels

 

The Poles of the Ark in Comparison with the Poles of the Other Vessels

 

 

Introduction

 

            Poles are mentioned in connection with several of the vessels of the Mishkan (the table, the incense altar, the burnt-offering altar and the ark). On the simple level, they were intended to be used to carry those vessels from place to place during the period of Israel's wanderings in the wilderness.

 

            In this shiur, I wish to focus on the unique aspects of the poles of the ark in comparison with the poles of the other vessels.[1] Based on the plain sense of the verses, I will attempt to determine whether the poles of the ark were identical with the poles of the other vessels and what the spiritual meaning of the poles was in relation to the essence of the ark.

 

The relationship between the poles of the ark and poles of the other vessels of the Mishkan

 

            In the context of the command to fashion the ark, we read:

 

And you shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners, and two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. And you shall make poles of shittim wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of ark, that the ark may be carried therewith. The poles shall be in the rings of ark; they shall not be taken from it. (Shemot 25:12-15)

 

            The poles of the rest of the vessels are mentioned in Parashat Teruma in the initial command regarding the vessels of the Mishkan (the incense altar appears at the end of Parashat Tetzave). Regarding the table, we read:

 

And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four legs. Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the poles to bear the table. And you shall make the poles of shittim wood and overlay them with gold, and they shall be for carrying the table. (ibid. 25:26-28)

 

Regarding the burnt-offering altar:

 

And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. And the poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be upon the two sides of the altar to carry it. (ibid. 27:6-7)

 

And regarding the incense altar:

 

And two golden rings shall you make for it under its rim, by its two corners upon the two sides of it shall you make it; and they shall be for places for the poles with which to bear it. And you shall make the poles of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. (ibid. 30:4-5)

 

            The poles are mentioned a second time in Parashat Vayekhel, in Moshe's command to the people of Israel to build the Mishkan. Regarding the ark:

 

And he made poles of shittim wood and overlaid them with gold. And he put the poles into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. (ibid. 37:4-5)

 

Regarding the table:

 

Over against the border were the rings, the places for the poles to bear the table. And he made the poles of shittim wood and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. (ibid. 37:14-15)

 

Regarding the burnt-offering altar:

 

And he made the poles of shittim wood and overlaid them with brass. And he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar with which to bear it; he made the altar hollow with boards. (ibid. 38:6-7)

 

And regarding the incense altar:

 

And he made two rings of gold for it under its rim, by its two corners, upon its two sides, to be places for the poles with which to bear it. And he made the poles of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. (ibid. 37:27-28)

 

            On the face of it, there is a full correspondence between the command and the execution. As we can see, it is emphasized with respect to all of the vessels that the poles were intended to be used to bear (la-set) those vessels. The exceptional case is the table, about which it says: "And they shall be for carrying the table," using the nif'al conjugation (ve-nisa).

 

            After the Mishkan was built, the Torah describes the way that the Mishkan was brought to Moshe:

 

The ark of the testimony, and its poles, and the kaporet¸ the table, and all its vessels, and the showbread… and the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the incense of spices, and the screen for the door of the tent, the brass altar, and its grate of brass, its poles, and all its vessels… (Shemot 39:33-43)

 

            Interestingly, no mention is made of the poles of the table or of the golden altar, whereas they are mentioned with respect to the ark and the burnt-offering altar. What is special about the ark and the altar?

 

            Attention should be paid to the fact that when the Mishkan is actually set up, no mention is made of the poles of the table, the burnt-offering altar, or the incense altar. Poles are mentioned only with respect to the ark:

And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the kaporet up above the ark. (Shemot 40:20)

 

            When the Torah describes the way in which the vessels were covered in preparation for Israel's journeys in the wilderness, we read regarding the altar:

 

And they shall put on it the covering of tachash skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in its poles. (Bamidbar 4:6)

 

Regarding the table:

And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of tachash skins, and shall put in its poles. (ibid. v. 8)

 

Regarding the burnt-offering altar:

And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of tachash skins, and shall put in its poles. (ibid. v. 11)

 

Regarding the incense altar:

And they shall put upon it all its vessels with which they minister about it, the pans, the forks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of tachash skins, and put in its poles. (ibid. v. 14)

 

            According to the simple reading of the verses that mention the poles of each of the vessels, the poles of the ark seem to have been unique in comparison with the poles of the other vessels in two ways:

 

1.     Regarding the explicit command not to remove the poles from the ark (Shemot 25:16).

 

2.     The ark is the only vessel whose poles are mentioned in the account of the actual erection of the Mishkan (Shemot 40:20).

