After fashioning the coverings and walls of the Tabernacle, the artisans proceeded to fashion its furnishings, first of which was the Ark of the Covenant.
Breaking in Order to Build
אַמָּתַיִם וָחֵצִי אָרְכּוֹ וְאַמָּה וָחֵצִי רָחְבּוֹ וְאַמָּה וָחֵצִי קֹמָתוֹ:
(שמות לז:א)
[The artisans made the Ark, as instructed,] two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.
Exodus 37:1
Unlike the other furnishings of the Tabernacle, the dimensions of the Ark were all incomplete measurements. Inasmuch as the Ark housed the Torah, this alludes to the idea that the Torah must “break” us: It must be learned in such a way that it breaks our ingrained habits and negative personality traits.1
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