Baby Face – Parashat Terumah
“…And you shall make two golden cherubim…” – Shemos 25:18
וְעָשִׂיתָ שְׁנַיִם כְּרֻבִים זָהָב – שמות כה, יח
The Keruvim had facial features like those of a baby (see Rashi). This symbolized G-d’s affection for the Jewish people, which is comparable to the love one has for a small child. As the Baal Haturim on this verse cites from the Book of Hoshea (11:1), “For Yisrael is but a lad, and therefore I love him.”
Parents’ love for their children is not an acquired or earned love, for it is not created by nor contingent upon the child’s merits or qualities. A parent is intrinsically bound to his or her children, and their love for their children is therefore unconditional. This is especially evident in parents’ adoration of their child as a tiny baby, when the potential qualities and virtues of this child have yet to be revealed.
The Keruvim were therefore formed with the features of a baby’s face. This represented G-d’s bond with the Jewish people that is not earned through our deeds or merits, and which transcends even the attachment to G-d that we create through studying G-d’s Torah and observing His commandments. The Keruvim remind us that, as the Jewish soul is “a veritable part of G-d Above” (Tanya, Chapter 2), G-d holds each and every Jew dear with the intrinsic, essential and unbreakable love that a father has for his child.
—Likkutei Sichos vol. 26, p. 181
Follow Us!