Removing the Poles from the Ark (I)

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

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 the ark, that the ark may be carried therewith. The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. (Shemot 25:13-15)

 

            Those who count the mitzvot include the prohibition of removing the poles from the ark among the 613 biblical commandments. Thus, for example, the Rambam writes in his Sefer ha-Mitzvot:

 

He warned us against removing the poles of the ark from their rings. This is what it says: "The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it." One who transgresses this prohibition is liable to flogging. At the end of Makkot they said in the discussion concerning those who are liable for lashes: "But surely there is one who removes the poles of the ark" – in other words, he is liable for lashes. And the warning is from here: "They shall not be taken from it." Thus, it has been explained to you that this is a negative commandment and that [the transgressor] is liable for lashes. (Commandment 86)

 

            What is the rationale of this prohibition? Various explanations have been offered, some of which will be brought below.

 

The reasons for the prohibition

 

1. The Sefer ha-Chinukh writes as follows:

 

Among the roots of the mitzva: Since the ark is the dwelling place of the Torah and it is our essence and glory, and we have been obligated to treat it with all due respect and splendor to the best of our ability, therefore we have been commanded not to remove the poles of the ark, lest it become necessary for us to quickly go out somewhere with the ark. And perhaps owing to the trouble and the haste, we would not properly check that the poles are as strong as necessary. And perhaps, God forbid, it would fall from their hands, and this is not in keeping with its honor. But since they are always set in it and never removed from it, we will make them very strong, and there will be no mishap with them. Another reason is that the form of each of the vessels of the Mikdash must allude to great supernal matters, so that a person should be moved for the good when he thinks about them, and God wanted for our own benefit that it should not lose its form even for a short time. (Commandment 97)

 

2. Da'at Zekeinim mi-Ba'alei ha-Tosafot explain that this prohibition stems from the excessive sanctity of the ark:

 

Owing to the sanctity of the ark, the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want them to handle it and remove the poles and put them back in the rings. Rather, when they come to carry it, they take hold of the ends of the poles and carry it, and when they put it down, they immediately go on their way because of the fear of its sanctity. This is the meaning of the verse: "The poles shall be in the rings of the ark" – that Moshe should put them in and fix them, as it is written in the passage of "And it was finished." And once they were put there, they were no longer removed. (Shemot 25:15, s.v. lo yasuru)

 

3. An interesting explanation is brought by the Meshekh Chokhma:

 

"The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it." And our Rabbis have said (Yoma 72b): "One who removes the poles of the ark is liable to flogging." Regarding the altar it says: "And the poles shall be put… to carry it" (below 27:7). And similarly regarding the table (ibid. 25:8). This is not the case with the ark, whose poles are permanently fixed in it – surely this is of significance! It seems based on a midrash that the ark alludes to the crown of the Torah, which rests for all who wish to take it. Now a Torah scholar needs help to support him - that a rich man should cast the profits of merchandise into his purse, like Todos of Rome, and in this way his Torah will endure. And so too they said about the ark in Yoma (72b): "It is written: 'And make for yourself an ark of wood" (Devarim 10:1), and it is written: 'And they shall make an ark of shittim wood' (Shemot 25:10). From here we learn that the inhabitants of his city are obligated to do the work of the scholar for him." The poles come for this purpose, for the poles are always those who hold fast to it. They support the hands of the Torah scholar, who is the ark for the testimony of God and His teachings. And it is fitting that they should always hold the ark of the covenant and not be removed from it. And just as Chazal exaggerated in the Yerushalmi, in the seventh chapter of Sotah (halakha 6): "If he did not learn, or teach, or keep, or do, and he did not have wherewith to support, and he supported, he is included among the blessed." Therefore, the poles are permanently fixed in it.

Now we know the viewpoint of the Rambam that the lamps must be lit even during the day, for according to him this is included in trimming the lamps. His viewpoint is reasonable, for [the Sages], of blessed memory, said (Shabbat 22b): "Does He require the light? (Rather it is testimony to mankind that the Shekhina rests in Israel"). And to show that He does not require the light, but rather it is a religious law, it was necessary to light during the day as well; just as the lighting during the day is not to illuminate, so too the lighting at night, for the two are one matter. So too the ark, which bears it bearers (Sota 35a) and the poles do not bear it, as [the ark] bears itself… Therefore, He commanded that the poles should not be removed from it, to teach that just as there is no need for the poles when it is resting in the Ohel Mo'ed, so too, when they carry [the ark] on the shoulders, this is not necessary for the Glory that is being borne, as it were. Therefore, the poles must never be removed, just like the lamps are always lit. (Shemot 25:15)

 

            The Meshekh Chokhma first explains that the ark should be seen as alluding to the crown of the Torah, which is available to anyone wishing to take it. Based on this, the poles allude to those who support Torah scholars. Therefore, the poles should be connected to the ark of the covenant at all times and not be removed from it.

