Parshas Pekudei
1. On the verse "ויהי בחודש הראשון בשנה השנית באחד לחדש הוקם המשכן" ("It came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first of the month, that the Mishkan was erected")1, the Midrash2 states, and Rashi3 cites it, that the verse says "the Mishkan was erected" — which implies that the Mishkan was erected by itself — because all of Israel were unable to erect it (on account of the heaviness of the beams4), and Moshe, too, was unable to set it up. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Busy yourself with your hand and appear to be setting it up, and it will stand up by itself, and I will write concerning you that you erected it, as it says, 'It came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first of the month, that the Mishkan was erected.' And who set it up? Moshe, as it says5, 'ויקם משה את המשכן' ('Moshe erected the Mishkan')."
This requires clarification: further on, the Midrash states6 (and so too in Rashi7) that throughout all the seven days of the Milu'im (the days of installation, which began on the 23rd of Adar8), Moshe would set up the Mishkan and dismantle it. But no person was able to erect it (because of the heaviness of the beams) — so how was Moshe able to set it up and dismantle it every day9?
2. Now, the reason Moshe set up the Mishkan during the seven days of the Milu'im, even though the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded him, "ביום החדש הראשון באחד לחדש תקים את משכן אהל מועד" ("On the day of the first month, on the first of the month, you shall erect the Mishkan of the Tent of Meeting")10, has been explained at length elsewhere11, according to the views of Rashi and the Ramban on this matter:
The Ramban writes12: "For He (the Holy One, blessed be He) told him at the outset (before the seven days of the Milu'im), 'והקמות את המשכן כמשפטו אשר הראת בהר' ('You shall erect the Mishkan according to its manner which you were shown on the mountain')13." And when the Holy One, blessed be He, told him, "On the day of the first month, on the first of the month, you shall erect…," this meant that "on the first day its erection would be to remain standing; thus he knew that during the days of the Milu'im he would need to erect it and take it down, etc."
Rashi, however, in his commentary on the Torah, does not explain that the meaning is "you shall erect it to remain standing," and he does not take the verse out of its plain meaning. This implies that he holds that the meaning of "On the day of the first month… you shall erect the Mishkan…" is (not that on this day its erection would be "to remain standing," but rather) in its plain sense: that its erection altogether would take place on this day.
Accordingly, the command "On the day of the first month… you shall erect the Mishkan…" is not (an "additional command" on top of the command "You shall erect the Mishkan…," as the Ramban explains) but rather a clarification and explanation of the command "You shall erect" — that the fulfillment of this command would be "on the day of the first month, on the first of the month."
As for Moshe setting up the Mishkan before Rosh Chodesh Nissan, he was not explicitly commanded about this. Rather, he learned it from the fact that he was commanded to train Aharon and his sons in their service, and training for the service must take place in the place where the service will be performed permanently; and (mainly) he learned it from the explicit command that all the seven days of the Milu'im would be "פתח אהל מועד" ("at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting")14 — and from this he knew that he needed to erect the Mishkan.
Accordingly: granted, according to the Ramban — that there was a specific command to set up the Mishkan during the seven days of the Milu'im — one can say (at least with some difficulty) that for this, too, there was an empowerment from the Holy One, blessed be He, and this, too, is included in its being "erected by itself." But according to Rashi, that there was no command to erect it during the seven days of the Milu'im — from where did he have the strength (despite the heaviness of the beams) to set it up throughout all the seven days of the Milu'im?
3. The explanation of this:
The special quality of Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the eighth day of the Milu'im, is that then "וכבוד ה' מלא את המשכן" ("the glory of G‑d filled the Mishkan")15, meaning that the Shechinah rested in it; whereas during the seven days of the Milu'im the Shechinah did not rest in it16. According to Rashi's view, it is simply understood why the Shechinah did not rest there during the seven days of the Milu'im, even though it says17, "ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם" ("They shall make Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell within them") (meaning that the resting of the Shechinah — "and I will dwell within them" — depends solely on making and erecting the Mishkan — on "they shall make Me a Sanctuary"): for the Mishkan that he set up during the seven days of the Milu'im was a detail in the training of Aharon and his sons, and not the matter of erecting the Mishkan.
