The Two Cherubs: the Holy of Holies and the Song of Songs

How is it possible that in the very heart of the Temple in Jerusalem stood two figures of cherubs, made according to the sages of blessed memory, in the form of a boy and a girl making love together? And why did the sages say that it was the destruction of the Temple that obliterated the good taste of the sexual union?

This and other topics are treated by Yisrael Ohad Ezrahi in his article "The Two Cherubs: the Holy of Holies and the Song of Songs." A deep and broad tapestry of associations is spread out for the reader, moving him/her through the Soul-Journeys of the Jewish mystics who observed the Merkavah (the divine "chariot") and entered PaRDeS (paradise), leading the reader to a novel decoding of the spiritual secret of the Temple. The coming up to the Lord is revealed as a journey of cleaving and eros, which redefines the ethos of the religious life according to Judaism.

Note: This long article published in Ezrahi and Hayutmans' Hebrew book about the Temple, has not yet been translated into English. We would appreciate contributions that will help us provide this and other such fascinating articles to this site.