· As much as we love to see
children at shul, we understand the challenge that their presence poses of
maintaining the decorum appropriate for a synagogue. So we run youth groups,
hold junior congregation, and create other ways of bringing them into the
building, yet keeping them outside the sanctuary until they are old enough to
treat it with the respect it deserves. Yes, we love children and recognize the
importance of their participation in synagogue events, but that doesn’t
translate into an invitation to hang out in the sanctuary during services. If
this is true of a weekly Shabbat service, how much more so of Yom Kippur, the
holiest day of the year. If ever there was a day to ensure that only adults be
present at services, it would be Yom Kippur, when we try to create as awesome
and serious an atmosphere as possible. With that in mind, the image conjured up
by the beginning of our parsha is disturbing. We read a description of the Yom
Kippur service as it existed in the times of the Tabernacle and Temple, with
the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies—the innermost chamber of the
Sanctuary which could only be entered one day a year, by only one person: the
high priest on Yom Kippur itself. This chamber held the holy ark which meant
that on this most holy day in this most holy location, the high priest who
acted as the holy messenger for the holiest of nations would be greeted by the
image of children. As we learned back in Parshat Terumah, the golden lid that
covered the ark was adorned with two cherubs—child-like angels—that were beaten
and formed from the gold of the lid itself. Why cherubs? Why an image of
children—of immaturity, of irresponsibility, of noise and distraction—at this
most holy moment, at this most awesome location?
· The mental image we have of
a cherub—of a plump little baby with angels attached to his back—is the product
of the artistic renditions we’ve seen in museums and elsewhere. But from a
Jewish perspective, this image is incorrect. In describing the appearance of
the golden lid that fit atop the holy ark, Rashi explains in Parshat Terumah
that the cherubs on the lid, “D’mut partzuf tinok lahem—they had the facial appearance of children.”
According to our tradition, the cherubs were by no means babies with wings.
They had the same appearance as other angels, save for one feature: their
faces—and their faces alone—appeared child-like. Their bodies were mature,
adult bodies, yet their faces were those of youths.
· That becomes a very
different image, one that is completely appropriate and important to be viewed
on Yom Kippur. The image is not one of a child who cannot sit still, and of
whom proper behavior is not even expected. Rather, the angels that adorned the
ark were primarily adult-like, reminding us of the importance of assuming
responsibility with full adult maturity. Yet the faces of these angels are
those of children, reminding us that maturity should never come at the expense
of the vigor and enthusiasm of youth. That becomes an important question to ask
ourselves, both on Yom Kippur and each day of our lives. Has the role of
adulthood sapped us of the enthusiasm we once had as children? It is critical
to recognize that we can fulfill our duties to G-d and man with a blend of
these two attributes. We must treat these duties with the seriousness and
responsibility that are the hallmark of the adult, but perform them with the
energy and vigor of a youth.
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