The very first item of the Mishkan whose construction is associated specifically with Betzalel, the chief architect of the Mishkan, is the Aron, the Ark (Shemot 37:1). Eventually, we are taught that Moshe placed the “eidut,” the “testimony,” inside of the completed Aron (ibid. 40:20); Rashi there (s.v. et ha’eidut) explains that this is a reference to the luchot, the tablets upon which the Aseret HaDibrot were written. Earlier, however, when commenting on the initial commandment to place the “eidut” into the Aron, Rashi writes that the reference is to the Torah, which serves to testify that Hashem indeed gave us all the mitzvot contained therein (ibid. 25:16, s.v. ha’eidut), thus indicating that a copy of the Torah was also to be found in the Aron. Abarbanel (ibid. s.v. ve’asu) suggests this as well; the Rambam too (Introduction to Mishneh Torah) states that a copy of the Torah was placed inside the Aron (see also Mordechai to Pesachim, Tosafot Me’Arvei Pesachim, 37a in Rif). Rashbam, however, in his commentary to that earlier pasuk (s.v. et ha’eidut), understands that it is in fact referring not to the Torah but only to the luchot. Ibn Ezra likewise (ibid. s.v. venatata) explains that the reference is only to the luchot, as also implied by a pasuk in Melachim Aleph (8:9); he asserts that a copy of the Torah was placed alongside, but not inside, the Aron. This question as to precisely what was contained in the Aron is actually the subject of a dispute in the Gemara in Bava Batra (14a-b); it should be noted that all agree that the luchot which Moshe broke were indeed placed in the Aron (see also Tosafot to Eiruvin 63b, s.v. kol and Yerushalmi Shekalim 6:1, 15b in Bavli printing).

In any case, it is clear that the Aron, because of whatever was inside it, representative as it was of the fact that Hashem gave the mitzvot to the Jewish people, was to be the centerpiece of the Mishkan (and subsequently of the Beit HaMikdash), a point articulated by, among others, the Ramban, in his introductory comment to Parashat Terumah, where the details concerning the Mishkan and its vessels are first presented. Based upon the fact that every Sefer Torah contains within it that which was kept in the original Aron, the Rambam (Hilchot Sefer Torah 10:10) asserts that it is proper to designate a special place for a Sefer Torah and to honor and glorify it excessively, displaying only the utmost respect in its presence. The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 282:1) rules accordingly; the Vilna Gaon there (Biur HaGra No. 1) notes that this requirement indeed relates to the original Aron. The so-called Aron HaKodesh found in our contemporary Shuls, then, is, to at least in some fashion, an extension of that original Aron, a notion which relates to the general idea expressed by the Gemara in Megillah (28a), based upon a pasuk in Yechezkel (11:16), that our Shuls today are miniature versions of the Beit HaMikdash.

In describing the physical construction of a Shul, the Rambam (Hilchot Tefillah 11:2) writes that the Aron in which the Sefer Torah rests should be placed along the wall towards which the people daven so that they will be facing the Aron when davening. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 150:5) likewise asserts that the Aron should be positioned in the Shul such that the people will daven in its direction. As to which way one should face when davening, the Mishnah in Berachot (28b; see Rashi there s.v. yachzir) teaches that one should direct oneself, physically, if possible, but at least mentally, towards Yerushalayim and specifically towards the Kodesh HaKodashim, the holiest place in the Beit HaMikdash. The Gemara there (30a; see Tosafot there s.v. hayah omed) elaborates on this and concludes that people to the east of this most holy spot thus face towards the west, those to its west face towards the east, those to its south face towards the north, and those to its north face towards its south, such that all Jews throughout the world direct themselves to the same place when davening. The authors of Tosafot there (s.v. letalpiyot) point out that in as much as their communities, located in western Europe, are to the west of Eretz Yisrael, they daven towards the east.

