Drawing Out the Poles During the First Temple (II)

 

 

Introduction

 

            In the previous shiur, we began to deal with the drawing out of the poles of the ark in the time of the First Temple. We were primarily interested in the spiritual significance of the phenomenon and the various expressions of the Holy of Holies' influence over the Holy. In this shiur, I wish to come to a practical understanding of the drawing out of the poles.

 

Miraculous or natural Phenomenon?

 

            There are two different approaches as to whether the poles were drawn out by way of a miracle or whether this was a natural occurrence.

 

            The Tosafot argue:

 

They pressed and protruded against the parokhet, and they appeared like the two breasts of a woman. This was a miracle. For the ark was in the middle of the Holy of Holies, and on each side there were ten cubits, and the ark itself did not take up any space, as we find in the first chapter of Megilla (10b). If so, even according to the one who says that the poles could move to one side, how did they reach the parokhet? Surely they were not ten cubits long! Rather the poles miraculously grew in length to the point that they pressed and protruded and looked like the two breasts of a woman, demonstrating the love of Israel. (Tosafot, Menachot 98b)

 

            The Holy of Holies in the Mishkan was ten cubits long. Assuming the view that the ark was located in the center of the Holy of Holies, in order for the poles to jut out in the Mikdash, in which the Holy of Holies was twenty cubits long, the poles would have had to be lengthened in a miraculous way.

 

            The Radak, in contrast, maintains that this all took place in a most natural manner:

 

"And they drew out the poles" – They drew them outwards; that is, they pulled them out. For the ark no longer had to be carried on the shoulders. At first, the poles were set evenly in the ark, sticking out in the back of the ark as in front of the ark, for four people would carry it, two people for each pole, one in front and the other in back. But once they brought the ark into the Devir as it was with its poles and it would not be carried again in the future on the shoulders, they drew the poles outwards until the ends of the poles could be seen against the front of the Devir. This was so that the High Priest would go in on Yom Kippur to burn incense between the poles and not turn this way or that way. Therefore, they drew out the poles to the front of the Devir, but they would not be seen outside in front of the Devir. You might ask: Surely the poles were only ten cubits long, and it does not say in the Torah that they were seen outside the parokhet, and the Devir was twenty cubits wide. If so, even if they drew them out, how could they be seen against the front of the Devir? We can say that they did not put the ark next to the western wall, but rather they set it at a distance from the wall, so that the poles could be seen against the front of the Devir when they were drawn outwards. And needless to say that the ark did not take up any space and that it stood by way of a miracle, for the wings of the keruvim extended twenty cubits, and there would not have been ten cubits in each direction.

"And they remained there until today" – For he did not remove them again from the ark, as it is written: "They shall not be taken from it." And they were also not pushed back, but rather they were drawn out to the front of the Devir forevermore. This is the meaning of "until today." If so, the doors of Devir were not closed. Therefore, Shelomo had to make a parokhet to serve as a division. (Radak, I Melakhim 8:8)

 

            The Radak first says that the poles were drawn outwards by hand, physically. The reason for this is that they were no longer needed to bear the ark; once the ark was brought into the Holy of Holies of the Temple, it would no longer be removed for journeys or for war.[1] The Radak also argues that the poles were drawn out so that when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, he would enter directly into the area between the poles. Drawing out the poles was necessary, according to this explanation, because the Holy of Holies in the First Temple was twice as long as the Holy of Holies in the Mishkan.

 

            The Radak assumes that the poles were ten cubits long. He touches upon another issue relevant to our discussion – the location of the ark within the Holy of Holies. The Radak argues that the ark was not set down near the western wall of the Holy of Holies, because such an arrangement would not have allowed the poles to jut out. In his view, the ark was moved from the center of the chamber eastwards, so that it would reach a point from which the poles would jut out against the parokhet.

 

            The Radak also notes that since the doors were not closed, it was necessary for Shelomo to make a parokhet so that the poles could press against the parokhet when the doors were open.

