ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף שמות 39:32

Our opening Midrash reflects the same theme. Although all of Israel had contributed in providing the various sections of the tabernacle and its furnishings, when it came to assembling it, the people could not manage, whereas Moses unassisted did manage. The people's contribution then consisted only in preparing the material, providing the basis for the tabernacle's ultimate form, to be erected when it would be ready for use. We find a parallel at the time of the creation of the universe. During six days of creative activity, G-d created all the individual parts and sections of the universe. On the seventh day though, the Torah says "heaven and earth had been completed," this referred only to its constituent parts, not to the whole. Subsequently, "G-d completed on that day," something which follows the statement of "and the heavens and the earth had been completed." Similarly, we find in connection with the completion of the work of the tabernacle "all the work on the tabernacle had been completed," whereas afterwards we read "Moses erected it." Most of this has been explained in chapter four. Midrash Tanchuma points out many parallel expressions employed by the Torah both during creation and during construction of the tabernacle. The common denominator is that the former is a macrocosm whereas the latter is a microcosm designed to mirror the universe. If Moses had been unaware that his face emitted rays, and the fact that he alone could erect the tabernacle is remarkable, it reflects the idea that or with the letter ayin and with the letter aleph can be used interchangeably. The Divine, inner light illuminating the soul of Moses, was visible in the form of his skin giving off a glow, sending out rays.

Creation is divided into three main phases. 1) Creation of matter before the first evening. Its importance stems from the fact that something came into existence out of nothing. 2) Development of original matter into something organized and functional as well as the creation of creatures. Inasmuch as it now assumes a purpose, this phase is something new and important vis a vis the first phase. 3) Completion and self perpetuation of the entire creative process. Development of the egg into a living organism, the whole process of procreation in nature, is again an improvement over the original directive. At the building of the tabernacle, too, we find three stages to parallel the above mentioned phases of the creative process. They are: 1) The donation of the material; 2) Appointment of the master builder and performance of the work; 3) The actual erection of the tabernacle and its becoming functional. The latter was still to come, just as in the case of the universe or earth, its function was not to commence until the end of the actual process of creativity. In short, we have material, construction, and performance of purpose. Phase number three begins with the sixth day, "The heavens and earth had been completed." This means that phases two and three had now been completed. Parallel to this, we find in the report of the construction of the tabernacle the line "the whole construction for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed" (Exodus 39,32).