 

            In the continuation, corresponding to the viewpoint of the Rambam, who maintains that the candlestick is lit even during the day in order to demonstrate that God does not require the light of the candlestick, the Meshekh Chokhma argues that the same idea can be applied to the ark. In the ark as well, the role of the poles is not to carry the ark, as it is the ark that carries its bearers. Therefore, the commandment that the poles must not be removed even when the ark is resting in the Ohel Mo'ed emphasizes that the ark does not really need its bearers.

 

4. R. S. R. Hirsch sharpens a few additional points:

 

The carrying poles were not simply means for transport, which would be only necessary when carrying the ark from one place to another. They were never to be allowed to be separated from the ark. They belonged essentially to that which the ark represented symbolically. So much so that according to the words of our text, they had to be on the ark even before the tablets were placed in the ark, and the cover placed over it. The Tosafot even supposed that the ark had to have two pairs of these poles. One pair always remained on the ark and was never allowed to be taken out of it, but they were not actually used for carrying and so were a purely symbolic appendage. A second pair was only inserted at the time of, and for the purpose of, transport. The wording of our verse 12 and of Bamidbar 4:6 would favor this supposition, but 5:14 there would seem against it. In any case, the essential importance of the poles for the ark is ensured by the command that they many never be separated from the ark, in contrast to the poles for the other vessels of the Mikdash. From Melakhim I 8:8, we learn that the front ends of these poles pushed the curtain outwards, and so, although covered, were visible. To anyone in the Mikdash, they were the sole visible evidence of the existence of the ark of the covenant behind the parokhet.

The poles, the means of carrying the ark, symbolically represent the command and the mission to carry the ark and its contents, if it becomes necessary, away from the precincts of its present position. The command that these means of transport may never be lacking is to emphasize in our minds the fact that from the very beginning, it must be made clear that this Torah and its mission is in no way bound to the place or existence at any time of the Mikdash.

The meaning of the constant presence of the poles, as proof of the independence of the Torah of any place, receives further emphasis when it is contrasted to the other vessels, especially to the table and the candlestick, both of which had to be supplied with poles, but the poles did not have to be permanently in place, but were only inserted when actually to be used. The thought immediately jumps to one's mind. Israel's table and Israel's candlestick – its material life in its full completeness, and its spiritual and intellectual life in complete clarity and brightness – are bound to the soil of the Holy Land. Israel's Torah is not. (Shemot 25:12-15)

 

            The first important point is that the poles were an essential part of the structure of the ark, and therefore they had to be inserted into the ark even before the tablets were placed inside and the kaporet was set above it. R. Hirsch argues that the role of the poles was to carry the ark and what it contained beyond the precincts of its present location. The Torah is not connected to any particular place, and in this the ark is different from the other vessels.

 

            According to this explanation, we can understand the fact that was noted in the previous shiur. In all the passages relating to the ark, whether the command or the execution in its various stages, the poles are always mentioned alongside the ark. The spiritual significance of this fact is that the poles are an essential element of the vessel and not merely the technical means whereby the ark may be transported from place to place while the camp is in transit.

 

            R. Hirsch understands the rationale underlying the rule that the poles may not be removed from the ark as based on the idea that the Torah is not limited to any particular place and that at any moment it may be removed from its present location and moved to some other place where it is needed for the dissemination and teaching of its teachings.

 

5. The Meiri, in his novellae to our passage, explains that the ark's poles symbolize the body's needs, whereas the ark symbolizes the spiritual essence. The needs of the body must also be connected to those of the soul in the sense of: "Know Him in all our ways." In similar fashion, he explains the verse in Shir Ha-shirim: "I am asleep, but my heart is awake." The heart must always be alert to sacred things, even when it is dealing with matters of the body.[1]

 

6. R. Elchanan Samet brings a different explanation of the prohibition to remove the poles.[2] The Rambam relates to two mitzvot connected to the bearing of the ark. He writes as follows:

 

When the ark is transported from place to place, it should not be transported on an animal or on a wagon. Instead, it is a mitzva for it to be carried on one's shoulders. Since David forgot and had it transported on a wagon, there was an outbreak [of Divine anger] at Uzza. Instead, it is a mitzvah to carry it on one's shoulders, as it is stated (Bamidbar 7:9]: "Because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they bore it on their shoulders."

