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Was the Paroches a room divider or a covering for the Aron? The shiur develops a fundamental chakira: on Yom Kippur, the Mishkan is a place of Torah (תורה) (Ohel Moed), not just Avoda, which explains why the Kohen Gadol wears eight garments even when entering the Kodesh—he's already entering the Holy of Holies.
The shiur opens with an analysis of Gemara (גמרא) Brachos 55a regarding Moshe and Betzalel's disagreement over the construction order of the Mishkan. While Tosafos (תוספות) and Rashi (רש"י) explain that Parshas Terumah commands building the vessels first and then the Mishkan, whereas Parshas Ki Sisa reverses this order, the shiur seeks to understand what changed between these two commandments. Rabbi Zweig introduces a fundamental question from the pesukim themselves. In Perek 39, when the completed Mishkan components are brought to Moshe, the Paroches appears as part of the structure (pasuk 34), before the Aron is mentioned (pasuk 35). However, in Perek 40, when Hashem (ה׳) commands the erection of the Mishkan, the order is reversed: first erect the entire Mishkan Ohel Moed structure, then place the Aron inside, and only then put up the Paroches (pesukim 2-3). This presents a fundamental contradiction about the nature of the Paroches.
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Parshas Vayakhel (Shemos 39-40)
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