אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדת… (פקודי לח:כא)

Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem: “When the Beis Hamikdash – the Temple – will be destroyed, where will Hashem rest the Shechina – Divine presence?”  Hashem answered that He would rest His Shechina upon each generation’s tzaddikim – righteous people.

Chazal say (Sanhedrin 97b) that there are 36 hidden tzaddikim in every generation.

This is alluded to in our passuk:

• “אלה” amounts to 36 (א = 1, ל = 30 & ה = 5),
• “פקודי המשכן” Hashem will rest his Shechina upon the 36 tzaddikim
• משכן העדות – when the Beis Hamikdash will be absent.  The word “פקודי” can also be translated as “missing”.