Waiting Patiently

We live in Hashem's world. The difficulty is that we don't always "live" with the awareness that this is indeed His world. We have ideas on how the world ought to be and this leads to our own disconnect and many times depression. One area of discomfort is the time it takes for things to take place. Patience is not a readily available character trait unless one works on it.  

The construction of the Mishkan/Tabernacle started when Moses came down from Mount Sinai the second time. The construction took three months and then . . . the Mishkan was not erected for another three full months. Hashem could have timed for the construction and inauguration in any way He wanted and much of the process of the construction was miraculous. So why the three-month delay? 

Our Sages tell us that the Mishkan itself was a means of atonement for Sin of the Golden Calf. One of the aspects that led to the Calf was the impatience of the Jewish people when they believed Moses had delayed in coming down from Mount Sinai the first time. As a means to train us in patience, Hashem had the Mishkan built and then we needed to "wait" patiently for three months to see the actual erection of the Mikshan take place. 

"On the first day of the first month (Nissan), you shall erect the Mishkan." Exodus 40:2.

* Based on the writing of Rabbi Yissocher Frand in Rabbi Frand on the Parsha