The Aron (ark) which was stored inside the Mishkan – and, later, the Bet Ha’mikdash – contained the original Sefer Torah as well as the Luhot (stone tablets). It was carried during travel with two transport poles, which were inserted into the rings that were affixed to the four corners of the Aron. The Leviyim assigned the role of transporting the ark would carry the poles on their shoulders, and this is how the Aron was moved from one place to another. In commanding the construction of the Aron, the Torah says about the poles, “Lo Yasuru Mimenu” – “They shall not be removed from it” (Shemot 25:15). This verse establishes a prohibition against removing the poles from the rings in which they were placed. Even when the ark was at rest, and not being carried, the transport poles were to remain in place alongside the Aron. The Sefer Ha’hinuch clarifies that this command is relevant “Le’dorot” – for all times. It was not intended as a one-time provision relevant to the generation in the wilderness, who constructed the Aron, but rather as an eternally binding law – whenever we have an Aron, we must not remove the transport poles from the sides. The commentators raise the question of how to reconcile this command with a verse later in the Torah (Bamidbar 4:6), in which G-d gives His instructions in preparation for the nation’s first journey from Mount Sinai. In describing how the Aron was to be prepared for travel, G-d commanded that the Kohanim should cover it with several cloths, and then instructed, “Ve’samu Badav” – “They shall place its poles.” Apparently, the poles were not in place before Beneh Yisrael traveled, and they needed to be brought into place in preparation for travel. How, the commentators ask, is this possible, given the prohibition against removing the poles from the sides of the Aron? The Ramban (Rav Moshe Nachmanides, Spain, 1194-1270) explains that “Ve’samu Badav” refers not to placing the poles in the rings on the sides of the Aron, but rather to placing them on the Leviyim’s shoulders. As the nation prepared to travel, the Kohanim were to lift the Aron and place the poles on the shoulders of the Leviyim who would carry it, and this is the meaning of “Ve’samu Badav.” Alternatively, the Ramban suggests, “Ve’samu Badav” might mean that the poles were fastened tightly in place. Although the Torah forbids removing the poles completely from the sides of the Aron, they did not always have to be tightly fastened. And so when the time came to travel, the Kohanim who prepared the Aron for transport would fasten the poles so they would not move back and forth. The Hizkuni (Hizkiya Ben Manoah, France, 13 th century) offers a different explanation, suggesting that this prohibition did not take effect until after the Kohanim placed the poles in the rings for the first time. When the Aron was first constructed, it was assembled by Moshe Rabbenu, who was a Levi, not a Kohen. It was only after the Kohanim affixed the poles for the first time that it was then forbidden to remove the poles. Thus, the first time the nation traveled, the Kohanim needed to put the poles in place, because until then, it had not been forbidden to remove the poles. As for the reason behind this prohibition, the Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that there were times when the Aron had to be transported suddenly, such as when Beneh Yisrael were in the wilderness, and they needed to be prepared for travel at all times. If the poles were not already in place, then, in the rush to get it ready for transport, the Kohanim might not ensure that the poles were tightly fastened. If they aren’t, then the ark might fall, Heaven forbid, during travel. The Torah therefore commanded that the poles should always remain in place alongside the Aron, so the Aron would always be ready for transport and there would be no risk of it falling during transport. The Sefer Ha’hinuch then presents a second possibility, based on the mystical concept that the furnishings of the Mishkan ar