When [the Levites] carry the ark on their shoulders, they should carry it face to face, with their backs pointed outward and their faces inward. They must be careful that the poles of the ark are not removed from the rings. Anyone who removes one of the poles from the rings is liable for lashes, as it is stated (Shemot 25:15): "The poles shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be removed from it." (Hilkhot Kelei ha-Mikdash 2:12-13)

 

            When the Torah describes the manner in which the Levites carry the vessels of the Mishkan, it writes:

 

 

But to the sons of Kehat he gave none; because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they bore it on their shoulders. (Bamidbar 7:9)

 

            The Netziv explains this mitzva as follows:

 

It should say: "They bore it with the poles," as the verse states in Parashat Teruma (Shemot 25:14), and we would know that it is carried by hand or on the shoulders. Surely the wording of the Torah in Shemot is "And you shall put the poles into the rings… that the ark may be carried therewith." It would seem that the poles are meant for carrying… Rather, it comes to hint that when the holy vessels are in transit, they themselves [the Levites] must serve as the chariot of the Shekhina, and so they must cleave in their thoughts to the mind of God. The power of the mind is in the brain at the back of the head, at the shoulder. (Bamidbar 7:9)

 

            The Netziv sharpens the point that the spiritual meaning of carrying the ark on the shoulders is not a practical or technical matter, but rather that it falls upon the Levites themselves to serve as a chariot for the Shekhina, as the vessel that carries the ark and cleaves thereby to God.

 

            Is it possible that the juxtaposition of the two rulings in the Rambam – the obligation to carry the ark on the shoulders and the prohibition to remove the ark's poles from their rings – indicates that there is a connection between them? Is it possible that the purpose of the prohibition to remove the poles of the ark is to prevent us from forgetting the obligation to carry the ark on the shoulders?

 

            A source that can confirm this line of thought is the story describing David's transport of the ark from Kiryat Ye'arim to the City of David after his conquest of Jerusalem. The ark was transported via a new wagon driven by Uzza and his brothers:

 

And when they came to Nakhon's threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. (Shemuel II 6:6)

 

            There is no mention here of the poles of the ark. Why not take hold of the poles, rather than the ark itself? Is it possible that when the ark was loaded onto the wagon, the ark's poles were removed?

 

            The Malbim adopts such an approach:

 

This means that they did not carry it with poles, as is the law, but they merely carried the ark itself while holding onto it. They carried it without poles intermediating between it and their hands and they touched the ark, which is forbidden. (Malbim, ad loc., s.v. im aron ha-Elokim)

 

            The verse in Divrei Ha-yamim describes how this sin was repaired:

 

For because you did not do so at first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, because we did not seek him according to the prescribed form. So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God upon their shoulders the bars being upon them, as Moshe had commanded according to the word of the Lord. (Divrei ha-Yamim I 15:13-15)

 

            In addition to the sanctification of the Levites, the repair involves carrying the ark of God upon the shoulders.

 

            Rashi (ad loc.) explains:

 

To carry it, but not literally on the shoulders, but by the poles on them. (v. 15, s.v. kidvar ha-Shem bi-kheteifam)

 

            We can therefore say, in line with the words of the Malbim, that because the poles were removed, the ark was not carried on the shoulders but by wagon, and the repair was to carry the ark on the shoulders.

 

            It is possible that the constant juxtaposition of the poles to the ark was meant to serve as a reminder of the obligation to carry the ark on the shoulders. According to this understanding, the prohibition to remove the poles from the ark helps us remember the positive command to carry the ark on the shoulders.

 

Summary

 

            To summarize the reasons for the prohibition to remove the poles from the ark:

 

·           The Sefer ha-Chinukh maintains that the poles ensure an attitude of respect towards the ark and caution that it not fall.

 

·           The Da'at Zekeinim mi-Ba'alei ha-Tosafot explains the prohibition in relation to the excessive sanctity of the ark, so that people not come to handle it.

 

·           The Meshekh Chokhma connects the fixedness of the poles to the fact that the ark alludes to the crown of the Torah that is available to anyone who wishes to take it. The fact that the poles are fixed in the ark even while it rests in the Ohel Mo'ed teaches that ark carries itself, just as the lighting the candelabrum during the day indicates that it is not done for the illumination.

 

·           R. S.R. Hirsch sharpens the fact that the poles are an essential element of the ark, and not merely an auxiliary device for carrying the ark from place to place. The role of the poles is to carry the ark and its contents beyond the limits of the Holy of Holies, because the Torah is not fixed to some physical place.

 

·           The Meiri argues that the poles symbolize physical needs, whereas the ark itself symbolize the spiritual. The prohibition to remove the poles teaches that the physical needs must always be connected to the needs of the spirit. This approach was developed by many authors, who explain that the poles symbolize those who provide Torah students with financial and other support, whereas the ark itself symbolizes the crown of the Torah, the Torah scholars themselves.

 

·           R. Elchanan Samet, based on a close reading of the Rambam, understands that the prohibition to remove the poles from the ark help us remember and fulfill the mitzva to carry the ark on the shoulders.

 

In the next shiur, we will add another reason to this list, complete our examination of the verses, and reconcile the prohibition to remove the poles from the ark with those verses that imply that indeed the poles were at times removed from the ark.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

, full_html