“And they shall make an ark of acacia wood, two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height” (Exodus 25:10).
The Baal HaTurim points out that the dimensions of the ark are all fractions and not whole numbers. This is to teach the lesson that Torah scholars should be humble and realise that they have only achieved a fraction of what can be learned from the Torah.
Open a volume of the Talmud, and you will see that each begins on page two. Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev said this is to remind us that even if we know them from one end to the other – we haven’t even started yet.
By Rabbi Michael Skobac
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