Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Halakhah for Sotah 69:17

(שמואל ב ו, ז) ויחר אף ה' בעוזא ויכהו שם על השל וגו' רבי יוחנן ור"א חד אמר על עסקי שלו וחד אמר שעשה צרכיו בפניו

Consequently the ark and its bearers and the priests were on one side [of the Jordan] and the Israelites on the other!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The text is understood in the same sense that the priests who carried the ark dipped their feet in the Jordan and the waters remained parted so long as the feet were kept there. When the Israelites had crossed, the priests lifted their feet out of the water, stepping back upon the bank. They were consequently on the other side; so how did they get over? ');"><sup>31</sup></span> The ark carried its bearers and passed over [the river]; as it is said: And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 11. Note that the ark 'passed over', and was not carried over. ');"><sup>32</sup></span>

Sefer HaChinukh

It is from the roots of the commandment that it is because the main glory of Israel is the Torah, through which they were made distinct from the other peoples and made into the portion of God. And it is therefore fitting and proper that it should be carried by the most dignified and holy people among us. And there is no need to elaborate on matters that any school child can understand. The entire content of the commandment is elucidated in the verse, and that is that the Kohanim and Levites would carry the Ark on their shoulders whenever they needed to move it from place to place, such as during war or for some other thing; and they would not carry it in a wagon or the back of an animal. And the Sages already castigated David for being mistaken about a thing that even toddlers read about, in his placing the Ark on a wagon (Sotah 34a).
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