And also according to the Ramban — that its erection during the seven days of the Milu'im, too, was because He had told him at the outset, "You shall erect the Mishkan according to its manner which you were shown on the mountain" — he explains that "perhaps it was so in order to accustom the Levites to its work (i.e., this was a detail in accustoming (training) the Levites), or it was in order to crown the day (of Rosh Chodesh Nissan) with this crown (of its erection to remain standing — permanently)." That is, the difference between the Mishkan of the seven days of the Milu'im and the Mishkan set up on the eighth day is similar to the difference between the Mishkan — which was a temporary dwelling — and the Beis HaMikdash — which was the permanent dwelling of the Holy One, blessed be He18. Therefore the Shechinah did not rest there until the eighth day19.
4. Now, the uniqueness of the eighth day, its superiority over the seven days of the Milu'im, is expressed in several matters on this day, as our Sages say, and in the words of Rashi20, that "the Mishkan was erected on that very day, and it took ten crowns." And it is obvious that there must be a difference in the manner of the erection of the Mishkan itself.
By way of introduction: a) It is known that many buildings were erected with great stones, etc., beginning with the building of "עיר ומגדל וראשו בשמים" ("a city and a tower with its top in the heavens")21, and there is no wonder in this at all, for it was done by many people together. In our case, however, they said that "no person could erect it because of the heaviness of the beams, for a person does not have the strength to stand them upright, and (only) Moshe set it up… (and even he only) appeared to be erecting it." The precise wording here is "no person" — on his own22; for so it had to be on the eighth day (unlike the seven days of the Milu'im — when many erected it together22*). b) Even though we do not find a command that its (first23) erection had to be by a single person — many commands are known to us only from the account of what was actually done24.
And in these very parshiyos there are many details in the making of the Mishkan that are not found in the command about them. Moreover, among them are also details that seemingly contradict the command concerning them, as Rashi puts it25: "I found a difficulty with it: here it says…, and in the section of the command it says…."
One may further say that this is the meaning of the command26: "והקמות" ("You [singular] shall erect") the Mishkan according to its manner which you (Moshe alone) were shown on the mountain — according to Rashi, who (as mentioned above) holds that it speaks of its erection on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. And one may say that this is also the precision in Rashi's commentary on the verse: "that I (singular) will in the future teach you and show you (where the plain meaning is that the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, would Himself erect it, and) the order of its erection" — for "order" means not only what comes first and what comes after, but (also) the details of the matter in general, as in "סדר הגדה" ("the order of the Haggadah") and the like. This is simple.
5. From the "wine of Torah" (the inner dimension) in Rashi's commentary: It is known, regarding arousal from below (is'arusa dil'tata) and arousal from above (is'arusa dil'eila) (and within arousal from above there are two levels: that which comes through arousal from below, and that which is higher than arousal from below — and although they are opposite to each other, there is a common side between them27; this is not the place to elaborate), that there is an advantage in each of them. The advantage of arousal from above is that the light drawn down is loftier; and the advantage of arousal from below is that it brings refinement of the one below. Although the light drawn down through it bears no comparison to the light drawn down from Above on its own, nevertheless, because of the novelty in the service of the one below, there is in it a special "endearment"28 (to the point that "אדם רוצה בקב שלו מתשעה קבין של חבירו" ("a person prefers one kav of his own to nine kavin of his fellow's")29).
This is the difference between the erection of the Mishkan during the seven days of the Milu'im and its erection on Rosh Chodesh Nissan (the eighth day of the Milu'im)30: During the seven days they erected the Mishkan (no fewer than seven times), and since there was no explicit command about this, but rather Moshe learned it by implication, there is a special endearment in this erection — the service of the one below31. However, through this it did not become a "Mishkan" (which is so called on account of "ושכנתי" — "and I will dwell"), and the Shechinah did not yet rest in it. On the eighth day32, Rosh Chodesh Nissan, when it was erected by virtue of an explicit command and a revelation from Above — specifically then did it become a Mishkan, and the Shechinah rested in it.
And also according to the Ramban — during the seven days there was the matter of accustoming the Levites (the one below), or [OCR unclear] — at any rate, there was not yet the permanence of "the Above — below."
6. Accordingly, it will be understood why on Rosh Chodesh Nissan the Mishkan was erected by itself and no person could erect it, whereas during the seven days of the Milu'im Moshe (together with other Jews?) set up the Mishkan every day: for throughout all the seven days the erection was only in the category of preparation — the service of the one below (so that afterward there would be "and I will dwell within them"), and this preparation can and must be through the power of the one below. But on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, when there had to be "They shall make Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell within them" — the making of a Mishkan, the actual resting of the Shechinah — this cannot be accomplished by and through the power of the one below; rather, it comes and is drawn down from Above, through arousal from above.
