You shall cover it (the Ark) with pure gold, on the inside and on the outside, you shall cover it.... (Shemos 25:11)
By writing “on the inside” before “on the outside”, the Torah seems to indicate that, for some reason, the gold on the inside was even more significant than the gold on the outside.
Ask around your Shabbos table: Why is the “inner gold” of the Aron more significant than the “outer gold”?
Menucha’s Answer: Based on what Chazal taught us (Yuma 72), the gold of the ark represents achievements that the Torah helps one to gain. The “outside gold” represents the Torah knowledge that a person acquires, while the “inner gold” represents the inner nature person – the character traits that the Torah helps one to improve.
It’s taught in the name of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk that the Torah is spiritual food and its effects on a person are parallel to that of regular food. If a person eats properly, its effects will be recognizable on his outward appearance. Similarly, someone who learns Torah properly, his inner character should be influenced for the good.
We see that the verse mentions "inside" before “outside”, emphasizing that the prime purpose of Torah learning is to positively influence one’s inner nature.