In a footnote in Likkutei Sichos, Chelek 3 on Parshas Vayakhel–Pekudei, the Rebbe discusses an explanation from the Zohar regarding the verse describing the sin of the Golden Calf. The verse states, “vayevau ha’anashim al ha’nashim,” that the men came upon the women to obtain the gold needed for making the Eigel.
The Zohar explains that this happened because the men no longer possessed gold of their own. Earlier, they had already donated their gold as gifts for the Mishkan—“zahav, v’chesef, u’nechoshes”—when Moshe called upon the people to contribute materials for its construction. Since the men had already given their gold, when the time came to make the Eigel they had to take gold from the women.
This interpretation raises an important question about the timeline of events. According to the Torah narrative, Moshe Rabbeinu ascended Mount Sinai after Matan Torah and remained there for forty days and forty nights. On the sixteenth of Tammuz the people made the Golden Calf, and on the seventeenth of Tammuz Moshe descended and broke the Luchos.
If the people had already donated their gold for the Mishkan before the Eigel, it would seem that the instructions and the contributions for the Mishkan must have taken place before Matan Torah. Otherwise Moshe could not have commanded them to give these donations while he was on the mountain.
Thus, according to the Zohar’s interpretation, both Hashem’s command to Moshe about the Mishkan and the people’s contributions for it occurred before Matan Torah. When the people later sought gold for the Eigel, the men no longer had any, which is why they took it from the women.
However, this does not mean that the Mishkan itself was built before Matan Torah. The Torah states explicitly when the Mishkan was erected: “b’chodesh harishon b’yom echad la’chodesh hukam ha’mishkan”—on the first day of the first month, Rosh Chodesh Nissan of the second year, the Mishkan was set up. This verse clearly establishes that the construction and erection of the Mishkan took place much later.
Therefore, the Rebbe emphasizes that according to the Zohar only the donations—the nidvas ha’mishkan—preceded the sin of the Eigel, not the actual building of the Mishkan. The materials were given earlier, but the Mishkan itself was constructed and erected later, culminating in the Divine Presence filling it: “u’chevod Hashem malei es ha’mishkan.”
The Rebbe also explains a broader idea connected with the order of the parshiyos. In the Torah, the sections describing Hashem’s instructions to Moshe about the Mishkan appear in Terumah and Tetzaveh. The narrative of the Golden Calf appears in Ki Sisa, and only afterward do we read in Vayakhel and Pekudei about Moshe conveying the instructions to the Jewish people and the Mishkan actually being completed.
The Rebbe explains that there can be interruptions between Hashem’s command to Moshe and Moshe’s transmission of that command to the people. That is why the episode of the Eigel can appear between Terumah–Tetzaveh and Vayakhel–Pekudei.
But once Moshe gathers the people—“Vayakhel Moshe”—and instructs them to build the Mishkan, the Torah presents the story as a continuous process leading directly to its completion and the revelation of the Divine Presence. Even if historically there were delays or setbacks, the Torah emphasizes that once the command was given and the people began the work, the outcome was certain: the Mishkan would be completed and Hashem’s presence would dwell within it.
In this sense, the Rebbe notes, the message extends beyond the historical story. When the Moshe of the generation calls upon the Jewish people to build a dwelling place for Hashem in the world, the ultimate fulfillment is guaranteed. Despite obstacles along the way, the Divine presence will ultimately be revealed—just as it was when the Mishkan was finally erected and “the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan.”