What did the Omnipresent see to command them so, the Ark first, then the table, after it the candelabrum, after it the golden altar, and after it the altar of the burnt offering? Our Rabbis said: Their dismantling at the time of the journeys was like their establishment at the time of encampment. Just as at the time of the erection of the Tabernacle26Likewise every time the Tabernacle was erected at the end of a journey. the Ark was first, as it is written: “He brought the Ark…” (Exodus 40:21); then, “he placed the table” (Exodus 40:22); then, “he placed the candelabrum” (Exodus 40:24); then, “he placed the golden altar” (Exodus 40:26); and then, “and the altar of the burnt offering, [he placed]” (Exodus 40:29), so in their dismantling: the Ark first, after it the table, after it the candelabrum, after it the golden altar, and after it the altar of the burnt offering.
“Aaron and his sons shall conclude to cover the sacred, and all the sacred vessels, when the camp travels. Thereafter, the sons of Kehat shall come to bear, and they shall not touch the sacred and die. These are the burden of the sons of Kehat in the Tent of Meeting” (Numbers 4:15). “Aaron and his sons shall conclude to cover the sacred” – this is the Ark; “and all the sacred vessels” – these are the table, candelabrum, and the two altars and all their utensils. “When the camp travels” – they would do so only at the time of the journeys.