Commentaire sur L’Exode 40:17

AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE FIRST MONTH… ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH. In the opinion of our Rabbis [who hold, as mentioned above,⁸⁴Above, Verse 2. that the eighth day of the installation was on the first of Nisan], Scripture stated that the Tabernacle was first put up on a permanent basis on the first day of the first month, as He had commanded.⁸⁴Above, Verse 2. It states, And Moses put up the Tabernacle,⁸⁵Verse 18. in order to tell us what he did when putting it up from the first day that he began to do so, which was on the twenty-third day of Adar. Scripture does not mention here the anointing of the Tabernacle and its vessels, nor the anointing of Aaron and his sons and the offerings of the installation, since Moses did not do these until he had finished putting up the Tabernacle [on each of the seven days of the installation],⁸⁶See my Hebrew commentary p. 538, where I have shown that this is perforce the meaning of Ramban. and was commanded thereon a second time, Take Aaron and his sons,⁸⁷Leviticus 8:2. as is explained in the section of Tzav.⁸⁷Leviticus 8:2. Now the Tabernacle and its vessels were only sanctified for the Divine Service through their anointing, just as it is said, and thou shalt anoint the Tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof.⁸⁸Above, Verse 9. Therefore the meaning of the verses, And he set a row of bread upon it,⁸⁹Further, Verse 23. And he lighted the lamps,⁹⁰Ibid., Verse 25. must be that he did so at the time that was appropriate for them, that is, after they were anointed [on each of the seven days of the installation], and the sense of the verses is that such was their ultimate purpose [i.e., he put the table in the Tent of Meeting so that he would later on be able to set a row of bread upon it; he put the candelabrum so that he would be able to light the lamps]. And that which Scripture states above, And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the bread that is upon it,⁹¹Above, Verse 4. also means that he is to set the bread upon it after the anointing of the table. The same meaning applies to the verse, And thou shalt set the golden altar for incense.⁹²Ibid., Verse 5. Similarly, and he offered upon it the burnt-offering and the meal-offering⁹³Further, Verse 29. means at its proper time, for the court around the Tabernacle had not yet been put up,⁹⁴For that is only mentioned further, in Verse 33. and no sacrifices can be brought without the hangings of the court, for that would be considered slaughtering outside [the Tabernacle].⁹⁵A matter strongly forbidden in Leviticus 17:1-9. But all these mean that they were done at their proper time.
And he took and put the Testimony into the ark.

V. 17. הוקם המשכן war die Wohnung aufgerichtet. Wie nach Kap. 29, 30 u. 37 sieben Tage die Einweihung der Priester zu vollziehen war, und jeden Tag dieser sieben Tage die Einweihungsakte und die Einweihungsopfer durch Mosche zu vollbringen waren: also lehrt ספרי zu Bamidbar 7, 1, dass an jedem dieser sieben Tage, somit siebenmal das משכן durch Mosche aufgerichtet, gesalbt und wieder auseinander genommen worden, ehe es am ersten Tage, dem ersten Nissan, zur bleibenden Weihe aufgerichtet wurde. Daher הוקם המשכן, die Errichtung am ersten Nissan war endlich die definitive, bleibend weihende. War dies auch für das Heiligtum ein vorbedeutender Wink, dass es siebenmal erbaut, und siebenmal, teils die Stätte zu wechseln, teils zerstört zu werden bestimmt sei, bis es endlich zur ewig bleibenden Stätte der Gottesherrlichkeit auf Erden geworden sein werde, zur Mittelpunkthöhe der Menschheit, zu der hinauf die Völker wallen und die Huldigung des Schwertes mit der Huldigung des von Zion ausgehenden Gottesgesetzes vertauschen werden? Wir wagen dies nur fragend zu äußern, und darauf hinzuweisen, dass בית שני ,בית ראשן ,גבעון ,נוב ,שילה ,גלגל ,במדבר sich historisch als sieben solche Bauvorgänge darstellen, denen allen wieder חורבן gefolgt, bis באחרית הימים, dem wir entgegenharren, der achte Bau endlich als der dastehen wird, von dem es verheißen ist: נכון יהיה הר בית ד׳ בראש ההרים ונשא מגבעות ונהרו אליו כל הגוים והלכו עמים רבים וגו׳ כי מציון תצא תורה ודבר ד׳ מירושלים. ושפט וגו׳ וכתתו וגו׳ לא ישא גוי אל גוי חרב ולא ילמדו עוד מלחמה (Jes. 2,1-4).

ויהי בחדש הראשון בשנה השנית, “it was on the first day of the second year, counting from the Exodus from Egypt; normally years are counted as commencing with the month of Tishrey.