Whatever Happened to the Mishkan? | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

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The Mishkan was a mobile sanctuary, constructed of gilded boards & covered by curtains. According to tradition, the Mishkan was erected on the 1st day of Nissan, in the year 2449, 3,333 years ago, & served as the center of Divine worship for about 500 years. It accompanied Bnei Yisrael throughout the wanderings in the wilderness until their arrival in Canaan. Gilgal, in the plains of Jericho, was the last station in the wanderings, the first in an inhabited land & it was there that the Mishkan remained throughout the period of the conquest of Canaan. (See Sefer Yehoshua IV). After taking possession of Israel, the Mishkan would serve as spiritual center until the erection of the First Bet HaMikdash by Shlomo HaMelech. It stood for 14 years in Gilgal, for 369 years in Shilo, & for 57 years in Nob & Gibeon. After the Bet HaMikdash was built, Chazal say the Mishkan was dismantled & its ancient curtains & other materials were hidden away in subterranean passages.

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