The inner sanctum of King Solomon's Temple, the Holy of Holies, was designed with profound architectural and spiritual precision. Dominating this sacred space were two massive Cherubim, whose wings stretched out to form a continuous, wall-to-wall canopy over the room. The total wingspan of these two figures combined was exactly twenty cubits. Each Cherub possessed a ten-cubit wingspan, divided into two wings of five cubits each. They were positioned so that one wing of the first Cherub touched the southern wall, while its other wing extended to the exact center of the room. There, it met the wing of the second Cherub, whose opposite wing reached all the way to the northern wall. Together, this continuous line of wings perfectly spanned the twenty-cubit width of the chamber [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
This precise measurement presents a physical puzzle. Since the room itself was exactly twenty cubits wide, and the outspread wings accounted for that entire distance, there appears to be no remaining space for the bodies of the Cherubim themselves. Based on this, early sages concluded that the Cherubim stood in a miraculous state, with their physical bodies occupying no actual space within the room [רש״י, מלבי״ם]. This is further supported by the fact that they stood upright, side-by-side on their feet, rather than crouching or standing one behind the other, which would have allowed their wings to overlap and save space [מלבי״ם].
On the other hand, a more natural approach suggests that their bodies simply protruded forward, extending out from the wings much like a bird in mid-flight [רש״י]. Alternatively, the wings may have been attached directly to their backs side-by-side, allowing the bodies to fit within the same spatial plane without requiring extra width [מלבי״ם].
Beyond their physical construction, the posture of these Cherubim carried deep symbolic weight. When Moses built the original Cherubim for the Ark of the Covenant, they faced one another. That inward gaze represented an ideal spiritual state, a time when the people followed the will of God and received His blessings directly. In contrast, Solomon’s Cherubim stood with their faces turned outward toward the main hall of the Temple. This outward gaze reflects a reality in which the people are not perfectly fulfilling God's will. As a result, His divine blessing flows into the world through indirect channels, rather than through an intimate, face-to-face connection [מלבי״ם].