Questions on Parshas Teruma to think about and discuss:

1. Why are all the measurements of the Aron with halves?
2. What was kept inside the Aron?
3. What did the addition of the Keruvim come to represent?
4. How was the place of the Aron different to all the other vessels of the Mishkan?
5. How many badim, sticks, did the Aron have?
6. The badim, staves, of the Aron needed to remain there permanently. What did they do to ensure this?
7. Rashi (25:11) brings that the Aron had three boxes. Where does Rashi get this from as you could learn that there was only one box?
8. (25:15) Why out of all the vessels of the Mishkan is the Aron the only one whose Badim, sticks, are forbidden to be removed?
9. Why is the Aron mentioned the first out of all the vessels of the Mishkon?
10. What are the different names for the outer Mizbayach and why?
11. Which of the vessels’ measurements are not mentioned and why?
12. What are the different names for the Mishkon and what do they convey?
13. What did the Keruvim look like?
14. Why is the Shulchan mentioned immediately after the Aron more than the Menorah?
15. Were the branches of the Menorah straight or rounded?
16. Rashi (26:14) brings an opinion about the top covering of the Mishkon that it was split between the tochosh skin and the red-dyed ram skins. What did the split look like?
17. It appears that the vessels of the Mishkon situated inside the Kodesh were made/covered with gold while the vessels outside the Kodesh were covered with copper (i.e. the mizbayach hanechoshes and Kiyor and the Adonim, sockets, of the courtyard and entrance of the Heichel)?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

1. The Aron holds the Luchos and represents the Keser Torah. We learn from here that in order to learn Torah one must view himself as half. This means that a person must feel incomplete both in the need to be humble and also in viewing the Torah as infinite and therefore no matter how much you learn you are never fully complete.
2. The Gemora Bava Basra (14b) brings that inside the Aron there was the second unbroken Luchos; the sefer Torah that was written by Moshe (all rolled around one stick); the Shem HaKodesh and all seventy Names (Rabbeinu Gershom ibid).
3. One Keruv represented Hashem and the second one represented the Jews. These reflected the relationship between the Jews. When the Jews did not sin, the keruvim faced each other representing unity. However, if they sinned then the keruvim would turn away from each other, reflecting distancing from each other.
4. The Gemora in Megilla (10b) that there is a tradition that the place of the Aron did not take up any physical place! Rashi (ibid) explains that even though the Aron should have stretched across the whole allotted area there was still space all around it!
5. Rashi learns that it had two staves. However, Tosfas (Yuma 72a) holds that it had four badim, of these two permanently remained attached while the other two were added when travelling (like by the other vessels).
6. The Gemora (Yuma 72a) brings that they made the outer ends of the badim thicker and forced one end into the rings. The inner part was thinner enabling some movement whilst the thicker outer ends ensured that they did not fall out the rings.
7. The Sifsei Chachomim explains that the Aron contained the Luchos that contained all the letters of the Aleph-Beis. All these letters appear in the parsha of the Aron with the exception of the Gimmel that is the gematria of three. Therefore it must be seen in the number of boxes of the Aron!
8. The Bechor Shor answers that it was in order to minimise the time spent with the Aron (not having to spend time removing and putting back the badim). This came to make their awareness of the holiness of the Aron more tangible to enhance their fear for kedusha. The Chizkuni answers that all the badim of all the other vessels were removed to prevent passing Kohanim from tripping over them. Since the Aron was not frequented only on Yom Kippur therefore this did not require the removal of the badim from the Aron.
9. The Aron was the holiest vessel having a special place to itself, the Kodesh HaKodoshim. Therefore it is mentioned first.
10. Mizbayach HaNechoshes (Copper Altar); Mizbayach HaChetzoin (Outer Altar); Mizbayach Adama (Earth Altar). These names come to contrast it to the Inner Mizbayach.
11. The Gemora (Sukka 5a) brings that it is the height of the Kapores. It was a Tefach. The Chizkuni brings the reason since it was covered by the outer walls of the Aron.
12. Mishkon; Mikdosh; Ohel Moyeid; Mishkan HoEdus. …
13. Rashi learns that the Keruvim looked like children (25:18). The Rashbam and Chizkuni learn that they looked like birds. Rabbeinu Bechai says that they looked like Malochim.
15. It would seem from Rashi and the Rambam that the branches of the menorah were straight going diagonally while the Ibn Ezra learns they were rounded.
16. The possibilities I though of were: 1) split into halfs, like two square; 2) split diagonally; 3) split into strips alternating between them.