[Now, in order that on Rosh Chodesh Nissan the Mishkan would be erected and the Shechinah would rest in an inner manner (for which there must be refinement of the recipient) within each and every Jew (as our Sages say33), there had to be the heartfelt donation of each and every Jew to the Mishkan, and afterward the work of the wise-hearted in the labor of the Mishkan; and after the completion of the work of the Mishkan — the bringing of "the Mishkan to Moshe"34. Moshe35, being the intermediary — an intermediary that connects the Holy One, blessed be He, and Israel, as it is written36, "אנכי עומד בין ה' וביניכם" ("I stand between G‑d and you…") — was able to busy himself with his hands and set it up, and through this, what had been made from their donations, etc., became a Mishkan — "and I will dwell within them"37.
However, the actual erection that brought about "and I will dwell within them" in a revealed manner was "by itself" — an arousal from above that transcends arousal from below.]38
7. According to the above, one may say that the Midrash and Rashi follow their own approach in this, for they hold39 that "the future Sanctuary for which we wait is built and perfected, and will be revealed and come from heaven, as it says40, 'מקדש ה' כוננו ידיך' ('The Sanctuary, O L‑rd, which Your hands have established')." According to this approach, despite the superiority and novelty in the service of the one below, it is nevertheless impossible for the making of a Mishkan and the resting of the Shechinah to be accomplished by the one below; it can come only through an arousal from above that is incomparably higher than what is drawn down through the service of the one below [and therefore, after all the advantage in the service of the one below during the seven days of the Milu'im — when they erected the Mishkan many times, etc. — its "erection" in a manner that the Shechinah would rest in it came about specifically through its being "erected by itself" — from Above]. Therefore they hold that the future Sanctuary, too, will not be built by human hands, but will be revealed and come from heaven41.
Accordingly, one may say that the Rambam, who holds that Moshiach will build the Beis HaMikdash42, also follows his own approach regarding the superiority of the service of the one below over the revelation from Above — as it relates to the Mishkan and Mikdash.
This is based on what has been explained43: although in the Mishkan and Mikdash there were two general matters — a) the rest of the indwelling of the Shechinah that was in them, as it is written, "They shall make Me a Sanctuary (in order that) I will dwell within them"; b) the service performed in them, which is principally the service of the offerings and the pilgrimage on the three festivals — according to the Rambam44, the main point of the Holy One's command to build the Beis HaMikdash is the second matter, the service of the one below: "that we should have a house prepared in which to offer sacrifices, and to which we make pilgrimage three times a year."
The reason for this (according to the Rambam): although the advantage of the indwelling of the Shechinah that comes from Above is incomparable to the service performed by created beings, nevertheless the latter has the quality that although it is only "a kav," it is "his own kav"45 — the service of created beings. And when the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Israel to make a Mishkan and Mikdash, the intent was for the sake of the human service performed in it (as opposed to the indwelling of the Shechinah, which comes from Above). Therefore in the Time to Come, too, Moshiach will build the Mikdash.
8. It is understood, however, that according to the Midrash and Rashi as well there is an advantage and superiority in the service of refining the one below. For this reason, as mentioned, there had to be the service of each and every Jew in donating to the Mishkan, and the service of all the wise-hearted in the labor of the Mishkan. But all this belongs to the preparation; the actual erection and making of the Mishkan was not within the capability of Israel's service, and therefore they brought "the Mishkan to Moshe." And there was still the matter of its erection during the seven days of the Milu'im, which was a preparation on the part of the one below, so that the indwelling of the Shechinah could take place on Rosh Chodesh Nissan through an arousal from above, as mentioned.
