"And they shall make an Ark"
Here, Rabbi Shimon speaks about the Torah and the Ark. The supernal Ark is the Shechinah, and the Holy One and His Shechinah are a unity. The rabbi maintains that the Torah is more beloved than anything; then he shows that the Ark and the ink with which the Torah is written are both made from wood, commenting that the world to come is the 'inside,' and the letters of Torah, though black on the outside, are white on the inside, as are the Torah scholars and holy sages.
The Ark and the Torah are the two most sacred artifacts and symbols in Scripture; yet they remain the least understood. The ancient Kabbalists, however, revealed the inner significance of these two divine instruments. When Moses received the Tablets on Mount Sinai, the energy and spiritual Light that was revealed during the event literally vanquished all forms of darkness throughout the world. Death, chaos, pain, and suffering were extinguished, overwhelmed by the luminous radiance.
The term "Tablets" is a code describing a unique instrument that was fashioned to generate divine energy in our physical world. In the language of the 21st Century, one might envision the Tablets as a spiritual "nuclear power plant."
Just as a city is equipped with transformer substations that bring electrical energy from the local power station to our homes, the term Ten Utterances really signifies ten transformers that channel spiritual energy into our physical world. Both electrical and spiritual energy operate under similar principles. Both require physical tools to manifest and express their power in the material realm.
Moses had attained the highest level of consciousness. This truth is the deeper significance behind the concept of Moses "climbing to the top of the mountain." By virtue of his lofty level, Moses was able to control the raw forces of energy in the spiritual domain. He left the 600,000 Israelites at the foot of the mountain so that he could activate the tablets, thus bringing a final end to death and chaos.
During Moses' absence, two wicked and powerful alchemists infiltrated this gathering of 600,000 strong, and convinced the Israelites that Moses was dead, presumably from an overdose of "spiritual radiation." These hateful souls knew their days were over if the Israelites and the world remained connected to the energy flowing from this mountain. It would mean the end of evil and the dawn of immortality. Consequently, they devised a cunning plan. They enlisted the help of a rabble-rousing faction that had split from the Israelites. The two alchemists and the rebel group were known as the "Mixed Multitude." The Mixed Multitude convinced other Israelites to help them manufacture another instrument capable of generating a large supply of spiritual current. Activating this second source of spiritual power was the key to their insidious strategy.
Gold, being the finest conductor of electrical current, was also recognized as a powerful conductor of spiritual current. Thus, they built an apparatus constructed of gold, known by the code term "Golden Calf." Powering up the Golden Calf unleashed an additional surge of energy into the cosmos that literally blew out the circuits of the Tablets. The Light suddenly went out. Death was reborn, and evil returned to our midst. The Tablets, however, still retained an afterglow. Moses put the glowing Tablets into the Ark, along with the scroll of the Torah. Though not operating at peak capacity, this divine apparatus could help mankind replenish the Light that previously showered Sinai and the world.
All the Torahs and Arks that now dwell in the synagogues of the world are wired and connected to the original Ark. Each week, when the Ark in a synagogue is opened and the Torah is read, a portion of the Light that once illuminated Sinai is restored into the world. Unfortunately, the majority of Torahs in the world today are invalid. But thankfully, by the grace of God, when we read the verses that expound upon these mysteries, the Light of Sinai is replenished by connecting us to the supernal ark.
Moreover, whereas a synagogue is under the constraint of time and space, the supernal Ark and the Zohar operate in a timeless realm, above physical laws. Thus, all the Light destined to be revealed now bathes the world with a complete luminous radiance that extinguishes death and decay in a merciful manner. The immortality that was lost on Sinai is hereby regained and the mixed-multitude is forever banished, blotted out by this ultimate illumination of Light.