25:21 “ונתת את הכפרת על הארן מלמעלה ואל הארן תתן את העדת אשר אתן אליך”
“You shall place the lid on the Aron from Above, and into the Aron you shall put the Testimony that I shall give you.” Why was there a need for a Kapores to cover the Aron, when the Aron itself was already a cover for the Luchos? Additionally, there was the Paroches between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Kodoshim, which is a second cover. Why did the Luchos need so many coverings?
עוד יוסף חי – 25:21 “ונתת את הכפרת על הארן מלמעלה ואל הארן תתן את העדת אשר אתן אליך” – “You shall place the lid on the Aron from Above, and into the Aron you shall put the Testimony that I shall give you.” Why was there a need for a Kapores to cover the Aron, when the Aron itself was already a cover for the Luchos? Additionally, there was the Paroches between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Kodoshim, which is a second cover. Why did the Luchos need so many coverings?
There was a story about a wealthy individual who was a great Talmid Chochom as well. The man would learn with a great Tzaddik and Talmid Chochom every morning, until the afternoon, and then he would go work in the marketplace. They learned the Torah Hakdosha in great depth, and never missed their learning time. The wealthy man hired for his daughter a gifted teacher, and he was to teach her the entire Tanach, as well as with Rashi and the Radak. He wanted his daughter to know Tanach well, but not for her to learn Torah Shebal Peh: Talmud Bavli or Yerushalmi. He estimated it would take two years for the teacher to accomplish this, and prepaid him for two years. The daughter was very smart and sharp, and the teacher was able to teach her the entire Torah Shebiksav, with all the Pirushim in seven months – and she mastered it. The teacher figured that being that he had been already paid for two years, he decided that he would teach her Torah Shebal Peh for the remaining 17 months that he was paid for. The two years were almost up, and the father decided that he would listen in to what his daughter was being taught, to see if the teacher had completed teaching her the Torah Shebiksav as they had agreed. He was shocked when he heard the teacher teaching his daughter Torah Shebal Peh and was involved in a very deep Sugyah. He asked the teacher what was going on? The teacher explained that he had completed his job in seven months but being that he had been paid for two years, he continued to teach her Torah Shebal Peh. The father said that he did not want the teacher to teach his daughter anymore and sent him away. The daughter was upset with her father and said in exasperation: I thought you would be so pleased as to how much I have learned until now, that you would hire the teacher for another two years. The father told his daughter that there was no need for her to learn Torah Shebal Peh, that she would not be sitting in the Bais Hamedrash learning. Rather, she would hopefully get married in a few years, and she would have children, and raise the children. She would be busy with the household chores and raising the children, and perhaps she would have a little time on Shabbos Kodesh to learn a little Torah Shebiksav. The daughter was not happy to hear this, for she had a great desire to learn Torah. She did not argue with her father, but she decided that she was going to be like Bruriah, the wife of Rebbe Meir, who was an exceedingly righteous woman and was on a very high level, even compared to the Tana’aim who lived in her time. For the next four years, she sat near the window of the room where her father learned with a great Talmid Chochom. They would toil and plumb the depths of the Torah, and she absorbed it all. She became so wise, even greater than her father and the Talmid Chochom. One day, a person came requesting an audience with her father. Her father asked him what his name was, and he answered, “חיים חיים בן שלום”. Her father wondered why he had a double name, חיים חיים. His daughter heard this and told her father that he was a wise person. חיים, - the two middle letters together have the Gematria of 20, which is also the Gematria of כ'. Thus, replace the two middle letters with a כ', and you have חכם. The man did not want to be arrogant about it, but he was letting it be known that he was חכם חיים בן שלום, he was a wise person named, חיים בן שלום. The father saw that his daughter had great wisdom. He spoke to her at great length regarding many Sugyas throughout Shas and Poskim, and he realized how great her knowledge was, and that she had much greater knowledge and understanding that even he had. He asked her how she was able to accomplish this. She explained that she was learning the Torah Hakdosha with great Tznius, no one knew about it, even a fly didn’t see her. Being that she learned so discreetly, she was Zoche to achieve great heights in Ruchniyos. As the Posuk in Mishlei 11:2 says, “ואת צנועים חכמה” – that the true path to wisdom in through Tznius. This is true regarding the Aron Kodesh, which encased the Luchos, which included the entire Torah Hakdosha. Hakodosh Boruch Hu commanded that the Luchos be placed in the Aron for them to be hidden. In addition, there was to be even more Tznius, that it should be covered with a Kapores. Even more so, was that there should be a Paroches that was to separate between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Kodoshim. There were three levels of being covered, which teaches us that wisdom comes with three generations, as the Posuk in Yeshaya 59:21 says, “מפיך ומפי זרעך ומפי זרע זרעך”. The way for the Torah to remain from generation to generation is to do so with as much Tznius as possible, as the wise daughter told her father. After the Torah tells us, “ונתת אל הארון את העדות אשר אתן אליך” and tells us about the Kapores, the Torah then says, “ונתת את הכפורת על הארון מלמעלה” – to tell us that there was to be extra Tznius. Although there was already Tznius for the Eidus, for the Luchos which represented the Torah Hakdosha, that there should be more Tznius, for it is telling us that the way to have a Kiyum in the Torah Hakdosha is through Tznuis; the more Tznius possible, the better. (עוד יוסף חי)
The Torah Hakdosha is the way for us to connect to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. The way to connect to Hakodosh Boruch Hu is through Tznius. Michah 6:8 “הגיד לך אדם מה טוב ומה ד' דורש ממך כי אם עשות משפט ואהבת חסד והצנע לכת עם אלקיך” – “It has been told to you – man, what is good and what Hashem requires of you. Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk modestly with your G-d.” Mishlei 11:2 “בא זדון ויבא קלון, ואת צנועים חכמה” – “When pride comes, then shame comes; But with the modest is wisdom.” In order for one to truly acquire wisdom, it is to be done with Tznius. When one is Tznuah in all of his actions, and specifically as he seeks to gain Torah knowledge, then he will have great success. Tznius and Anivus are closely connected here, as the one who is modest acts with Tznius, and does not seek to make everything that he accomplishes known. The Torah tells us that Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest Anav of all, and we know that he reached great levels of Chochma in Torah and was very close to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. The world at large has become a place where nonstop information is passed along to many others at great speeds. Information of all types just keep coming. However, that is not the way of Hakodosh Boruch Hu; it is not the way to serve Him, nor to acquire Torah wisdom. We must seek to do Mitzvos and learn Torah in a most humble way. Of course, there is a concept of ברוב עם הדרת מלך and when many Yidin do a Mitzvah at the same time it is more Kovod, and when many people are learning Torah together it is great Kovod - and this is most appropriate to do. However, just to let others know of the Mitzvah or learning is not the way of Hashem. We must serve Hakodosh Boruch Hu with great Tznius at all times. May we be Zoche to serve Hakodosh Boruch Hu with great Tznius, so that we can come close to Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
