Perhaps the most astonishing directive relating to the building of the Tabernacle is the instruction to form two golden cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant:

And you shall make two golden cherubim; you shall make them of hammered work, from the two ends of the ark cover. And make one cherub from the one end and the other cherub from the other end; from the ark cover you shall make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall have their wings spread upwards, shielding the ark cover with their wings, with their faces toward one another; [turned] toward the ark cover shall be the faces of the cherubim. And you shall place the ark cover on the ark from above, and into the ark you shall place the testimony, which I will give you. I will arrange My meetings with you there, and I will speak with you from atop the ark cover from between the two cherubim that are upon the Ark of the Testimony, all that I will command you unto the children of Israel.1

While the Torah details their material and placement, it does not describe what they actually looked like. What exactly were these golden cherubim? What purpose did they serve? And why were they placed atop the holiest article in the Tabernacle?

1. Childlike Figurines

Rashi2 cites the Talmud, which describes them as having the features of a child:

And a cherub [keruv]? Rabbi Abbahu said: Like that of a child [keravya], as in Babylonia one calls a child ravya.3

Rabbi Abbahu understood the word cherub (keruv) to relate to the Aramaic word ravya. When the letter kaf is placed before ravya, it forms keravya, meaning “like a child.”

Ralbag adds that young children are called “rubbim” because of their remarkable growth. The letter kaf functions in the same way as the explanation above, forming the word “cherubim.”4

2. A Large Bird

Rashbam5 and Chizkuni6 believed that the cherubim were large birds. As evidence, Rashbam cites the verse in Ezekiel, “You were a cherub of great measure, that covers.”7 This verse is understood to refer to a great bird.

3. Half Human and Half Bird

Rabbi Abraham the son of Maimonides believed that they were fashioned as a hybrid, half-human and half-bird:

The form of the cherubim that were made appears to have had a head and face resembling that of a human, with wings like those of birds. As for their legs, their exact form is not detailed here, leaving room for speculation. In my opinion, the most plausible assumption is that their legs were like those of birds.8

4. The Form of an Ox

In Ezekiel’s vision of the Celestial Chariot, the “fourth face” is referred to as both an “ox”9 and a “cherub.”10 This leads the Bechor Shor to conclude that generally, a cherub is in the form of an ox. He surmises this from Ezekiel’s famous vision, in which each of the four panels of the chariot displays a face: the faces of a man, a lion, and an eagle are attributed to the first three panels. The fourth is first described as an ox and then described as a cherub. This leads him to conclude that a cherub looks like an ox. He understands the word keruv to thus be related to karba, Aramaic for plowing.11

5. No Set Look

The first time cherubim appear in the Chumash is at the end of chapter 3 of Bereishit. After Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden, G‑d “stationed from the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and the blade of the revolving sword, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.”12

There, Ibn Ezra13 writes that the cherubim took on various forms, as is evident from Ezekiel’s famously cryptic vision, where they appear in different forms.

6. They Represented G‑d’s Love

No matter what form they actually took—whether adopting the Talmud’s description of the faces of little children or another of the explanations above—the Talmud portrays them as embodying G‑d’s love for His people:

Rav Ketina said: When the Jewish people would ascend for the Festivals, they would roll up the curtain for them and show them the cherubim, which were clinging to one another, and say to them: See how you are beloved before G‑d, like the love of a male and female.14

7. They Showed G‑d’s Pleasure and Disapproval

The Talmud in Bava Batra cites another tradition regarding the positioning of the cherubim:

How were the cherubs standing? Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar disagree about this. One says: Their faces were turned one toward the other. And one says: Their faces were turned toward the House, i.e., the Sanctuary. The Gemara asks: But according to the one who says that their faces were turned one toward the other, isn’t it written: “And their faces were toward the House”?15 How does he explain the meaning of this verse? The Gemara answers: This is not difficult, as their faces miraculously changed directions in reflection of the Jewish people’s relationship to G‑d. Here, when it states that the cherubs faced each other, it was when the Jewish people did the will of G‑d. There, the verse that describes that the cherubs faced the Sanctuary and not toward each other, was when the Jewish people did not do the will of G‑d.

8. Separate from the Ark of the Testimony

The Rebbe contrasts Rashi’s understanding of the Ark of the Covenant with that of Nachmanides. In Rashi’s view, the box of the Ark and the Tablets it held were considered a single entity, and the cover with the cherubim was a separate item placed on top.16

Nachmanides, however, disagrees. He maintains that the Ark of the Covenant comprises the entire entity—the Ark, the Testimony, the cover, and the cherubim, as one unified whole.

This disagreement feeds right into their respective understanding of the classification of the cherubim. According to Nachmanides, they were a detail of the Ark and they therefore exemplified the nature of the Ark as the holiest Temple vessel and as the place where G‑d rested:

For into the Ark, you shall place the Testimony that I will give you so that it may serve as My Throne of Glory. For there I will meet with you, and I will cause My Presence to rest upon them, and I will speak with you from above the Kaporet, from between the two cherubim, because it is upon the Ark of the Testimony.

Thus, it is like the Merkavah (Divine Chariot) that Ezekiel saw when he said, “This is the living creature that I saw under the G‑d of Israel by the river Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubim”.17

Therefore, G‑d is called “He Who sits upon the cherubim”,18 since they spread their wings to indicate that they are the chariot bearing the Divine Glory, as it says, “And for the pattern of the chariot, the cherubim of gold that spread out and cover over the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord,”19 as I have mentioned.20

In the Rebbe’s reading, Nachmanides views the cherubim as an extension of the Ark of the Testimony, explaining that G‑d speaks from between the two cherubim because they are upon the Ark of the Testimony. This is also why Nachmanides compares these cherubim to those in Ezekiel’s vision. In his understanding, the Ark—including the cherubim—was a reflection of the Divine Chariot and served as the dwelling place of G‑d’s presence in this world.

Rashi, however, sees the Ark and its cover as two separate entities. He therefore emphasizes that the cherubim (which were part of the cover) had the likeness of young children, symbolizing G‑d’s love for the Jewish people, who are often referred to as children.21 The Ark itself, on the other hand, represents the Torah placed inside it. Together, they signify the unique bond between G‑d and the Jewish people through the Torah. (This also aligns with the Talmudic passage from Yoma cited above, which describes the cherubim as embracing to demonstrate G‑d’s love.)22

9. A Connection Beyond Torah

The Rebbe concludes his analysis of this disagreement by highlighting its deeper spiritual implications. According to Nachmanides, the Ark, the Testimony, the kaporet (cover), and the cherubim formed a single unified entity, symbolizing the inseparable bond between G‑d, the Jewish people, and the Torah. Through adherence to the Torah’s precepts, the Jewish people establish an unbreakable connection with the Divine.

Rashi, however, views the kaporet and cherubim as distinct from the Ark itself. The cherubim, fashioned in the likeness of a child’s face, express G‑d’s essential love for the Jewish people—a love that transcends their formal connection to the Torah.

This aligns with the deeper understanding that the cherubim took the form of a child’s face because a parent’s love is not contingent on the child’s achievements or qualities, but stems from their shared essence. This intrinsic love is most profoundly revealed in parents’ affection for their young children.

Similarly, G‑d’s essential love for the Jewish people is not dependent on our observance of Torah and mitzvot, but exists unconditionally.

Thus, according to Rashi, the kaporet is “above the Ark,” meaning that it represents something beyond the Ark and the Testimony within it. As the Ark’s covering, it serves as its protector, with the cherubim—part of the kaporet—acting as guardians of the Torah. The ultimate connection between G‑d and Israel, however, transcends even the Torah itself.23