After the detailed description of the design of the Mishkan and the chief architects and builders, God reminds the people to keep Shabbat. What is the connection between Shabbat and the Mishkan? 

This is the first of a few times that the Mishkan is connected to Shabbat. The Talmud famously uses this connection to explain two points. The first is specific to the time period of the building of the Mishkan. As important as building the Mishkan was for God, it was not more important than the Sabbath. Therefore, the building of the Mishkan needed to cease on Shabbat. 

The second is that the prohibitions of Shabbat are derived from the actual building of the Mishkan. The Mishnah in Tractate Shabbat (chapter 7) lists 39 major categories of prohibitions on Shabbat:

One who sows, and one who plows, and one who reaps, and one who gathers sheaves into a pile, and one who threshes, removing the kernel from the husk, and one who winnows threshed grain in the wind, and one who selects the inedible waste from the edible, and one who grinds, and one who sifts the flour in a sieve, and one who kneads dough, and one who bakes. Additional primary categories of prohibited labor are the following: One who shears wool, and whitens it, and combs the fleece and straightens it, and dyes it, and spins the wool, and stretches the threads of the warp in the loom, and constructs two meshes, tying the threads of the warp to the base of the loom, and one who weaves two threads, and severs two threads for constructive purposes, and one who ties a knot, and one who unties a knot, and one who sews two stitches with a needle, as well as one who tears a fabric in order to sew two stitches. One who traps a deer, or any living creature, and slaughters it, and one who flays it, and salts its hide, a step in the tanning process, and tans its hide, and one who smooths it, removing hairs and veins, and one who cuts it into measured parts. One who writes two letters and erases in order to write two letters. One who builds a structure, and dismantles it, extinguishes a fire, and kindles a fire. One who strikes a blow with a hammer to complete the production process of a vessel, and one who carries out an object from domain to domain. 

Each of these was an essential element of the building of the Mishkan. Symbolically, the connection also reminds the people that the relationship with God is not just a physical place in the camp. A relationship to God is also available to each person in their home when they set aside time every week to remember God by keeping Shabbat. That can happen wherever a person is in the world.   

Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey.