Kruvim

There are those who are troubled by the various uses of trumpeting devices in the Torah. On the one hand we find that they are used on Fast Days and other times to awaken the people to Teshuva. On the other hand we find that they are used at times of joy to symbolize joy. Which one are they? Symbols of somber attitudes, or symbols of joy?

The Zohar teaches that the כרובים (Cherubim) which stood on top of the Aron (Ark) symbolize the lungs of a person. The כרובים are located in the Holy of Holies. In their childlike appearance they represent the idealism and enthusiasm of the youth, those who are not afraid to express their true feelings and desires. As the lungs, they represent the life force of the Nation and the ability to transmit these attitudes through the entire body - the entire Jewish people.

So too is the representation of the trumpeting devices. The power behind a trumpet comes from the lungs, the essential life force of a person. Is there a distinction in the essence of a person between the cry of a desire to do Teshuvah and renew his connection to Hashem and the elation one feels at a joyous occasion? Each of them comes a from primal desire to connect to that is what is truly essential in life. Laughing and crying are two expressions of the same thing. The same trumpet blows for each.