Exodus 25:1 – 27:19
The “aron” – Ark that contained the “luchot” the ten commandments was the central feature of the Mishkan- the Tabernacle. It resided in the “kodesh hakodashim” – the holy of holies. Made of solid gold to represent the human soul the top had two Cherubim male and female with wings extended. In this image they are connected in a sexual embrace and it is said when the Temple was broken into by the Babylonians they were shocked by this image. But sexual intimacy has a sacred and mystical aspect and many beliefs honor the symbolic creative forces in the mating of male and female and Judaism speaks to the holiness of the sexual act as well. It is between these Cherubim that the communication with Hashem could happen. It was said that when the Israelites were committed to a holy life the angels embraced each other but when the Israelites removed themselves from this life the angels looked away from each other.
Below is the blue cover of the Ark so when it was carried people would associate it with the sky that contains the Throne of Glory – the image of Hashem bringing presence closer to humanity.
On the purple curtains were the images of the four beings that later Ezekiel would describe in his vision – the ox, eagle, man-angel, and lion. The color purple is associated with the world of Yetzirah and there is the Kabbalistic concept that we really are spiritual beings in a physical reality.
