Why have we highlighted this phrase? Hebrew, like French, is a language which distinguishes between singular and plural verbs. As English does not make this distinction, a reading of this week’s Sidra (Torah reading) in English translation will not pick up on the fact that the instruction to build the Aron (ark) in the Mishkan (Tabernacle, portable desert Shul) is given in the plural.

Contrastingly, instructions for other Mishkan appurtenances such as 1. the golden covering of the Aron itself (25:11), 2. Kaporet (golden cover) (25:17), 3. the Keruvim (Cherubims) (25:18) and 4. the Shulchan (Table) (25:23) are given in the singular.

Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (aka Ramban), one of the most important Medieval commentators, writes that the plural used in our verse is linked to the first section of the Sidra, verses 1-9, which refer to Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish people) as a whole concerning the general communal role in constructing the Mishkan and as such also contain plural verbs.

Our question as to use of the plural still remains? Why is the Aron singled out from all of the other appurtenances for this plural treatment? Ramban explains that perhaps all of the Jewish people had a share in the construction of the Aron, rather than the specific constructors who assembled the other vessels of the Mishkan. Why is the Aron different from the other vessels in this regard? Perhaps because, as the Torah explains in 25:21-22, the Aron had the Keruvim on top of it and that spot between the Keruvim was the place where Moses heard communication from G-d as Rashi explains at verse 22.

Ramban writes further, quoting the Midrash (homiletical Rabbinic teachings) that the Aron was a contribution from all of the people. As the Aron was a place that Torah was taught from, it was something that was more specifically linked to the people as a whole rather than perhaps just to a cadre who were more intricately involved in the Mishkan. Maybe with these ideas in mind, Ramban links the plural used in the instruction to build the Aron as signifying that those that associate with the Aron will merit greatness in Torah as a result of the efforts and association.