שמות, פרק כ״ו, פסוק י״ח

The construction of the Tabernacle moves from the crafting of individual pieces to the grand assembly of the structure. After the initial command to create the wooden planks, the focus shifts to their exact number, arrangement, and dimensions for each wall. The instruction to make the planks is repeated, not to suggest the creation of new pieces, but to focus on how they are to be arranged, prepared, and set up, serving as an introduction to their precise count [ביאור יש״ר, קאסוטו]. The southern wall requires exactly twenty planks. With each plank measuring a cubit and a half in width, the total length of the southern wall comes to thirty cubits, which establishes the overall length of the Tabernacle [קאסוטו, אבן עזרא].

When detailing the architecture, certain terms might easily be misunderstood as referring to a specific corner or edge. However, the primary approach among commentators is that the description points to the complete, full side of the structure rather than just a single angle [רש״י, ביאור יש״ר, ברכת אשר על התורה].

The southern direction is described using a double expression. While the Aramaic translation merges these two concepts into a single word [ברכת אשר על התורה], the second term is actually added to clarify the first, using language that was much more familiar to the common people [שד״ל]. The first concept relates directly to the physical experience of the south. It shares a root with the idea of piercing, because from the southern sky, the sun's rays beat down strongly and vertically, feeling as though they are piercing the head [רש ר הירש]. The clarifying second term simply means "right." This is because the standard human stance in the ancient world was to face east, looking toward the sunrise and the entrance of the Tabernacle. When a person stands facing east, the south is always positioned on the right side, just as the north naturally falls to the left [שד״ל, אבן עזרא הקצר, רש ר הירש].