Rabbi Howard Morrison

In this week's portion of Terumah, the Torah describes two Cherubs hovering over the Ark of the Covenant, with one Cherub standing over each side. What were these Cherubim? Our tradition contains many ideas. One which comes to mind this week is that they were little winged angelic children who were protecting the sanctity of the Ark and the Ten Commandments inside. As we know, children enter this world pure and innocent. An ancient legend suggests that God revealed the Torah to our people on the promise that we would teach Torah to our children from the earliest moments.

As we all know, our people lost two pure innocent babies last week to the brutality and murderous acts of Hammas. An immediate Bibas family and the entire family of the Jewish people are in a state of shock, grief, and anger. Does not the murder of these little ones provide enough evidence for what Israel is dealing with outside its immediate boundaries?

Now, Ariel and Kfir Bibas are amongst the Cherubs - pure winged angelic children who we pray will protect our people and our heritage, as our Torah depicts Cherubs hovering over the Ark in this week's Torah lesson.

Rabbi Howard Morrison