THE MISHKAN IS SURROUNDED by an enclosed courtyard:

And you shall make (V’ASITA) the enclosure of the Mishkan: for the south side on the right there shall be hangings for the enclosure of twisted linen; one hundred amot in length for the one side. … And likewise for the length of the north side there shall be hangings one hundred [amot] long … And for the width of the enclosure on the west side shall be hangings of fifty amot … And the width of the enclosure at the front to the east shall be fifty amot. …The length of the enclosure shall be one hundred amot and width fifty by fifty (V’ROCHAV CHAMISHIM BA’CHAMISHIM) … (Shemot 27:9, 11-13, 18). (An amah (cubit) is approximately 21 inches.)

AN ENCLOSURE AROUND THE “holy area” is a requisite part of the building of any Sanctuary (Rambam, Laws of the Temple 1:5); as such, it is parallel to the Azarah of both Temples.

HIRSCH (RABBI SHIMSHON Raphael Hirsch, 1808- 1888) calls the chatzer “the forecourt of purification,” and it reflects a step-by-step process: first, “the keeping away from everything unholy, … the preliminary stipulation for all positive progress.”

IN THE PHRASE and width fifty by fifty (V’ROCHAV CHAMISHIM BA’CHAMISHIM), the word BA’CHAMISHIM seems superfluous. As a result, we learn that the chatzer is divided into two regions: a 50-by-50 square in which the Mishkan is situated, and another 50-by-50 open square in front of the Mishkan, where the altar and laver were located (Rashi). Hirsch thus translates this phrase “its free breadth.”

THERE IS ANOTHER IMPLICATION of this phrase, which has ramifications for the laws of Shabbat. As important as the construction of the Mishkan is, it must be suspended for Shabbat (Shemot 31:12-17; 35:2-3). The Torah prohibits melachot (roughly translated as “creative activities”) on Shabbat, and it also calls the kind of skilled labor that was employed to build the Mishkan by the term melachot (e.g., 31:3,5; 35:29,31,35; melechet 35:21, 24,33,35; 36:1-8; 38:24). From this we arrive at the definition of melachot as the categories of activities needed to build the Mishkan.

ONE MELACHAH IS “CARRYING,” defined as removing an object from a place of rest in either a) a public domain (reshut ha’rabim) and putting it to rest in a private domain (reshut ha’yachid), or b) from a reshut ha’yachid to a reshut ha’rabim, or c) within a reshut ha’rabim a distance of
4 amot. The Leviim needed to carry the parts of the Mishkan to and from wagons during the dismantling and assembly process.

THE PARTITIONS ENCLOSING the chatzer made it a reshut ha’yachid according to the Torah’s definition, even though it was not enclosed for human residence. The Sages were concerned however, that a large area, enclosed although not for residence, might easily be confused with a reshut ha’rabim; after all, in the common conception, a reshut ha’yachid is inhabited. Examples include gardens, orchards and lumber yards; which are enclosed but not for dwelling purposes.

THE SAGES “BORROWED” the chatzer’s dimensions and decreed that any enclosed non-residential space which is larger than the area of the chatzer be accorded all the additional strictures of a reshut ha’rabim. Thus, it is Rabinically forbidden to carry between it and a Torah-defined reshut ha’yachid, or within it more than 4 amot (Eiruvin 23b; Rambam, Laws of Shabbat 16:1-4; Tur and Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 358:1).

THE 5000-SQUARE AMOT area of the chatzer is called a beit sa’taim: an area of 50-by-50 is sufficient to plant a sa’ah (approximately 7.7 quarts, or 7.3 liters) of seed, so an area of 100-by-50 is enough for two sa’ah, called sa’taim.

HOW IS A BEIT SA’TAIM MEASURED? The phrase and width fifty by fifty (V’ROCHAV CHAMISHIM BA’CHAMISHIM) further teaches that the additional 50 amot can be distributed on all sides of the 50-by-50 square, resulting in a square each of whose sides is √5000 (70.71 amot, expressed by the Sages as “70 amot, 4 tefachim plus a small amount”; approximately 125 ft.).

A BEIT SA’TAIM CAN BE square, round or rectangular. As long as an enclosed space is smaller in area than beit sa’taim, it is immaterial that it is non-residential. However, since the length of the original chatzer was exactly double its width, if the length of an enclosed space is even one amah more than twice the width, then it must be used for residential purposes to be considered a reshut ha’yachid.

WHY DID THE SAGES insist that the chatzer be

Since, as The Tur (R. Yaakov ben Asher, c. 1270-1340) introduces
this halacha:

“All the melachot of Shabbat, as well as its laws, are derived from the building of the Mishkan,” the Sages wished the converse to be true as well:  that everyfacet of the Mishkan must find its expression in the laws of Shabbat. Note how the Torah speaks about the chatzer, both here and later: And you shall make (V’ASITA) (27:9) And [Betzalel] made (VAYA’AS) the enclosure … (38:9). And you shall place (V’SAMTA) the enclosure all around … (40:8). And [Moshe] erected (VA’YAKEM) the enclosure all around the Mishkan and the altar, and he placed the screen of the gate of the enclosure. So Moshe completed the work. Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan (40:33-34).

The chatzer is made (V’ASITA). It is an entity, no less than any other item built for the Mishkan. By placing the partitions around the Mishkan, the floor of the desert is transformed – via human action – into “the forecourt of  purification.”

Melacha, exemplifying human creativity, also characterizes Hashem’s creation of the universe (e.g., Bereshit 2:2-3; Tehillim 73:28). Erecting the Mishkan is parallel to the Creation (Shemot Rabba 33:4, 34:2, 48:4; Bamidbar Rabba 12:13): By building the Mishkan, the Children of Israel bring the Divine  Presence into the world, becoming Hashem’s partners in fulfilling the purpose of the universe. And our weekly observance of Shabbat completes the equation.