13 Feb PARASHAT TERUMAH: THE TORAH’S “FOOTSTEPS”

The first of the
furnishings of the
Mishkan discussed
in Parashat Teruma
was the Aron, the sacred ark, in which
the original Torah scroll was stored.
G-d commanded that four rings be
affixed “Al Arba Pa’amotav” – on
the ark’s four “Pa’amot” (25:12), and
the poles used to carry the Aron were
inserted through these rings along the
two sides of the Aron.
Rashi and several other commentators
explain the word “Pa’amot” to mean
“corners.” The Ibn Ezra (Spain, 1089-
1167), however, notes that nowhere
else in Tanach do we find the word
“Pa’amot” used in reference to corners.
Instead, this word is used in reference
to footsteps, in as the verse in Shir
Hashirim (7:2), “Ma Yafu Fe’amayich
Ba’ne’alim,” which is understood
as praising Beneh Yisrael when they
journey by foot to Jerusalem for the
three Regalim (pilgrimage festivals).
And in Tehillim (85:14), G-d is

metaphorically described as walking
along a road – “Ve’yasem Le’derech
Pe’amav.” The Ibn Ezra thus concludes
that the Aron’s four “Pa’amot” were
four “feet” upon which it stood. It
would have been disrespectful, the Ibn
Ezra writes, for the ark to lie directly on
the floor, and so G-d required affixing
four feet underneath the Aron on which
it rested, and it was on the legs that
the rings for the transport poles were
attached.
Later Rabbis observed that in the
verses cited by the Ibn Ezra, the word
“Pa’amot” actually does not mean
“feet,” but rather “footsteps.” Those
verses speak not of the feet themselves,
but of feet that move and walk. On this
basis, some have suggested further
insight into the significance of the
“feet” underneath the Aron. The Aron,
which contained the original Sefer
Torah, has “feet” in the sense that it
“walks” with Am Yisrael throughout
its long, tumultuous history. No matter
where we go, and no matter how

drastically the world changes, the Torah
comes with us. We don’t abandon or
revise the Torah, but rather bring its
timeless values and principles with us
and apply them to the new realities and
circumstances that arise.
I have had the privilege to read and
study many halachic responsa by the
leading Torah sages of the modern era,
outstanding figures such as Rav Moshe
Feinstein (1895-1986), Rav Eliezer
Waldenberg (1915-2006), Hacham
Ovadia Yosef (1920-2013), and Rav
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (1910-1995).
These scholars addressed all kinds of
questions, including issues relevant to
modern technology and medicine. In
not a single responsa do any of these
luminaries write, “The Torah does not
have anything to say about this new
discovery.” In every single essay, they
work to determine how the ancient,
immutable principles of Halacha apply
to the situation presented to them.
When we study these Halachic texts,
we experience “the Torah’s footsteps,”

and see how the Torah accompanies us
wherever we go, throughout the ages,
how the original Torah given to our
ancestors at Sinai remains as relevant
today as it ever was.
In our personal lives, too, we bring
the Torah with us wherever we go.
The Torah does not stay behind the
curtain in the ark in the synagogue;
it accompanies us when we leave the
synagogue to return home, go to work,
go on vacation, go shopping, or tend
to any of our other affairs. The feet
underneath the ark teach us that the
timeless values and laws of the Torah
come with us at all times, and must
inform our behavior throughout the
day, each and every day of our lives.