Following the Ark

20th of Iyar, 2449, G-d gave the signal and the people set out from Mount Sinai. Besides the golden Ark that housed the second set of Tablets and was transported with the rest of the Tabernacle, Moses had constructed a second ark to house the first, shattered set of Tablets. This ark was carried in front of the people, right behind G-d’s cloud that led the way.

Following the Ark of the Torah

The ark of G-d’s covenant traveled ahead of them:

Numbers 10:33

In all of their travels in the desert, the Jewish people were preceded by this ark and by the cloud of G-d, which led the way and cleared the path of potentially harmful animals and obstacles.

And so has it been in the long history of the Jewish people: Throughout our journeys, whenever we follow the “ark”—i.e., the light of the Torah—we have found spiritual and physical rest.

We are protected from the emotional and physical dangers of the world, enabling us to find true meaning in our existence.

—from Daily Wisdom