Although this issue of which direction to face when davening actually seems to be disputed in the Gemara in Bava Batra (25a; see Tosafot there s.v. lechol and Binyan Shlomo No. 9), the Rambam (Hilchot Tefillah 5:1, 3) writes that wherever one is one should make the effort to face towards the site of the Beit HaMikdash when davening; the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 94:1) agrees, adding that one’s mental intent should always be on the Kodesh HaKodashim, and then noting (ibid. No. 2) that if one cannot completely position himself in the proper direction, he should at least turn his face that way. The Kaf HaChaim (ibid. 94:1) explains that all prayers ascend to heaven via this special place and one should therefore keep that in mind when davening; the Mishnah Berurah (98:1) points out that one should have all these lofty thoughts in mind prior to beginning the actual recitation of the prayer, as during the davening one must concentrate exclusively on the meaning of the prayer. It should be noted, though, that according to common practice, the direction towards Eretz Yisrael is approximated, and not calculated specifically (see the remarks of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach as cited in Halichot Shlomo, Tefillah, 19:4).

In light of the above, it is clear that in a Shul in which people face towards the east, the Aron should be placed along the eastern wall of the Shul as the Mishnah Berurah (94:9) states explicitly; preferably, it should be in the middle of that wall (see Shu”t Beit Yitzchak, Orach Chaim No. 22) . Rav Yosef Shaul Nathanson (Shu”t Shoel U’Meishiv Volume 3, 1:182) writes forcefully that it is improper for many reasons to change the prevalent custom and place the Aron anywhere else other than on the eastern wall, including the fact that it lends support to those who ignore long-standing tradition in favor of modernization. Rav Shlomo Kluger (Shu”t HaElef Lecha Shlomo, No. 48) emphasizes that one may not move the Aron to another wall even if that will enable the Shul to set up more seats; the Netziv (Shu”t Meishiv Davar I:10) appears to concur, stressing that the idea of praying while facing Yershalayim is an absolute requirement. On some occasions, however, it is simply impossible for various reasons to build the Shul in such a way that the Aron can be placed along the eastern wall and when that is the case, there is room to be lenient, as discussed by the Sdei Chemed (Asifat Dinim, Ma’arechet Beit HaKnesset No. 42) and others.

The question is what direction one should turn when davening in a Shul where the Aron is not in fact along the wall towards which the people face. Should one face towards the Aron, regardless of which wall it is on, even though he will not then be davening towards Eretz Yisrael, or should one daven towards Eretz Yisrael and simply not face the Aron? The Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 94:3) rules that one should always face east, that is, towards Eretz Yisrael, even if that is not the direction of the Aron. The Netziv, in the aforementioned teshuvah, after suggesting that this matter is actually disputed by the Rishonim and then by the codifiers of the Shulchan Aruch, points out that the common practice is not in accordance with this ruling of the Magen Avraham, as people are accustomed to always facing the Aron when davening in Shul., regardless of where it is positioned. The Mishnah Berurah, in his Biur Halachah to Orach Chaim 150:5 (s.v. shehu baruach), raises the question and leaves it unanswered, but he writes elsewhere in the Mishnah Berurah (94:9) that in a Shul where it was impossible to place the Aron along the proper wall and it was therefore put elsewhere, one should face towards Eretz Yisrael and not towards the Aron.

The Aruch HaShulchan (Orach Chaim 94:13), though, seems to disagree, at least to an extent, as he says that it is not proper for one to daven facing east (towards Eretz Yisrael) if the rest of the people davening in the Shul are facing towards the Aron in another direction because people will then be bowing in different directions, creating the misimpression that there are actually different deities. He thus concludes that the person should therefore daven in the same direction as everybody else, facing the Aron, and just turn himself slightly towards the east. The Kaf HaChaim (ibid. No. 9) presents a dispute as to whether there is in fact any concern if people in the same Shul are davening in different directions; he concludes that the best thing is to avoid the problem altogether by making sure to place the Aron along the wall which people face when davening, unless there is simply no way to do so.