Constructing the Mishkan in the Wilderness

The Way that the Building of the Mishkan Matched the Conditions in the Wilderness and the Manner of the Mishkan's Construction

 

 

I.          INTRODUCTION[1]

 

            In this lecture, we will discuss how the building of the Mishkan matched the conditions of Israel's journey through the wilderness. In previous lectures, we considered the spiritual meaning of each element of the Mishkan, but the Mishkan was also built in a way that was suited for the conditions in the wilderness. In addition, owing to the nature of travel in the wilderness, the Mishkan was built in such a way that it could be easily disassembled and then reassembled - its various parts fit in with each other, and they were easy to take apart, to carry, and to put back together.

 

            What is most fascinating is that the design of the structure of the Mishkan, with all its details and all its parts, was a Divine design. As we saw in earlier lectures, this applies not only to the general plan, but also to the plan of the Mishkan and the plan of all its vessels, including the finest details regarding the construction materials, and all the various parts that connect the boards to the curtains, and all the details of the various vessels.

 

            On the other hand, it is clear that the materials of the Mishkan, its shape, and the connections between its various parts were made in such a way that was perfectly suited for wilderness conditions, for a wilderness climate, and for the fact that on Israel's journey from the foot of Mount Sinai to Eretz Yisrael, they would have to take it apart and put it back together again in many different places.

 

            Not only is there no contradiction between these two dimensions, but on the contrary, there is an amazing correspondence between them. God reveals Himself to us and commands us to build a sanctuary in order that He may dwell among the people of Israel. This sanctuary is a Divine structure the likes of which Moshe saw on Mount Sinai, and it accords in a most precise way with Israel's situation. The Shekhina revealed itself to Israel in full accord with their physical conditions at that time.

 

            The aspect of the Mishkan that most resembles the earthly situation in the wilderness is the tent, as it is described in Parashat Teruma, but this particular tent has supernal spiritual meaning because it embodies the site of the Shekhina's dwelling in this world.

 

Let us consider the structure of the Mishkan, and see the various ways in which the structure takes into account the situation in the wilderness.

 

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BOARDS AND THE SOCKETS

 

And you shall make the boards for the Mishkan of shittim-wood, standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. Two tenons shall there be in each board, joined one to another; thus shall you make for all the boards of the Mishkan… And you shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. (Shemot 26:15-19)

 

            The gemara in Yoma explains that the boards of the Mishkan were set up in the Mishkan in the direction in which they grew (Yoma 72). The Ibn Ezra explains: "That the side of the roots was at the bottom and the side of the top of the tree was at the top, the way it grows."

 

            Two tenons projected from the boards themselves, which were inserted into two sockets, one socket for each tenon, so that they were like stakes. The tenons were carved out of the boards themselves; each tenon was a quarter of a cubit wide, a half of a cubit thick, and a cubit high. The width of each socket was three quarters of a cubit, their length and height was a cubit, and they were hollow, so as to allow the tenons of the boards to be inserted into them. The sockets served as foundations for the Mishkan, every two sockets serving as the foundation for one board.

 

            The reason that each board had two tenons and not one was so that the board would not be able to rotate on its axis, but would rather be firmly fixed in its place.

 

            Each socket stood apart from the next one. One might have anticipated another arrangement, wherein all the sockets were connected to one another. If this were done, however, the settling of the ground under the sockets would destabilize the entire structure. Even in modern construction, the foundation of a temporary structure is comprised of separate parts that are not attached to the entire structure, so that if one part settles, it will not drag the entire structure after it.

 

            The Ralbag explains that the purpose of the sockets was both to ensure the stability of the structure and to protect the bottom of the boards so that they would not become worn away by touching the ground. In sum, the role of the sockets was to stabilize the boards so that they not collapse, and to make it possible to set up and take apart the boards in an easy manner.

 

            The Torah relates to several other elements that were used to connect the boards and turn them into a strong and solid unit that could stand up to the winds of the wilderness, in addition to the tenons and sockets.

 

THE RINGS

 

And they shall be double beneath, and in like manner they shall be complete unto the top thereof unto the first ring; thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. (ibid. 24)

 

            Every two boards were slotted near the top in order to allow the two boards to be connected by way of rings, and the rings thus connected all the boards together. The northern and southern walls were connected at the two corners to the western wall by way of two large rings, and in this way the three walls of the Mishkan were joined together.