 

            In his commentary to Divrei Ha-Yamim, the Radak adds an important point:

 

The spreading of the wings was also twenty cubits in width as it was in length, or else the width of the wings was like the width of the ark and the length of the poles. (Radak, II Divrei Ha-Yamim 5:9)

 

            The Radak's first proposal is far-reaching. He understands that the wings of keruvim were spread out not only twenty cubits in length, but also twenty cubits in width. According to this, the keruvim took up the entire area of the Holy of Holies, which was twenty cubits by twenty cubits. Furthermore, the ark and the poles were entirely covered by the keruvim, which spread their wings across their entire length.

 

            R. Yosef Kara adds:

 

"And they drew out the poles" – This is not to say that the poles were drawn out by themselves so that they reached the ama traksin, for several reasons. First, if so, Scripture should have said: "And the poles were drawn out (va-yitarkhu)." The term "va-ya'arikhu" implies that others drew them out. Furthermore, any intelligent person will notice that just as Shelomo had to build two keruvim in addition to the two keruvim made by Moshe that stood on the kaporet – each one ten cubits from one end of its wings to the other end, in order to fill the width of the Sanctuary from north to south, so that the wing of one keruv would touch the southern wall when the wings were spread out and the wing of the second keruv would touch the northern wall – he similarly had to make poles for the ark that were twenty cubits long, so that the two ends of the poles should reach the western wall and the other two ends should reach the entrance of the Devir, i.e., the ama traksin, so that the length of the poles should reach from the western wall of the Devir to the eastern wall of the Devir.

Of necessity, then, the words "And they drew out the poles" mean as follows – The craftsmen who constructed the building made poles for the ark, making them longer than the poles of the ark that Moshe made in the wilderness. For the poles that Moshe made in the wilderness were short, as they were only for carrying the ark, whereas these were twenty cubits in length, so that they would reach the western wall of the Devir. This is the meaning of: "So that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place, before (al penei) the Devir." This means until (ad penei) the Devir - that is, until the eastern wall of the Devir.

"Though they were not seen outside" – Their length was not more than twenty cubits, but only twenty cubits, so that they should reach from one wall to the other wall, but no more. According to a midrash of our Rabbis (see Yoma 54a and Rashi here): "'So that the ends of the poles were seen' – against the parokhet opposite the entrance, in the ama traksin. I might have said that they tear into it. Therefore, the verse states: 'Though they were not seen outside.' How so? They press against and protrude like the two breasts of a woman, as it says: 'That lies between my breasts.'" (Mahari Kara, I Melakhim 8:8)

 

            Like the Radak, R. Yosef Kara concludes that the poles were lengthened in a natural way. He suggests that the poles were drawn out so that they were twice as long as the poles made by Betzalel, so that they would accord with the size of the Devir and reach from one wall to the other. (This is also the position of Rashi, II Divrei Ha-Yamim 5:9).

 

            In summary of the various possibilities regarding the drawing out of the poles:

 

            Two basic facts provide the background:

 

1)     The ark's location in the Holy of Holies.

2)     The length of the poles.

 

The further east that the ark rests in the Holy of Holies, the less need there is to draw out the poles, and vice versa.

 

In order to understand how these factors work, let us begin with the matter of the location of the even ha-shetiya.[2]

 

The location of the Even ha-Shetiya

 

            The Rishonim are divided as to the precise location of the even ha-shetiya in the Holy of Holies, and they consequently also disagree about the location of the ark:

 

            1. The even ha-shetiya was located in the center of the Holy of Holies. This seems to be the position of the Radak (I Melakhim 8:8), as well as the Tosafot (Menachot 98b, s.v. dochakhin), who cite the gemara in Megilla that states that the ark was located in the center of the Holy of Holies and there were ten cubits on each side of the ark, with the ark itself taking up no room.[3]

 

            2. The even ha-shetiya was located on the eastern side of the Holy of Holies, close to the entrance. This is the understanding of the Ritzba in Tosafot (Bava Batra 25a, s.v. ve-tzava). The reason for this is to allow for maintenance of the ark, in which rested the book of the Torah, without requiring excessive walking in the Holy of Holies.[4] According to this position, it is easier to preserve the ten-cubit length of the poles.