The lesson from all this:
a) First, each and every person must be occupied with, and serve in, Torah and mitzvos with his own strength. Nevertheless, he must know that this is only the preparation, and he must bring all his work and service to Moshe (who is within each and every one, and through this — to "the extension of Moshe in his generation"46), the Sages of the generation, "the eyes of the congregation," for the "Moshe" of the generation has the power to erect the Mishkan in the soul of each and every person by way of drawing down from Above.
b) On the other hand: when a "shlichus" is offered — to travel and engage in spreading Judaism, and the wellsprings [of Chassidus] in particular, outward (through which one also erects the Mishkan47 within each of those whom one influences) — a person may think that in his present state this directive does not apply to him, arguing: he is part of "a wise and understanding people"48, and therefore his conduct must be such that he contemplates every matter and thing until it is grasped and settled within him in an inner way49; and in his present state, this matter of a shlichus to spread the wellsprings outward is for him in the category of a makif (something that surrounds him from without) — he does not understand and grasp it with his intellect in an inner way. Therefore (in his opinion), he should first toil in Torah study in general, and in the study of (the wellsprings,) the teachings of Chassidus, in particular; and over time, when it becomes grasped and settled within him that he must engage in spreading the wellsprings, then he will take the shlichus upon himself and fulfill it — and in an inner way.
To this comes the lesson from the building of the Mishkan: the service of the one below — so that "it was erected," that it reach its completion, "that the Shechinah should rest upon the work of your hands"50 — comes about through bringing it to Moshe (in his soul — and through this, to the Moshe) of his generation. Without this — even though he works to erect the Mishkan in his soul, it is like the Mishkan and its erection during the seven days of the Milu'im, as explained above at length. Specifically through "the bringing" — the handing over and giving to "the eyes of the congregation," the "Moshe" of each generation, and in our case, fulfilling the shlichus of spreading the wellsprings outward — his own Mishkan is also built: the elevation and completion of his service with his own strength in Torah, mitzvos, and prayer, so that the Shechinah will rest upon the work of his hands51.
And through the service of "יפוצו מעינותיך חוצה" ("Let your wellsprings spread outward"), "קאתי מר" ("the Master will come")51 — this is our righteous Moshiach — very soon indeed.
(From the sichos of Shabbos Parshas Shemini 5725, and Yud Shevat 5732)
Notes
1) Our parsha, 40:17.
2) Tanchuma, our parsha, 11.
3) 39:33 (with changes from the wording of the Midrash).
4) Rashi there (unlike the Tanchuma). This is explained at length in the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Pekudei 5730.
5) Ibid. 40:18.
6) So it is in Tanchuma, Tisa 35; Bamidbar Rabbah 12:15 (and there is a dispute there whether he set it up and dismantled it once, twice, or three times each day); Yerushalmi Yoma 1:1; Toras Kohanim, Mechilta d'Milu'im 1 (Tzav 36); Seder Olam ch. 7; Sifri Naso, piska 44; Bamidbar Rabbah ibid. 9; 13:2.
7) Shemini 9:23; Naso 7:1.
8) As explained in Seder Olam, Sifri, Bamidbar Rabbah and Toras Kohanim cited in note 6. See also Shabbos 87b; Rashi at the beginning of Parshas Shemini. It is a strained interpretation to say that the Tanchuma there holds that the days of the Milu'im began on Rosh Chodesh Nissan (like the view cited in Ibn Ezra here (40:2) and in Rashi at the beginning of Shemini), and that accordingly we would explain that "ויהי ביום השמיני" ("It came to pass on the eighth day") means the eighth of the month (and this would also be precise, since the teaching that Moshe would set it up and dismantle it during the seven days of the Milu'im (two or three times each day) is learned from "you shall erect," "was erected," "erected," which are said regarding its erection on Rosh Chodesh Nissan). For the Tanchuma there, at its conclusion, says: "And that day took ten crowns, as stated in Seder Olam," and in Seder Olam it is explicit that the days of the Milu'im began on the 23rd of Adar, as mentioned, and the eighth day of the Milu'im was the first of the month (and not the eighth of the month).
9) Note the Korban HaEdah on the Yerushalmi there, s.v. "He set it up, anointed it and dismantled it."
10) Our parsha, 40:2.
11) See Likkutei Sichos vol. 12, the first sicha on Parshas Shemini.
12) Our parsha, ibid.; see also his commentary on Tzav 8:2.
13) Terumah 26:30.
14) Tetzaveh 29:4, 32; Tzav 8:32, 35. See Ramban on our parsha, ibid.
15) Our parsha, 40:34.
16) As our Sages say on the verse "It came to pass in the first month… on the first of the month the Mishkan was erected" — "first for the dwelling of the Shechinah" (Shabbos [OCR reads 89; likely 87b], and elsewhere). See Rashi, Shabbos there; Rashi, Shemini 9:23; the Ramban cited in note 12.
17) Terumah 25:8.
