Midras Keluaran 26:33: Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar Rabbah & Shemot Rabbah

R. Jacob the son of Issi asked: Why does it say; I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth? Because the Tabernacle is equal to the creation of the world itself. How is that so? Concerning the first day, it is written: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1), and it is written elsewhere: Who stretched out the heavens like a curtain (Ps. 104:2), and concerning the Tabernacle it is written: And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair (Exod. 26:7). About the second day of creation it states: Let there be a firmament and divide between them, and let it divide the waters from the waters (Gen. 1:6). About the Tabernacle it is written: And the veil shall divide between you (Exod. 26:33). With regard to the third day it states: Let the waters under the heavens be gathered (Gen. 1:9). With reference to the Tabernacle it is written: Thou shalt also make a laver of brass … and thou shalt put water therein (Exod. 30:18). On the fourth day he created light, as is stated: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven (Gen. 1:14), and concerning the Tabernacle it is said: And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold (Exod. 25:31). On the fifth day He created birds, as it is said: Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the fowl fly above the earth (Gen. 1:20), and with reference to the Tabernacle. He directed them to offer sacrifices of lambs and birds, and it says as well: And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high (Exod. 25:20). On the sixth day he created man, as it is said: And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him (Gen. 1:27), and about the Tabernacle it is written: A man who is a high priest who has been anointed to serve and to minister before God.³You write that this is not a direct quote from the Bible. On the seventh day The heaven and the earth were finished (Gen. 2:1), and with regard to the Tabernacle it is written: Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle (Exod. 39:32). Concerning the creation of the world it is written: And God blessed (Gen. 2:3), and of the Tabernacle it is said: And Moses blessed them (Exod. 39:43); with regard to the creation it is said: And God finished (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle it is written: On that day Moses made an end (Num. 7:1); of creation it says: And hallowed it (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle: And had anointed it and sanctified it (Num. 7:1). Why is the Tabernacle equal to heaven and earth? Because even as heaven and earth bear witness concerning Israel, as it is written: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day (Deut. 30:19), so the Tabernacle bears witness in behalf of Israel, as is said: These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the testimony (Exod. 38:21). Hence it is said: Lord, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth (Ps. 26:8).

Another matter: “Et hamishkan” – as it is equal to the rest of the world, which is called a tent, just as the Tabernacle is called a tent. How so? It is written: “In the beginning, God created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1). And it is written: “He spreads the heavens like a sheet” (Psalms 104:2). Regarding the Tabernacle it is written: “You shall make sheets of goats’ hair as a tent over the Tabernacle…” (Exodus 26:7). On the second, it is written: “Let there be a firmament…and let it divide…” (Genesis 1:6). Regarding the Tabernacle it is written: “The curtain shall divide for you” (Exodus 26:33). On the third: “Let the water under the heavens [be gathered to one place]” (Genesis 1:9). In the Tabernacle, “You shall craft a basin of bronze and its base of bronze for washing…” (Exodus 30:18). On the fourth, “let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:14). In the Tabernacle, “You shall craft a candelabrum of pure gold…” (Exodus 25:31). On the fifth, “let birds fly over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20). In the Tabernacle, “the cherubs shall be spreaders of wings” (Exodus 25:20). On the sixth, man was created. In the Tabernacle, “you, draw Aaron your brother near to you” (Exodus 28:1). On the seventh, “the heavens…were completed” (Genesis 2:1). In the Tabernacle, “all the work of the Tabernacle…was completed” (Exodus 39:32). In the creation of the world it is written: “God blessed” (Genesis 2:3). In the Tabernacle, “he⁴⁶Moses blessed them” (Exodus 39:43). On the seventh, “God completed [vaykhal]” (Genesis 2:2). In the Tabernacle, “it was on the day that Moses concluded [kalot].” On the seventh, “and sanctified it” (Genesis 2:3). In the Tabernacle, “and sanctified it” (Numbers 7:1). That is, “et hamishkan.”

Another matter: “They shall take Me a gift” – Rabbi Berekhya began: “Yours, Lord, is the greatness, and the might…for everything that is in the heavens and on the earth” (I Chronicles 29:11). You find that everything the Holy One blessed be He created above, He created below. Above, an abode and thick cloud, as it is stated: “See from the abode of Your holiness” (Isaiah 63:15). Thick cloud, [as it is stated]: “Moses approached the thick cloud [where God was]” (Exodus 20:18), and it is written: “Can He judge through the thick cloud?” (Job 22:13). Below, “then Solomon said: The Lord said that He would dwell in the thick cloud” (I Kings 8:12), and it is written: “I have built a house as an abode for You” (I Kings 8:13).
Above, “seraphim were standing above Him” (Isaiah 6:2); below, “standing acacia wood” (Exodus 26:15). Above, cherubs, as it is stated: “who abides upon the cherubs” (Isaiah 37:16); below, “the cherubs shall be” (Exodus 25:20). Above, “the wheels were borne parallel to them” (Ezekiel 1:20); below, “The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of the chariot’s wheel” (I Kings 7:33), and likewise, “and behold, there was one wheel on the ground” (Ezekiel 1:15). Above, “the Lord is in His Holy Sanctuary” (Psalms 11:4); below, “the Sanctuary of the Lord” (I Samuel 1:9). Above, “The kings of hosts flee again and again” (Psalms 68:13); below, “the hosts of the Lord departed” (Exodus 12:41). Above, “let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, [and let it divide between water and water]” (Genesis 1:6); below, “the curtain shall divide for you [between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies]” (Exodus 26:33). Above, “the throne of the Lord” (I Chronicles 29:23); below, “Throne of glory, exalted from the first, is the place of our Temple” (Jeremiah 17:12). Above, “Is there a number to His companies” (Job 25:3); below, “two men, captains of his companies” (II Samuel 4:2). Above, “And count the stars” (Genesis 15:5); below, “and, behold, you are today as the stars of the heavens in abundance” (Deuteronomy 1:10).
Above, “Behold the man garbed in linen” (Ezekiel 9:11); below, “He shall don a sacred linen tunic” (Leviticus 16:4). Above, “The angel [malakh] of the Lord encamps” (Psalms 34:8); below, “as he is a messenger [malakh] of the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 2:7). Above, “he took it from upon the altar with tongs” (Isaiah 6:6); below, “You shall make for Me an altar of earth” (Exodus 20:21). Above, “and stretches them like a tent for dwelling” (Isaiah 40:22); below, “how goodly are your tents, Jacob” (Numbers 24:5). Above, “He spreads out the heavens like a sheet” (Psalms 104:2); below, “ten sheets” (Exodus 26:1). Above, “light rests with Him” (Daniel 2:22); below, “pure olive oil pressed for illumination” (Exodus 27:20). Moreover, everything that is below is more beloved that what is above. Know that He forsook what was above and descended to what was below, as it is stated: “They shall craft a Sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). That is, “for everything that is in the heavens and on the earth” (I Chronicles 29:11), and it says: “Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold, the utterance of the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8).