ואת המשכן תעשה, the reason why these curtains are referred to by the Torah as משכן, “a residence,” is because in the space covered by them there were the kinds of furnishings normally found in a dwelling, i.e. table, cupboard (Ark), and a lamp stand. The dwelling was designed to house the presence of G’d more commonly referred to as the Shechinah. כרובים, the curtains were made with the patterns of cherubs woven into them, as we know from the description of Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6,2) that he perceived G’d surrounded by angels described as Seraphim. We also find another description of a similar type in Kings I 22,19 where the prophet Michayah describes his vision of G’d in these words: “I saw the Lord seated on His throne with all the host of heaven standing in attendance to the right and to the left of Him.”

חמש היריעות תהיין חוברות, the decorative weaving patterns of these curtains should match each curtain to its counterpart. This was the difference between the curtains covering the sanctuary and those covering the Holy of Holies. Even though in both instances, the presence of such angel-like shapes woven into the material of the curtains, suggested an extra terrestrial dimension, there was a difference between the way these figures were woven into the five curtains covering the Holy of Holies and the patterns woven into the curtains covering the sanctuary. The difference alluded to the different degree of sanctity of these two sections of the Tabernacle. [I do not know the author’s source for this assertion. Possibly, he derives this from the apparently unnecessary repetition of the words חמש היריעות and חמש יריעות without the prefix letter ה the second time. Ed.]

והיה המשכן אחד. Even though the respective level of sanctity of the two parts of the structure was not uniform, what they had in common was that both reflected the fact that the will of their Creator had been carried out. It reminds us of Isaiah describing different groups of angels calling to each other in mutual encouragement to proclaim the Holiness of G’d (Isaiah 6,3).

לאהל על המשכן. The purpose of what was called משכן had not been to serve as a tent, but to assure that the cherubs would be surrounding the Shechinah.

וחברת את חמש היריעות לבד, even within the Tabernacle there was a difference between levels of sanctity. It is reminiscent of what David said in Psalms 19,5 where the subjects are the different planetary forces and their orbits, each of them closer or further from the center, the sun. All of them represent forces created by G’d to help run an orderly universe, and all of them, in David’s own words, proclaim G’d’s handiwork; yet at the end, David reminds us that G’d appointed the sun as a “tent” to “cover” them all, i.e. their diversity.

עצי שטים עומדים. Not arranged horizontally as such boards are normally arranged in buildings of a secular nature.

אל הטבעת האחת, to the ring at the thickest point of the board forming the corner post. [we referred to this in verse 23 where these two boards are described as serving with one cubit in a westerly direction, completing the length of the structure and with the half cubit constituting its thickness closing the gap left on either side of the six boards forming the western wall of the Tabernacle. (compare Rash’bam there) Ed.] The bolts (bars) running alongside the walls were also inserted both in the lower level and the higher level (above the center bar) through the rings attached to these corner boards at the south-west and south-east of the Tabernacle respectively, ensuring that the structure was solid.

ואת טבעותיהם, it is customary for bolts to be inserted through rings unless the Torah would explain that it was not so, as in the case of the central bolt which was not fastened to the outside of the boards at all but inside of them as explained in verse 28.

ושמת את השלחן מחוץ לפרכת, after the Ark had been placed inside the Tabernacle. Betzalel arranged that the dividing curtain would be between the Holy of Holies containing the Ark and the other furnishings, i.e. the Table and the Menorah. The Table would be on the right side and the Menorah on the left [viewed from the perspective of someone entering the sanctuary. Ed.] Proverbs 3,16 refers to this when writing אורך ימים בימינה בשמאולה עושר וכבוד, “length of days is in her right hand, in her left hands riches and honour.”