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Daily Daf Dose
The Gemara uses the Keruvim as a source that s’chach must cover an airspace ten tefachim high. The Keruvim standing on the kapores (the lid of the ark) stood ten tefachim high. The pasuk says that their wings were “sochechim” (providing “s’chach”) over the kapores. This shows that the word s’chach denotes a covering over an airspace of ten tefachim height.
Harav Dovid Meyers, in his sefer מלאכת המשכן וכליו points out that according to this it would seem that the popular style of drawing the wings of the Keruvim extending from their heads at an upward angle is inaccurate. If the wings extended upward diagonally, than the area underneath the wings did not have a uniform height; the area under the tips of the wings was indeed ten tefachim, but the area closer to the head was lower! If so, why does the Gemara arbitrarily pick the height of ten tefachim? Therefore, it seems more likely that the wings extended horizontally straight ahead from their heads to where their tips met, and indeed the whole area under the wings was ten tefachim high. Harav Meyers presented this argument to Harav Chaim Kanievsky, and the latter expressed his agreement.
Harav Dovid Meyers, in his sefer מלאכת המשכן וכליו points out that according to this it would seem that the popular style of drawing the wings of the Keruvim extending from their heads at an upward angle is inaccurate. If the wings extended upward diagonally, than the area underneath the wings did not have a uniform height; the area under the tips of the wings was indeed ten tefachim, but the area closer to the head was lower! If so, why does the Gemara arbitrarily pick the height of ten tefachim? Therefore, it seems more likely that the wings extended horizontally straight ahead from their heads to where their tips met, and indeed the whole area under the wings was ten tefachim high. Harav Meyers presented this argument to Harav Chaim Kanievsky, and the latter expressed his agreement.
3 comments:
Couldn't it be that as long as someplace above the aron there was ten tefachim until the wings - it can be considered sochachim?
...and couldn't it still be on an angle and by the head be ten tefachim and by the tips slightly more?
I asked Harav Myers and to Barry he answered that it can't mean that, for sochachim would seem to refer to the majority of the sichuch (covering).
..and to Velvel, since the majority will be over ten and by sukkah it can be ten and higher, your point is valid and it must be rethought.
Thank you so much
yasherkoach
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