Comentario sobre Números 3:25

המשכן THE DWELLING — i.e. the lower curtains (those which were spread immediately over the boards of the Tabernacle).

The lower drapes. Why were they called the Mishkon — because they were seen from inside when one stood in the Mishkon. Furthermore, the Torah writes “You shall make the Mishkon — ten drapes…” (Shemos 26:1) which refers to the lowest of the four covers, not to the Mishkon as a whole, as in “You shall erect the Mishkon” (Shemos 26:30) (Re’m).

המשכן, this refers to the carpeting of twisted linen which formed part of the roof of the Tabernacle.

והאהל AND THE TENT (the word has not its usual meaning of “tent”; cf. Rashi on Exodus 26:7—12) — i.e. the curtains of goats’ hair that were made as a roofing (to cover the lower curtains).

The goats’ hair drapes. Why was this called the אהל (tent) — because it made an אהל (roof) over the lower drapes.

והאהל, “and the tent;” these are the carpets made of goats’ hair.

מכסהו THE COVERING THEREOF — the covering made of rams’ skins and tachash skins (cf. Rashi on Exodus 35:11).

Ram skins. You might ask: Why is it written “its cover” which implies that the ram and tachash skins were all one cover, while elsewhere it implies that each one was a separate cover on its own. The answer is that each one was certainly a separate material in of itself, however they were joined together in the middle and therefore they were both called “the cover”. Furthermore, you might ask: Shouldn’t the Torah have called them “the tent” since they too formed a roof over the goats’ hair drapes? The answer is that the goats’ hair drapes can understandably be called “the tent,” because they covered the top and the sides of the Mishkon they protected it from every direction. However the red ram and tachash skins only covered the top of the Mishkon, therefore they were called “the cover”.

מכסהו, “its covering;” this is a reference to the hides of red dyed rams and the hides of the animal known as tachash.

ומסך פתח AND THE SCREEN FOR THE ENTRANCE — i.e. the Veil (cf. Rashi on Exodus 35:12).

The drape. This is a [vertical] partition that divides, not something that was spread on top as the term מסך implies.