This Shabbat we are going to read Parshat Terumah which talks about the mishkan, the tabernacle that Bnei Yisrael built in the desert.
Now, if you want to see something very similar to the mishkan, come to Hebron. The building above the Maarat HaMachpela is in the same design of the mishkan. The mishkan was surrounded by a hatzer, the courtyard surrounded with pillars and curtains.
You can see the pillars and something that looks like a curtain on the walls of the Maarat HaMachpela. Of course here it’s built from stone. The mishkan was built with curtains and other materials. But it’s the same design and even around the same size.
They measure the Maarat HaMachpela to be about 60 by 35 meters. The yard around the mishkan was ‘meah amah’ – 100 cubits by ‘hamishi amah’ – 50 cubits, around 25 meters. S the mishkan was 50 by 25 meters which is pretty close to the size of the building above Maarat HaMachpela.
And there more. The same design was built around Har HaBayit. The three sanctuaries: The mishkan, Maarat HaMachpela and Har Habayit, are very similar to each other.
What’s this idea about? Hazal say “HaAvot merkavah laShechina” – The forefathers are the chariot of the Divine Presence. It’s as if Hashem is dwelling on the Avot, and then on the mishkan, and then in the mikdash in Yerushalayim. So these three buildings symbolize the holiness of the nation of Israel.
If you come to Hebron you feel it. You see it. You’re being part of it. Come to Hebron and experience the holiness of the mishkan.
Shabbat shalom.
