When the world was first created, G‑d’s Presence rested on earth. But the misdeeds of successive generations banished it to further and further spiritual realms. This process began to be reversed by Abraham, and was consummated by the construction of the Tabernacle.
Thus, the seven days of installation rites returned the world to its original state of completeness and holiness, the way it was during the original seven days of Creation.
If we look deeper, however, we can see that the seven days of the installation rites brought the world to an even greater level of completion than it possessed during the seven days of Creation. The Divine revelation that accompanied the construction of the Tabernacle was able to overcome the spiritual darkness that had spread throughout the world as a result of the progressive departure of the Divine Presence, not to mention the spiritual darkness into which the world was plunged by the incident of the Golden Calf.
Similarly, by focusing our attention on our Divine mission of making our lives into a “Tabernacle,” an environment where G‑d can feel at home, we bring ourselves to a higher level of Divine consciousness than we possessed originally. Our return to G‑d affects all our seven basic emotions, just as the installation rites of the priests had to take place over seven full days.1
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