18) As it is written (Re'eh 12:9), "כי לא באתם עד עתה אל המנוחה ואל הנחלה" ("For you have not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance") (see Rashi there); "ואהיה מתהלך באהל ובמשכן" ("I have moved about in a tent and in a Mishkan") (II Shmuel 7:6). See Zohar II 241a; Rambam, Laws of the Beis HaBechirah. And in Moed Katan (9a): "The Mishkan, whose sanctity is not an everlasting sanctity… the Mikdash, whose sanctity is an everlasting sanctity." See also above, p. 177.
19) In Parshas Shemini (Rashi there, 9:23) a new point is introduced: that there must also be Aharon's offerings and his service. Seemingly, this is difficult in light of the verse "Make Me a Sanctuary (and immediately) I will dwell (within)." One may say that the offerings and his service were needed in order to remove the incidental obstacle of the sin of the Golden Calf. Accordingly, several precise points in Rashi there are also understood: "that He was angry…," "that it was atoned…," "chose him."
20) Beginning of Parshas Shemini.
21) Noach 11:4.
22) See also above, p. 165 ff.
22*) Regarding Moshe's participation [in the erection] during the days of the Milu'im: according to Rashi's commentary, two interpretations can be offered, and each one resolves a difficulty in the other. In Rashi on Pekudei it is implied that Moshe Rabbeinu took no part in the Mishkan (see also Likkutei Sichos vol. 6, the second sicha on Parshas Vayakhel, note 10) until "the Mishkan was erected"; accordingly, what follows there flows smoothly — that (only) on the eighth day was he told "ושמת שם" ("You shall place there…") — all the details of erecting the Mishkan. In Rashi on Shemini (9:23) it is explicit that Moshe erected it all seven days; accordingly, what precedes there flows smoothly — that during all the seven days everything was done by Moshe (see below, note 38 ("the wine of Torah"), and the sources cited in the gloss there). This can be elaborated at length. As for what is written in the above-mentioned Rashi regarding the blessing "that the Shechinah should rest…" — in Pekudei, that this was before the first of Nissan, and in Shemini, that this was on the eighth day — one may say (at least with difficulty) that it is like the warning that is given before the act and again at the time of the act (Rashi, Yisro 19:24; Behaaloscha 9:7).
23) Unlike the training in erecting the Mishkan, or its erection afterward, [OCR unclear], which was by the Levites.
24) See at length Likkutei Sichos vol. 3, p. 72, and the notes there. The novelty here is that a contradiction and difficulty is found, etc.
25) 39:31.
26) Terumah 26:30.
27) See Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim, the discourse beginning "להבין ענין שאתעדל"ע" (22b ff., and the sources cited there); Derushim l'Shemini Atzeres 83b; Shir HaShirim 12a. This is explained at length in the discourse beginning "Adon Olam" 5703, ch. 6.
28) Note Likkutei Torah, end of Parshas Bamidbar, and elsewhere.
29) Bava Metzia 38a. And in Rashi there: "It is dear to him because he toiled over them."
30) See also Likkutei Sichos on Shemini, ibid.
31) And in the plain sense, that at that time it was only a matter of training. See Likkutei Sichos ibid.
32) Note Likkutei Torah, Tazria (21a), that the level of circumcision, which was given on the eighth [day], is a matter of arousal from above, which arousal from below cannot reach. And in Kli Yakar (beginning of Shemini): circumcision being given on the eighth day is one matter with the erection of the Mishkan on the eighth day. This is explained at length in the discourse beginning "Vayehi BaYom HaShemini" 5704 ([OCR unclear]) and 5705. See also Likkutei Sichos vol. 7, p. 237.
33) On the verse "ושכנתי בתוכם" ("and I will dwell within them") (Terumah 25:8) — within each and every Jew (Reishis Chochmah, Shaar HaAhavah, near the beginning, and elsewhere).
34) Our parsha, 39:33.
35) See Tanchuma there: "For if it does not stand through you, it will never stand; and I will record its erection only through you." See Zohar II 237b; 241b.
36) Va'eschanan 5:5. And so it is with the extension of Moshe that is in every generation (see Torah Or, p. 158; the discourse beginning "Basi LeGani" 5702 [as printed in the OCR], section 5).
37) This requires further study to reconcile with the continuation of the words of the Tanchuma there: "And because Moshe was distressed, the Holy One, blessed be He, concealed it from them and they were unable to set it up…," unlike Rashi (39:33). See the sicha cited in note 4.