 

            3. The even shetiya was located on the western side of the Holy of Holies. This is the view of the Rambam (Hilkhot Beit Ha-Bechira 4:1). The rationale underlying this view seems to stem from the fact that the Shekhina rests in the west. This being the case, the ark, which is the primary site of the resting of the Shekhina, was certainly as westward as possible.

 

            First, it should be noted that to the best of our knowledge, there is no early source for the view that the even ha-shetiya and the ark were on the eastern side of the Holy of Holies or for the view that they were on the western side, even if we accept the rationale suggested for the Rambam as persuasive. The only view among the Rishonim that is based on a source in the words of Chazal is that of the Tosafot in Menachot, according to which the ark was in the middle of the Holy of Holies.

 

            In addition, according to the position that the ark was located in the center of the Holy of Holies, it turns out that the ark's location in the First Temple was identical to its location in the Mishkan. But according to the other two viewpoints, it turns out that there was a fundamental difference between the Mishkan and the Temple, and this point requires further study. The reason for this change is not the internal relationship between the ark and the chamber, but rather the relationship between the Holy of Holies and the site of the creation of the world.

 

We previously argued that the Mishkan is connected to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, whereas the Mikdash is connected in its essence to the creation of the world. Accordingly, the change in the ark's location as a result of the transition from a temporary Mishkan to a permanent Mikdash on Mount Moriya indicates that the relationship between the structure and the place – Mount Moriya – had greater impact on the relative position of the ark within the structure than did the ark's location in the Mishkan.

 

According to these views, the transition to a permanent Mikdash on Mount Moriya in Jerusalem changed the location of the ark, which is connected in its very essence to the site of the creation of the world. In other words, a factor external to the ark itself determined its location within the Holy of Holies.

 

Is all of this connected to the Torah that rests inside the ark? It may be suggested that according to this understanding and according to the Zohar that God looked into the Torah and created the world (that is to say, the Torah was the blueprint which God, as it were, examined before creating the world), this itself impacted upon the ark's location in the Holy of Holies. According to this understanding, the connection between the creation of the world and the Torah that rests in the ark can affect where the ark is positioned in the Holy of Holies. This, of course, is according to those viewpoints that the ark that rests on the even shetiya is found on the western or eastern side of the Holy of Holies.

 

This idea is, of course, only a suggestion aimed at finding a reason for the change of the ark's location in the Holy of Holies in the transition from the Mishkan to the Mikdash. The fundamental question relates to the location of the even ha-shetiya from which the world was created within the Holy of Holies.

 

THe Drawing out of the Poles and their length

 

            We saw earlier that the Rishonim disagree as to whether the poles were drawn out in a natural manner or by way of a miracle. A second question, which follows from the first, is what happened in practice. Even if the poles were drawn out in a natural manner, how did this happen? We find several answers to this question:

 

            1. They pulled out the poles of Betzalel's ark (Radak, above).

 

            2. They lengthened the poles by adding to them. This is the position of the Ibn Ezra. Dr. Eli Tal Or follows this view, proposing that there was a permanent hollow outer pole, in which there were two inner poles that could move like a piston.[5]

 

            3. They replaced the original poles with new and longer poles (Ralbag; Mahari Kara).

 

How long were the poles

 

·           Ten cubits (Radak).

 

·           Twelve cubits – ten cubits from the parokhet to the ark, a cubit and a half for the width of the ark, and another half a cubit to place the poles through the back rings, so that they not be removed from the rings (A       naf Etz Avot in Maharsha).

 

·           Twenty cubits (R. Yosef Kara).

