Aliya Summary: A thick, solid gold lid is to be made for the Aron.
From the lid are to be formed two Cherubs facing each other with their
wings spread out above the lid. Communication from G-d will be from
"between the two K'ruvim". A special table of gold-plated wood shall be
made; a frame and decorative border to the frame are to be made of gold.
Four gold rings are to be attached to the legs of the table as
receptacles for the carrying rods. Shelves and supports for the shelves
complete the Shulchan. The Lechem Panim (Showbread) are to be placed on
the Shulchan at all times.
This is not considered just a
detail of the making of the Shulchan, but as its own mitzvah. The
mitzvah involved baking 12 special loaves (they were halachically matza)
on Friday to replace the previous week's loaves on Shabbat. Tradition
records a weekly miracle that the one week old bread was found to be
fresh by the kohanim on duty who shared in the Lechem HaPanim. This
mitzvah makes a statement: We should not view food as just the physical
necessity, but rather we are challenged to add a spiritual dimension to
even the most mundane of our human activities. The Lechem HaPanim are
the model; our laws of kashrut, brachot, and more help us achieve the
spiritual levels of this concept.
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