And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the cover, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony, of all that I will command you concerning the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:22)

Introduction

The Torah section Terumah contains instructions given to Moses by G‑d about several important elements of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle), such as the Ark of the Testimony (Aron), the cherubs (cherubim), menorah, and the altar. After concluding the instructions concerning the making of the Cherubim, G‑d tells Moses that it is from between the Cherubim that He will speak to Moses. Midrash Tanchuma explains:

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: “From between these two figures—these cherubim—shall I converse with you; there will I reveal Myself and speak with you.” For just as I spoke with you on Sinai from amidst fire and cloud, so too shall My voice go forth from between these two cherubim in the Tabernacle. (Midrash Tanchuma on Terumah 8–9)

When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses to make the Ark, Moses said: “Sovereign of the universe, will You not continue to speak with us from heaven, as at Mount Sinai?” The Holy One replied: “I desire to speak with you from between the cherubim in the Sanctuary, as is said, ‘And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim…’ (Exodus 25:22).” Hence, the voice you heard at Sinai continues forth but now proceeds from between the cherubim, for that space I have sanctified for My dwelling (Shechinah). (Midrash Tanchuma on Terumah 10)

What does this mean? What is so special about the Cherubim that, of all places, G‑d only wants to speak to Moses from between them?

Shechinah Between Cherubim

Midrash Rabba on Exodus explains:

Why did He speak from between the cherubim? To show that just as I spoke to you at Sinai openly, so shall My presence rest between the cherubim, and My voice shall come forth from there.

The Zohar on Terumah further elaborates:

Come and see: The Holy One, blessed be He, commanded that two cherubim be fashioned—male and female in form—spreading their wings on high. Beneath their wings is the secret of Faith, and from between them issues the Voice that speaks to the prophet. This is the place wherein abides the Shechinah, and from this place does She reveal Her word. (Zohar II:28b–29a)

When the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, all worlds tremble. He focuses his intention upon the place between the cherubim, wherein dwells the supernal radiance. From there, blessings flow to every side, and forgiveness is granted. (Zohar II:152b)

A similar idea is expressed in Zohar II:41a. When two golden cherubim stood on the cover of the Ark in the Mishkan and later in the Holy Temple, the divine presence, Shechinah, rested between the cherubs. Apparently, the voice emanated from the divine presence just as it happened on Mount Sinai during the Sinaitic Revelation.

However, according to tradition,[1] at the end of the period of the First Temple, King Hezekiah (who reigned during the late 8th to early 7th century BCE) hid the Ark and the cherubs. Their location is not known. Yet, the prophets continued to meditate on the space between the cherubim to attain prophecy. Indeed, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan writes, “It was from between the cherubim that prophecy emanated, for there the Divine Presence was most openly revealed.”[2] While historically, the Ark seems to have disappeared after the First Temple period, Kabbalistic tradition holds that its spiritual essence endures. It remains an active symbol in Jewish mysticism—a symbol of divine revelation, the shefa (“divine flow”), and the space where G‑d’s presence (Shekhinah) is most intensely felt.

Portal into Eternity

Rabbi Ḥayyim Vital writes in Sefer Likkutim on parashat Terumah in the name of the Arizal:


…Know that [cherubs] are in fact [embodiment] of Aba and Ima.[3]

According to the Arizal, the two cherubim represent Partzuf Aba[4] (whose principal sefirah is ḥokhmah) and Partzuf Ima[5] (whose principal sefirah is binah). In this mystical union of Aba and Ima, the space in which they meet—analogous to the space between the cherubim—becomes the fountainhead of divine flow or “energy” that animates the lower realms. This symbolism further highlights the idea that from that liminal point, revelation pours forth—be it prophecy, spiritual enlightenment, or cosmic sustenance.

According to the Sefer Yetzirah, ḥokhmah represents the past, and binah represents the future:

A depth of beginning, a depth of end. (Sefer Yetzirah 1:5)

The “beginning” is a euphemism for the past, and the “end” is a euphemism for the future. Sefer Yetzirah identifies them respectively with sefirot ḥokhmah and binah. Juxtaposing Arizal’s teaching with this verse from Sefer Yetzirah, we can say that the cherubim symbolized two domains of time—the past and the future. I previously proposed that, strictly speaking, there is no present—time moves directly from the future to the past, leaving only a boundary so infinitesimally thin that it barely exists. In this view, space itself becomes the “theater” or “arena” in which we live, effectively sandwiched between the past and the future.[6] In this case, this space emerges as the interface between the past (Partzuf Aba) and the future (Partzuf Ima), that is, the space between cherubs. In this model, space is an emergent phenomenon arising from the dynamic interaction between the past and the future. At the same time, it is the locus of revelation, the focal point of prophecy.

