VBM The Golden Calf and the Mishkan By Harav Yaakov Medan

I. When was the command to build the Mishkan issued? The commentators struggled with the question of whether the command to build the Mishkan (chapters 25-31) was given during the period of Moshe's first ascent to Mount Sinai – before the sin of the golden calf (chapter 32) – or perhaps only during the period of his third ascent in order to receive the second set of tablets – in the wake of the sin of the golden calf. In practice, the building of the Mishkan began only after Moshe's third descent from the mountain, but when was the command to build the Mishkan issued? This question is related to another question: Is the Mishkan a reaction to the sin of the golden calf, or did the idea of the Mishkan precede the golden calf, such that there is no connection between the two?