Two ideas how the Tabernacle looked TB Shabbat 98

The vast majority of today’s daf TB Shabbat 98 deals with the construction of the Tabernacle. Rabbi Yehuda taught “The Tabernacle beams were one cubit thick at the bottom, and they narrowed to a fingerbreadth as they reached the top, (in other words they were tapered-gg) and Rabbi Nehemya said, “Just as they were one cubit thick at the bottom so too, there were one cubit thick at the top ….” (Sefaria.org translation)

Each understanding of the beams determined how the outside wall was constructed and how the two coverings, the lower being woven with thread and the upper made out of goat hair hung over the beams. The Gemara goes through the mathematical computations for each understanding. The Etz Hayyim Humash provides the floor plan of the Tabernacle on page 1520. That would be a good place to start in order to visualize how Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nehemya suggested how the Tabernacle looked. I don’t own the Art Scroll edition of this Gemara, but I’m willing to bet that it contains illustrations that will help the student to understand how the Tabernacle looked according to Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nehemya.

In the center of each horizontal beam there was a hole where one long metal rod was passed through in order to stabilize the structure. “Following the dispute over the Tabernacle beams, the Gemara interprets other verses according to the two positions. It is written: “And the middle bar in the midst of the beams shall pass through from end to end” (Exodus 26:28). One of the Sages taught: It stood by means of a miracle, as this verse indicates that the middle bar was a single rod that ran along the length and width of the Tabernacle. The middle bar was miraculously bent through the beams on three sides.” (Sefaria.org translation) In other words, this long metal rod made two left hand turns.

Based on my history of building my sukkah, it would have been a miracle for the Tabernacle to stand at all if I was one of the construction workers.