The chumash tells us that the Aron had a “aer zahav”, a golden crown. Rashi comments that this golden crown represents the Kesser shel Torah, the crown of Torah.
The Rambam in perek aleph of Hilchos Talmud torah says that there are three kesarim; the Keser Torah, the Keser Kehunah , and the Keser Malchus.
The common thread of all three of these Kesarim is that they are all things that the one who has it is born with. A Kohen is a kohen because he is from shevet Levi. A melech becomes a melech because his father was the king. A Jew is usually also born a a Jew and therefore keeps the Torah. The Rambam says about the Torah, “kol mi sheyirtzeh yavo viyitol.”_________________________________________________.
What Keser means is that it is not enough to just be born into a position. You must be transformed as a huaman being based on your position. A Kohen is born as a kohen, but it is not simply enough to perform the avodah. Akohen must let the avodah that he does make him into a new Gavrah. The same is true by a King. A melech is the person who represents klal Yisrael. Therefore it is not enough for him to just act like a regular king. Rather, he must have the realiation that being the king requires being the model Yid and he therefore must change into a new Gavrah based on his role as king. This same idea is also true by Torah. It is not enough to just keep the mitzvos and dvar Hashem. Rather, Shmiras HaTorah V’mitzvos must create a new Gavrah.
The Aron is in the holiest part of the Mishkon and Beis Hamikdash. And it is this message that the Aron teaches us. That it is not enough for us to keep the Mitzvos, but that keeping the Mitzvos must create a new type of Gzvrah.
Perhaphs this is also peshat in the Rashi that says the Kiyor represents the Keser Malchus. The Kohanim are the spiritual malachim of Klal Yisrael. There positions and responsibilities must create a new Gavrah. The Kohanim were reminded this every morning with the first thing that he did. He would realize that the avodah he would be doing for the rest of the day is supposed to change him as a human being.
(Maybe this is the reason why the Kiyor was mirrors. It was for the Kohanim in the begging of the day to realize that the avodah for the rest of the day is supposed to create a new type of Gavrah. This message was drilled home by the Kohanim seeing there refoection. They were realizing that the avodah is going to change the Gavrah that they see. Just like the Kiyor purified the kohanim’s hands and feet for the days Avodah, so to the avodah will purify them as people and change their personalities.)
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