 

THE BARS

 

And you shall make bars of acacia-wood: five for the boards of the one side of the Mishkan, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the Mishkan, and five bars for the boards of the side of the Mishkan, for the hinder part westward; and the middle bar in the midst of the boards, which shall pass through from end to end. And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for holders for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold. (ibid. vv. 26-29)

 

            The bars connected the boards in order to make them more stable; they joined all of the boards on each side into a single block. The three walls of the boards of the Mishkan (the northern, the western, and the southern walls) had three bars each – a lower bar, an upper bar, and a middle bar. The upper and lower bars were comprised of two parts each, each one reaching the middle of the floor, while the middle bar was made of a single part. The upper and lower bars were found on the outside, whereas the middle bar was found on the inside of the structure.[2]

 

            The gemara in Shabbat, which discusses the structure of the Mishkan, states:

 

"And the middle bar in the midst of the boards" – It was taught: It stood by way of a miracle. (Shabbat 98b)

 

The gemara asserts that the middle bar was inserted through the boards by way of a miracle. When the bar reached the end of the wall, it would bend by itself and turn to the hole through the second wall. It should be noted that Baraita De-Melekhet ha-Mishkan disagrees with this gemara and maintains that the length of the middle bar was not seventy cubits; rather, each wall had its own middle bar.

 

SININ (PEGS) [3]

 

Two tenons shall there be in each board, joined one to another; thus shall you make for all the boards of the Mishkan. (ibid. v. 17)

 

The Ramban writes:

 

But I found the following text in the Baraita Shel Melekhet Ha-Mishkan: "Two sinin (pegs) projected from the boards, two from each of them, fitting into corresponding holes, for it is said: ‘Set in order one to another;' these are the words of R. Nechemya. For R. Nechemya says: It should not have said 'set in order' (meshulavot). What does Scripture teach us by using that word? It is to teach us that he makes them like rungs (shelavim) of an Egyptian ladder." Now the meaning of the word "sinin" is similar to the device they make in chests to tighten and hold the boards together, a sort of wooden peg… Accordingly, it would appear that Scripture is telling us that he is to make a projection on the side of the board, like a sort of "male shaft," and on the opposite side of the board next to it he is to make a corresponding cavity into which the arrow-head is set. The same he is to do on the other board, thus dovetailing each board twice [once on each side]…. (ibid.)

 

The Ramban writes that a tenon protruded from the width of each board that fit into a mortise in the next board.

 

            By these three means – the rings, the bars, and the pegs - the boards on each side of the Mishkan were stabilized into a single unit. This was in addition to the stability of each board by itself by way of the tenons and sockets.

 

THE BAR

 

And you shall make the court of the Mishkan: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. And the pillars thereof shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their joints shall be of silver. (27:9-10)

 

The bar that rested on the hooks upon which the screen hung reached the end of the first board on the northern and southern sides, thus preventing the boards from turning inwards. The screen apparently hung behind the pillars.[4] In this way, the screen hung from a bar that rested on top of the pillars, from which the screen hung down.

 

THE CURTAINS OF THE MISHKAN

 

            The four curtains of the Mishkan – the curtains of the Mishkan, the curtains of the Ohel, the rams' skins dyed red, and the tachash skins – had four objectives.

 

• To conceal the Mishkan.
• So that the Mishkan should resemble a tent commonly found in the wilderness during that period.
• To make it more beautiful from the inside.
• To serve as a barrier against rain, wind, and sand.

 

As for the manner in which the curtains were constructed, several comments may be offered:

 

1)          It is understandable that a set of five curtains were connected one to the other, and another set of five curtains were connected one to the other, for it would have been impractical to sew all of the curtains together; it would have been very difficult to carry such a heavy load from place to place and to position it over the boards. Dividing it into two halves made the task much easier.

2)          Connecting the two couplings by way of the loops and the clasps - The couplings were easily connected one to the other by way of a temporary connection. Every time that the Mishkan was set up, the couplings could be connected by way of the loops and the clasps, and they could easily be taken apart when the Mishkan was disassembled by removing the clasps from the loops.

3)          Connecting the curtains of the Mishkan to the structure of the Mishkan by way of stakes - It is not clear from Scripture whether the stakes were connected to the ground or to the boards. We incline to the understanding that the stakes were connected to the ground.

