“[The Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him] from the Tent of Meeting” (Leviticus 1:1). Rabbi Elazar said: Although the Torah was given from Sinai, Israel was not punished for [transgressing] it until it was explained to them at the Tent of Meeting. [This is analogous] to a royal missive that was written and sealed and entered the province. The residents of that province were not liable for it until it was explained to them in the province.
So too, although the Torah was given from Sinai, [Israel] was not punished for [transgressing] it until it was explained to them at the Tent of Meeting. That is what is written: “Until I brought him into my mother’s house” (Song of Songs 3:4); this is Mount Sinai, “and into the chamber of the one who conceived me” (Song of Songs 3:4); this is the Tent of Meeting, as it is from there that Israel became liable for its teachings.