 

·           Some suggest that the poles were eleven and a half cubits long plus another ten cubits for the length of the Mishkan itself, for a total of twenty-one and a half cubits.

 

Rabbeinu Bachayei relates to the ark's being hidden away in the time of Yoshiyahu, adding a most interesting comment regarding the length of the poles:

 

The reason that Yoshiyahu chose to hide away the ark more so than the rest of the holy vessels is twofold. First, owing to its elevated sanctity, as there is no vessel as holy and elevated as it is. Just as it preceded all the others in it fashioning, so is it more sanctified than all of them, as it is a model of the Throne of Glory and a habitation for the Shekhina, and the Shekhina adheres to the world by way of the ark. Therefore, in the Second Temple, there was no ark, and when the ark was missing the Shekhina was missing. And since Yoshiyahu knew that the Temple would be destroyed by Nevuchadnetzar and the prophets in his days prophesied and cried about it, and it was clear to him that all the vessels would be exiled to Babylonia, he was concerned about the honor of the ark, because of its elevated status, and he wanted to hide it away. Second, he saw in the ark a sign of journey, namely, that the poles that were lengthened in the days of Shelomo were shortened in his days, and they returned to the same length as in the days of Moshe. And when Israel entered the Temple and saw the parokhet and the two poles of the ark, their ends were visible outside the parokhet as the two breasts of a woman are seen under her clothing. About these two poles Shelomo said: "Your two breasts are like two fawns" (Shir Ha-Shirim 4:5). And now that they were shortened in the days of Yoshiyahu and drawn back in, Israel would enter [the Temple] and not see them jutting out against the parokhet as usual, as they returned to the same dimension that they had during the days of Moshe. Yoshiyahu understood from this that the ark was being made ready for a journey, gradually entering into itself. He also recalled when Chilkiya the priest went in to do the service in the Heikhal and found there the book of the Torah that had been alongside the ark of the covenant of God and that went out into the Heikhal, and he understood that this was a sign of the exile and the destruction of the Temple. This is what Yonatan translated: "And it came to pass in the thirtieth year" (Yechezkel 1:1): “And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, when Chilkiya the High Priest found the book of the Torah in the Temple… in the days of Yoshiyahu ben Amon.” Since he saw these signs, he decided to hide [the ark] away.

Thus, you learn that the primary sanctity of the ark was found in the ark of Betzalel, not in the temporary ark that Moshe made. And about this ark of Betzalel, Chazal said in tractate Eiruvin, chapter Hadar (63b): “As long as the ark and the Shekhina are not settled in their appointed place, marital relations are forbidden.” For if you say that this refers to the ark made by Moshe which went out with them to battle, how can you say this, that during the seven months that the ark resided in Sedeh-Pelishtim, marital relations were forbidden, and they were prevented from having children. And so too David who said to Uriya: "Go down to your house" (II Shemuel 11:8). Rather, they said this about Betzalel's ark, which was the primary sanctity, as opposed to Moshe's ark, which was not as holy. (Rabbeinu Bachayei Devarim 10:1)

 

            According to Rabbeinu Bachayei, during the days of Yoshiyahu, the poles of ark were shortened to the size that they were during the days of Moshe, and Yoshiyahu saw in that a sign that the ark was being prepared for a journey. Based on this, the lengthening of the poles during the days of Shelomo was a clear sign of permanence and rest, whereas the shortening of the poles was a sign of preparation for removal.

 

            Accordingly, the very length of the poles served as a sign regarding God's relationship with the people of Israel, a type of barometer, a sign of His governance in that generation.

 

            This situation was similar to that of the keruvim, whose faces turned to face one another as an expression of Israel's doing the will of God and which were intertwined like man and woman, thus symbolizing the relationship between God and the people of Israel.

 

            Rabbeinu Bachayei views this phenomenon in its broader historical context, based on a comprehensive understanding of the period of Yoshiyahu. The shortening of the poles was one of the signs that heralded the upcoming exile, and from here its connection with the hiding away of the ark.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

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