 

This is readily apparent from the following table:[2]

 

 

            Without probing more deeply into the matter, we can say that the fact that mention made of the ark’s poles in the account of the erection of the Mishkan teaches that - as opposed to the other vessels, where the poles serve only to bear the vessel when the Mishkan is disassembled and in transit - the connection between the ark and its poles is a much more essential. The poles are an integral part of the ark, and not only the means by which it is borne. In this respect, the ark is different from the rest of the vessels.

 

            This is also connected to the explicit prohibition to remove the poles from the ark, which emphasizes that the poles are an essential part of the ark.

 

            What is special about the burnt-offering altar and the ark that only their poles are mentioned in the account of how the vessels were brought to Moshe? The Netziv addresses this issue:

 

"And you shall put the poles" – The command falling upon Betzalel when he made the ark was to put the poles in place in such a manner that it would be fit for carrying. Similarly, it says regarding the outer altar: "And the poles shall be put into the rings" (27:7). This is not true regarding the table and the inner altar, regarding which mention is only made about making the poles and the rings, but not about putting them in place. Similarly, in the execution, it is written with respect to the ark and the outer altar: "And he put the poles into the rings… to bear," but this is not written regarding the table and the inner altar. For this reason, below in Parashat Pekudei, when the Mishkan is brought [to Moshe], it is written: "the ark of the testimony and its poles," "the brass altar… and its poles," but regarding the table and the inner altar, it is not written that he brought their poles. This is because regarding these two vessels, the poles were with the vessels. Below it will be further explained that in the case of the table and the inner altar, it was only possible to put the poles in place when they were being carried. As for the reason, it seems that this comes to teach us that the power of the ark, which is the Torah, and the power of the outer altar, which is service, are carried throughout the generations from place to place, wherever Israel is exiled. See what I wrote in Devarim (10:8) in explanation of the verse, "To carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord." And prayer is in place of the service, as we know. (Regarding the ark, it says, “ve-heveta,” "and you shall put" – that is, he who makes the ark should put the poles in. Whereas regarding the altar it says, ­“ve-huva,” someone shall put. This is because Betzalel, who made the ark, merited the Torah on his own, as I have written below (37:1). For this reason, he himself bore the ark of the Torah through his learning. This is not the case regarding the service, which corresponded to the altar).

This is not the case regarding the table, which contained the power of the kingdom of Israel, or the inner altar, which contained the power of the priesthood, as is stated in Yoma (72b): "There were three crowns: [that of the altar, that of the ark, and that of the table]. The one of the altar - Aharon merited and he received it. The one of the ark - David merited and received." These powers are only when the people of Israel are found in their place in Eretz Yisrael, and the vessels are used in sanctity. See also Bamidbar 4:14. (Ha'amek Davar, Shemot 25:14, s.v. ve-heveta)

 

            The Netziv explains that the ark and the altar are special in that the ark represents the Torah and the altar represents the service, which are carried throughout the generations from place to place.[3]

 

            There is indeed something special that distinguishes the burnt-offering altar and the ark from the rest of the vessels – both have independent standing, in addition to their place in the Mikdash.

 

The ark went out with the people on their journeys and for their wars, and the burnt-offering altar served at various times as a site of service during periods when bamot were permitted. These two vessels represent two essential aspects of the service in the Mishkan – the site of the resting of the Shekhina and God's house, on the one hand, and the site of the service, the place where people come to serve God in His house, on the other.

 

In any event, it is clear that there is an explicit prohibition to remove the poles from the ark. Such a prohibition does not apply to any of the other vessels in the Mishkan that have poles. This distinction can be explained in a simple manner. Regarding the other vessels, the poles have a very practical function - namely, to make it possible for the vessels to be carried from place to place when the Mishkan is in transit. In the case of the ark, however, in addition to the poles' role in carrying the ark from one place to another, there is a special, essential connection between the poles and the ark.

 

In order to understand the substance of this connection, in the next shiur, we shall examine the prohibition of removing the poles from the ark and try to understand its rationale.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)  

 

 

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