38) Accordingly one can explain — according to the "wine of Torah" — Rashi's wording (our parsha, ibid.): "And Moshe set it up (and he continues:) Moshe said before the Holy One, blessed be He: How is it possible for it to be erected by a person? He said to him: Busy yourself with your hand; you will appear to be erecting it, and it will stand upright and rise by itself." Seemingly, "And Moshe set it up" is superfluous, and it also contradicts the continuation that it rose by itself! Rather, by this he alludes that at first "Moshe set it up" — i.e., during the seven days of the Milu'im the level of the Mishkan was then such that "no person could erect it… for a person does not have the strength to stand it upright," and only "Moshe set it up"*. Afterward he explains the level of the Mishkan on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the eighth day of the Milu'im, when "it is impossible for it to be erected by a person" — not even by Moshe — "and it was erected by itself" from Above, except that Moshe's hands were busy with it. See at length the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Pekudei 5730.
*) See Likkutei Sichos vol. 6, p. 229, note 26.
39) Rashi, Sukkah 41a, end; Rosh Hashanah 30a, end. And so too in Tosafos, Sukkah ibid.; Shevuos 15b, beginning, s.v. "Ein," who concludes, "And so it is explained in Midrash Tanchuma" — and this is based on Tanchuma, Pekudei here**. Zohar I 28a; II 59a, end; 108a, end; III 221a. Yalkut Tehillim 848, at its end. See also Tanchuma (Buber), Bereishis 17 (at the end).
**) And in Tanchuma, Noach 11 (at the end), and elsewhere — it speaks of Jerusalem.
40) Beshalach 15:17. See Rashi there.
41) Note that regarding the Beis HaMikdash built by Shlomo, too, the expression "was built by itself" is used (Shemos Rabbah 52:4; Bamidbar Rabbah 14:3, and sources cited there; see also Tanchuma (Buber) here, 8).
42) Laws of Kings, beginning of ch. 11, and at its end (as he also writes in his introduction to the Commentary on the Mishnah, regarding "the benefit" of knowing the laws in Tractate Middos; this is cited and explained in Tosafos Yom Tov in the preface to Tractate Middos). This is based on Yerushalmi Megillah 1:11; Vayikra Rabbah 9:6. See also Yerushalmi Pesachim 9:1 (and so too in Tosefta Pesachim 8:2). Seemingly, this is compelled from the fact that they wanted to build the Beis HaMikdash in the days of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya (Bereishis Rabbah, end of ch. 64; see Minchas Chinuch, mitzvah 95). See the reconciliation of the above-mentioned statements of our Sages (whether Moshiach builds the Mikdash or it will be revealed and come from heaven) above, p. 98; Likkutei Sichos vol. 13, p. 84, note 36.
43) See at length above, p. 120 ff., and the sources cited there.
44) Beginning of the Laws of the Beis HaBechirah; Sefer HaMitzvos, positive commandment 20, and Shoresh 12.
45) This is also the reason the Levites themselves were able to erect it at every journey, although the first time, on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, they were unable to erect it. For after it was erected the first time "by itself" (and through the busying of Moshe's hands) and the Shechinah rested in it, the power was given that all Israel would be able to erect it at every journey. See the commentators on Rashi (Re'em and Sifsei Chachamim) on Rashi 39:33.
46) Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 69 (112a; 114a).
47) For "mitzvah" is related to the term "tzavsa," joining and connection (Likkutei Torah, Bechukosai 45c; the discourse beginning "Rebbi Omer" 5700, end of ch. 1 ff.; and in many places. See Tanya ch. 34: "I will make Him a Mishkan…").
48) Va'eschanan 4:6.
49) See Likkutei Dibburim vol. 1, 141b ff., and elsewhere.
50) Rashi 39:43.
51) As in the answer of King Moshiach to the Baal Shem Tov (the letter of the Baal Shem Tov printed at the end of the sefer Ben Poras Yosef, at the beginning of the sefer Kesser Shem Tov, and elsewhere).
Key Lesson
The Mishkan the Jews erected with their own strength during the seven days of installation was precious, but only when it was brought to Moshe and "erected by itself" from Above did the Shechinah rest in it. So too, a person's own service in Torah and mitzvos must be brought to the "Moshe" of the generation; by taking on the shlichus of spreading the wellsprings outward, a person's own inner Mishkan is completed, and this hastens the coming of Moshiach.