The Tabernacle was the House of God, symbolizing the Divine Presence. It was the center of religious ceremonies. The Mishkan, as it was called, was the symbolic “home of God on Earth” — it was the centerpiece of the Jewish people and their culture. It was also called the Ohel Moed, the tent where everyone gathered,  to combine the personal with the communal and legal

In this pre-Temple form, the structure was collapsible.  It was made of wood and covered with gold, skins, and textiles. Inside were the intact Tablets of Stone and the pieces that Moses smashed, as well as a copy of the Torah. It was called the Aron HaEdut — the Ark of Testimony — because it symbolized the covenant and commitment between Israel and God.

This explains the two golden cherubs, part wings, part faces, opposite each other on top of the ark. But given the repeated objection to images in the Torah, it is difficult to reconcile these winged creatures, which were common in the Ancient Middle East, with the ban on images. Wings seem to have symbolized the heavenly, mystical world and an ideal human state. The Talmud says that when there was peace and justice, these golden cherubs embraced over it. But when there was war or corruption, they drew apart.

The tabernacle was brought into the Land of Canaan and moved around from place to place. It was even captured at one stage by the Philistines, but then returned because it was causing disruption. Finally, it rested in Solomon’s Temple. According to the Bible, the Temple was sacked and robbed many times before it was destroyed by the Babylonians and then the Romans. The land on which it stood was repeatedly dug over and even sown with salt. The contents were either taken away and melted down or destroyed. There was no ark in the Second Temple. We have managed without one for 2,000 years. Yet people have been trying for a very long time to see if the ark can be found — either under the Temple Mount or in various other places from Africa to China, and even in the cellars of the Vatican, let alone Hollywood. Of course, this is all fantasy.

The ark itself seems to have had supernatural powers. Anyone touching it would die according to the Bible. One narrative claims it was buried deep down in the Temple Mount and anyone walking above it would be struck down. Thus, it has captured the imagination.

The idea that relics have magical powers goes back a long way. In the West, the Crusaders scoured the Holy Land for relics of their founding Saints. They searched for the wood and nails of the cross. They searched for the blood of those crucified, their nails and their hair, and for golden chalices. Huge amounts were apparently found and traded for vast sums of money, to be placed in churches as aids to worship. People swore the artifacts cured them. Many Churchmen objected and there were attempts to destroy them. But the populace loved them and relied on them.

Within our Sephardic and Hasidic communities, there is a long tradition of revering the mystical rabbis and dynastic heads known as Rebbes. The followers are given or collect shirayim, literally, the remnants, bread, wine, fish, or anything from the Rebbe’s table, as a blessing, and often kept a relic with magical powers. In recent years clothes, hats, watches, and artifacts of Rebbes changed hands for large sums of money, and they all apparently guarantee blessings. A whole industry has now sprung up of relatives swearing that this or that garment or even button, is certified as the one the great man wore. You might argue it is a placebo.

The language of the Torah this week, also implies that God’s presence can rest in each one of us, if we build a sanctuary in our hearts, to have a relationship with God, rather than with objects.

The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.

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