עקידת יצחק — ויקהל משה / ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה

Q — Why does Moshe preface the Mishkan's building with a warning about Shabbos? Why gather the whole people for this? Why does the holiest construction yield to the seventh day?

A — Even building the Mishkan does not override Shabbos, because Shabbos is the very testimony to chiddush ha'olam that the Mishkan exists to express. To violate the sign of creation in order to build the dwelling of its Creator would be self-contradictory; the end cannot consume its own foundation. Moshe assembles all of Israel to set this priority before the work begins, teaching that no avodah, however exalted, may displace the weekly witness to God's authorship of the world.