 

THE RAMS’ SKINS DYED RED AND THE TACHASH SKINS

 

            As we saw in previous lectures, above the curtains of goat hair for the Ohel, there was a covering made of rams' skins dyed red and tachash skins. The Tannaim disagree whether we are dealing with one cover or two (Shabbat 28). The accepted opinion (apart from the view of Midrash Ha-Gadol) is that these covers only covered the roof of the Mishkan, but not its walls.

 

            Even today, Bedouins sometimes spread skins over their tents. The color red, striking to the eye even from a distance, also served other nations in ancient times as a sign of sanctified tents.

 

            The cover of tachash skins protected the curtains so that rainwater would not enter the Mishkan, and it also protected the Mishkan from the winds and sand of the wilderness. Similar to this cover, the vessels of the Mishkan were also covered with tachash skins when they would be carried in the wilderness from station to station, as is explained in detail in the Torah (Bamidbar 4).

 

THE HANGINGS OF THE COURTYARD

 

All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. (Shemot 38:16)

 

            The courtyard was surrounded with hangings of fine twined linen, in the form of netting, so that they would stand up to the desert winds. Were the hangings solid, the wind would have swept them up and moved them from their proper place.

 

            The hangings, two hundred and eighty cubits long, surrounded the courtyard of the Mishkan while hanging on fifty-six pillars. A hundred cubits on the north and south sides, and fifty cubits on the west side, and thirty cubits on the east side (fifteen cubits on each side of the twenty cubit screen for the gate of the courtyard). The hangings were fifteen cubits high, five cubits above the height of the Mishkan and the altar, so that the priests could not be seen while performing the service.

 

            The hangings hung on pillars, and they were tied with cords that connected them to brass pegs stuck into the ground from the sides.

 

            Cassuto suggests[5] that the hangings hung on wooden rods resting on the silver hooks at the tops of the pillars, and that they were connected to the pillars at the top, at the bottom, and in the middle.

 

            Joints were attached to the pillars – rings that circled the pillars at various heights. They may have been attached at the top, at the bottom, and in the middle, serving both as decorations and to tie the hangings to the pillars with thin straps or cords, so that they not move from their place because of the wind.

 

            Bars were attached to the upper edge of the hangings at intervals of five cubits. These bars were a cubit long and a half cubit wide. Rings were fixed to them in the middle, which were used to hang the hangings on the hooks of the pillars.

 

            Beams that passed through the silver tops of the pillars added stability to the pillars and hangings that surrounded the courtyard.

 

            Four brass pegs were inserted into the ground on the four sides of each pillar, to which were attached cords that were connected to the tops of the pillars like the cords of a tent.

 

BRASS PEGS

 

All the vessels of the Mishkan in all its service, and all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of brass. (Shemot 27:19)

 

Rashi explains:

 

Pegs – a kind of copper nail made for the curtains of the Tent and for the hangings of the enclosure, fastened to these by cords all the way round them on their lower edge in order that the wind should not lift them up. I do not know whether they were stuck in the ground or whether they were merely tied to the edges and hung down, their weight loading the edges of the curtains that they should not move about in the wind. (ibid.)

 

In other words, the hangings were connected to the ground by way of pegs so that they not fly about in the wind.

 

THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE MISHKAN AND THE TENTS OF NOMADS IN THE WILDERNESS

 

            The shape of the Mishkan is very similar to the shape of the tents used by nomads in the wilderness. Thus writes Cassuto in his commentary:

 

The Bedouin tents are constructed of a number of curtains, which are woven of threads spun from black goats' hair. The spinning and the weaving, as well as the sewing together of the curtains, are entrusted to the women. The men fix wooden pillars into the ground, on which they stretch the curtains, and in order to enable the tent to withstand all kinds of winds, they make the cords taut, tying one end to the top of the tent and the other to pegs that are driven into the ground. The area covered by that tent is rectangular in shape. The ancient pictures and reliefs provide us with similar information.

