“and they shall put on it the covering of taĥash skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in its poles.” (Bamidbar 4:6)

The torah tells us that all the utensils in the Mishkan were wrapped with techeles on the inside and or tachash on the outside. The only exception was the aron which was wrapped in the reverse: or tachash on the inside and techeles on the outside. What is the reason for the change?

Chazal explain that we wear techeles in our tzitzis because it resembles the sea, the sea resembles the sky, and the sky reminds us of the kisei hakavod. Therefore, when someone looks at techeles, it is meant to connect him directly to Hashem. This is the basic idea of using something physical to achieve emunah in Hashem.

On the other hand, the or tachash, was the hide of a special animal that existed only at that time. It was extraordinarily beautiful, shimmering with many colors that dazzled the eye.

Rav Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986) explains: Just as Chazal instruct us to wrap a sefer Torah in beautiful silk as an expression of hiddur mitzvah – beautifying a mitzvah – so too the vessels of the mishkan were beautified with the or tachash on the outside. This external beauty was so that when people saw these vessels, they would be drawn closer to Hashem. The aron, however, was different. Inside it was the Torah – and the Torah isn’t internalized through the external beauty of this world. Rather, our attachment to Torah is based on our emunah – our belief in Hashem and the unbroken mesorah passed down by the rabbis throughout the generations; only then can we truly understand the Torah. Therefore, the aron was wrapped with the beauty in the inside, as represented by the or tachash, and the techeles on the outside. Whereas the other vessels, which are worldly items, benefit from the external beauty, which functions as a gateway, in order to lead people to see the internal hidden secrets of these vessels for avodas Hashem. Therefore the vessels have the or tachash on the outside and the techeles on the inside.

This is not necessarily the case in every situation, but a general principle: most mitzvos are physical, so we often need a physical way to connect with them. Torah, however, defies the physical world. Its connection is higher, beginning with emunah, which enables a special connection to Hashem through learning Torah.

I have heard it said that many shiurim and divrei torah have brought people closer to Hashem – but nothing quite compares to a bowl of cholent. The idea is clear: When we connect to Hashem through our senses, that connection is by far more real and tangible, as it comes from the physical world where mitzvos exist, not only from the intellect.

Some people begin their connection to Hashem through Torah learning, which comes from an intellectual place that is above this world. Others are first drawn close through mitzvos. Ultimately, I believe that everyone needs some measure of both.

As we approach Shavuos, we count the omer, beginning with the korban omer and culminating with the korban of the shtei halechem. Through sefiras haomer, we express our connection via mitzvos. At the same time, we prepare intellectually, including through the 48 ways to acquire Torah. We should use both of these paths – the physical mitzvos and the intellectual emuna – to make this Shavuos truly special.