This philosophical notion can resonate with the Kabbalistic motif that the space between the cherubs is the gateway through which the Eternal engages the temporal world. Just as my model suggests the “present” is not a duration but an interface between the past and the future, the cherubic space is less a “location” than an interface between the infinite and finite—where revelation “enters” the continuum of time and space.

What separates the past and the future is the infinitesimally short moment we call “present.” This infinitesimally short moment is the opening to eternity. As the Sages said:

Open for me an opening like the point of a needle and I will open for you an opening like the entrance to the Ulam (grand hall of the Temple). [7]

An “opening like the point of a needle” can be understood as the missing moment[8] between the past and the future. This is the portal to eternity.

It seems that to attain prophecy, prophets meditated on this infinitesimal “space” between the past and the future—symbolized by the space between the cherubs—thereby connecting with eternity, where the source of prophecy is hidden.

This teaching emphasizes how even a tiny liminal opening—an infinitesimal hole in time between the past and the future—can lead into an infinite realm of eternity and divine outpouring. In the context of the prophecy, one could say that creating an interior ‘space’ of receptivity (no matter how small) allows the greatest light of prophecy to flow in.

Conclusion

This insight reveals a profound truth about the nature of divine revelation and human consciousness. The space between the cherubim represents not merely a physical location, but a metaphysical portal—a point of contact between the temporal and the eternal. By focusing their consciousness on the point-of-a-needle-like moment between the past and the future, the prophets transcended ordinary perception and entered a state where divine communication became possible.

In our own spiritual lives, we might find wisdom in this ancient practice. When we learn to dwell in the precise moment of “now”—neither lost in memories of the past nor anxious about the future—we too may discover an opening to deeper awareness and divine presence. The cherubim stand as eternal guardians of this threshold between worlds, reminding us that the infinite can be accessed through the infinitesimal, and that the greatest mysteries often reside in the smallest spaces.

Endnotes:

[1] In 701 BCE, the Assyrian king Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem during Hezekiah’s reign (see 2 Kings, Isaiah, and 2 Chronicles). This created a situation of extreme danger, which could have prompted the concealment of sacred objects. There are also theories that during Hezekiah’s reforms, he may have removed the ark because it was being seen as an idol. Some rabbinic traditions suggest that Hezekiah, or during his time, precautions were taken to hide the Ark due to impending threats. Other traditions point to later times, such as during the reign of King Josiah, or just before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, as times when the Ark was hidden. There is also information that during the reign of Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, the temple was desecrated, which would have been a time when the Ark would have been in danger.

[2] Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Meditation and the Bible (Weiser, 1978) or Meditation and Kabbalah (Weiser, 1982).

[3] Rabbi Ḥayyim Vital, Sefer Likkutim on parashat Terumah. See in English, Rabbi Moshe Y. Wisnefsky, Apples from the Ochart: Mystical Insights on the Weekly Torah Portion (Malibu, CA: Thirty Seven Books, 2008), p. 433.

[4] Partzuf (literally, “Visage”) is a dynamic configuration of interincluded sefirot—one of the principal innovations of the Lurianic Kabbalah. Partzuf Aba is the Supernal Father—the primordial spark of wisdom that, while built around sefirah of ḥokhmah, includes within it the seed of all ten sefirot. Partzuf Aba is the male archetype in the dynamics of partzufim.

[5] Partzuf Ima is the Supernal Mother—a partzuf built around the sefirah of binah. It is the female archetype in the dynamics of partzufim—the “womb” that develops and nurtures the spark of wisdom into a full conceptual framework.

[6] See in my essay, “Space – Between Future and Past,” I suggested that there is no present as a temporal category. See Alexander Poltorak, “Space – Between Future and Past,” QuantumTorah.com (June 13th, 2019), (https://quantumtorah.com/space-between-future-and-past/). Instead, three-dimensional physical space sandwiched between the past and the future plays the role of the present. See also Alexander Poltorak, “Time as a Combination of Past and Future,” QuantumTorah.com (June 30th, 2023) (https://quantumtorah.com/time-as-a-combination-of-past-and-future/).

[7] פתחו לי פתח כחודו של מחט ואני אפתח לכם פתח כפתחו של אולם.

[8] Missing because the present “moment” has neither the flow nor the duration—necessary indicia of time. Consequently, the present is not a temporal construct. Viewed from a temporal perspective, the present is a missing moment—an infinitesimally small hole, as it were, in the timeline.

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