The tent dedicated to the Lord was likewise made of curtains, and specifically of black goats' hair curtains, but these served only as an outer protection against rain and wind and dust and the sun's heat. Beneath these curtains, however, that is, within the tent, hung other curtains, graceful and decorative, the work of artists. Like the maiden in the Song of Songs, who was black as the tents of Kedar but lovely as the curtains of Solomon, even so was the sanctuary black without like the tents of the Bedouins, but made beautiful and graceful by its curtains within, as befits a royal dwelling place. The pillars that supported the curtains were not crude branches of trees like those found in the tents of commoners, but were likewise artistically fashioned of wooden boards, overlaid with gold, set close to one another, so as to form continuous walls, and fitted into heavy silver sockets. Its area was also rectangular in shape, but much wider and longer than the area of an ordinary tent, and it was surrounded by a court of fair dimensions.[6]

 

            The clear similarity between the structure of the Mishkan and the tents found during that period in the wilderness is not a technical issue. The Mishkan is a tangible symbol of the heavenly Mikdash. God's command to build it as it was seen on the mountain means that the earthly Mishkan is, as it were, a copy of the heavenly Mishkan. But in order that the people of Israel should be able to understand the meaning of the structure, it had to be built in the way that the people of that time would have imagined for themselves the seat of God.

 

            Indeed, Israel's neighbors imagined the seat of God as built in the form of a rectangular tent, upon which were spread out curtains, like the tents found in the wilderness, and the internal division of the tent and the vessels found therein parallel the common form of royal palaces in that period and their accoutrements – throne, footstool, candlestick, and table.

 

            Amos Chakham, in his Da'at Mikra commentary on Shemot, writes these words of summary regarding the Mishkan:

 

The basic principle is that the Torah speaks in the language of man, and Scripture likens created forms to the Creator, and heavenly kingdom to kingdom on earth. So too the Mishkan, which symbolizes God's resting among the people of Israel, is built in the form of a tent made for a human king, who accompanies his people as they wander in the wilderness. The people dwell in the wilderness in tents made of curtains, and the king's dwelling place is also made of curtains. Only that under the curtains there are walls made of boards, and the curtains are arranged in layers, one on top of the other. The king's dwelling has two chambers, an inner chamber and an outer one. In the inner chamber sits the king himself, hidden from the eyes of his subjects and servants, and nobody is permitted to enter but his head officer when the king explicitly calls for him. In the outer chamber, the king's ministers set a table before the king, illuminate the place with the light of candles, and burn incense for a savory fragrance. In front of the king's dwelling place there is a courtyard, where the king's ministers cook and bake for the royal house. The people, the king's subjects, gather there to give honor to their king and receive his instructions.

The mystery of the Mishkan and its vessels should be understood according to this model: the Holy of Holies – the inner chamber that is hidden behind the parokhet – is the chamber designated exclusively for the dwelling of the God of Israel; there is no seat there, but God rests, as it were, on the wings of the two keruvim that are spread out and touch each other.

In the outer chamber of the Mishkan there are three vessels: the table, upon which always rests the showbread; the candlestick, containing the perpetual lamp; and the incense altar, upon which the incense was always burned. This is like a human king, before whom there is always a set table, a lit lamp, and incense giving off a fragrant smell. When these services are performed before the God of Israel, a message is sent out reminding each person of all the good that the Creator does for him – giving him bread to eat, eyes with which to see, and a nose with which to smell.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

[1] In this lecture, we will follow the commentary of M.D. Cassuto to the book of Shemot (Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 5719), and the reconstruction of the Mishkan by Moshe Levine in his book, Melekhet Ha-Mishkan (Tel-Aviv, 1970), with the goal of understanding the practical reasons for building the Mishkan in the way that it was built, and understanding that there is a strong similarity between the shape of the structure and materials used for its construction, on the one hand, and the form of the tents and the materials used for their construction in the wilderness, on the other.

[2] The external bars were inserted through rings that were inserted into the boards; when the Mishkan was disassembled, the rings would be removed from the boards, so as not to damage the gold plating of the boards. In addition, attention should be paid to the fact that the rings mentioned here are not the same as the rings mentioned above. Here we refer to rings through which the bars were inserted, wheras above we were referring to the rings that connected the boards at the top.

[3] Baraita De-Melekhet Ha-Mishkan, chap. 1, also mentions "sinin," but there the word means "handles."

[4] According to Cassuto, it is possible that the bar not only rested on the hooks, but was rather connected to them by way of straps or the like, so that the wind would not be able to easily move the screen from its place.

[5] Ibid. p. 255

[6]  Ibid. pp. 241-242

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