These are the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact, which were drawn up at Moses’ bidding—the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
Our opening question here is what is going on with the double wording of the word Tabernacle (Mishkan)? Why does it have to mentioned back to back in the same verse?
First let us see what Rashi says about this below -
המשכן משכן OF THE TABERNACLE, EVEN OF THE TABERNACLE — The word משכן is mentioned here twice in allusion to the Temple that was taken in pledge (משכן) — as it were — (as a security for Israel’s repentance) by being twice destroyed for Israel’s iniquities.
And behold, it is known that all of the people of Israel are called Tabernacle, as the Hebrew word for Tabernacle is Mishkan, which means dwelling, as HaShem dwells within all of the people of Israel, as it is taught by the Holy Alshich on the below verse -
Within them is written, and not within it, teaching us that HaShem dwells within each and every individual of Israel. As every human of Israel must make him/herself available for HaShem to dwell within themselves, and similarly it is written in the below verse -
the tent He had set among men.
Therefor a person must be fitting for the divine presence to rest upon him/herself in the aspect of a holy dwelling place for HaShem to rest. An analogy to understand this would be the following; Just like a King of flesh and blood that arrives to a city that is within his Kingdom, the people of that city make great preparations for the Kings arrival prior to the Kings arrival. Even more preparations are made at the resting place the King intends to stay and dwell in while in that city. That being the case, how much more so should humans prepare the guest quarters properly for the dwelling of the King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed be He, in order that the King of this world has a proper and fitting place to dwell (which is inside of us).
And behold, it is known that there are three signs/pacts between the children of Israel and their Father in Heaven. They are the circumcision, Shabbat, and Tefilin (phylacteries).
As it says below -
Rabbi Akiva says: I might have thought that a person should don phylacteries on Shabbatot and Festivals.. Therefore, the verse states: “And it shall be for a sign for you on your arm.. The obligation to don phylacteries applies when Jews require a sign i.e, during the week, excluding Shabbat and Festivals, as they are themselves signs of Israel’s covenant with The Creator.. Consequently, no further sign is required on these days.
And as we see the same below in Rashi -
מי שצריכין אות - ימים שישראל צריכין להעמיד אות על עצמן להכיר שהם מחזיקים בתורתו של הקב"ה יצאו שבתות וימים טובים שהן עצמן אות בין הקב"ה לישראל דכתיב (שמות ל״א:י״ג) כי אות היא ביני וביניכם:
..We don't need the sign of Tefilin during Shabbat and Yom Tov, since those days are signs between HaShem and Israel within themselves..
As well, regarding circumcision it is written -
You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.
As we can see, the circumcision is a sign/covenant between Israel and their Father in Heaven.
And we have already brought this allusion in the Dorshei Reshomot on the below verse -
A single witness may not validate against an [accused] party any guilt or blame for any offense that may be committed; a case can be valid only on the testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses.
A deeper meaning here is that Israel always has two witnesses between the covenant between them and the Blessed HaShem. During the weekday we have the sign of circumcision, and the sign of Tefilin, and on Shabbat we have the sign of circumcision and the sign of Shabbat.. and this is the secret meaning behind this above verse - 'only on the testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses.' Because collectively there are three witnesses between the covenant between HaShem and Israel, which are Shabbat, circumcision, and Tefilin - and simply they rotate between days. During the weekdays Tefilin is one of the two witnesses, and circumcision the second witness, and on Shabbat, the day itself is a witness between Israel and their Father in Heaven, and circumcision is the second witness, and this is how the matter is established, and how the convenent is always kept between Israel and their Father in Heaven.
And it seems that these three signs are preparatory prerequisites for a human to be a fitting dwelling place for the Divine Presence to rest within us, and when they are kept in the intent of The Creator Blessed be He, a person becomes worthy for the Divine to rest upon him.
As it is written in the Seforno based on the verse -
Ki Tisa 31:13 - 'And you, speak to the children of Israel and say: 'Only keep My Sabbaths! For it is a sign between Me and you for your generations, to know that I, the Lord, make you holy'
If we damage one of the signs between us and HaShem, then there is no available room within you for HaShem to dwell. And based on this we can understand the double language from the opening verse above - 'These are the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact' - that regarding the laws and statutes of the Tabernacle, are realities that are required for the soul of the Israelite in order for the Divine to dwell within them - and the verse sheds light on this teaching when saying the Tabernacle of the Pact (Pact meaning the deal between HaShem and the people of Israel; witness/covenant) - which teaches us that we must place this pact upon ourselves, which is the three different forms of our covenant, Shabbat, circumcision, and Tefilin, that they give testimony to Israel, and they are the sign between themselves and their Father in Heaven, and we must be careful in keeping them within the confines of their proper laws, and then we become worthy for the divine to rest upon us.