(31) And God saw all that had been made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Ḥizkiya said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “You caused judgement to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was silent” (Psalms 76:9)? If it was afraid, why was it silent; and if it was silent, why was it afraid? Rather, the meaning is: At first, it was afraid, and in the end, it was silent. “You caused judgement to be heard from heaven” refers to the revelation at Sinai. And why was the earth afraid? It is in accordance with the statement of Reish Lakish, as Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31)? Why do I require the superfluous letter heh, the definite article, which does not appear on any of the other days? It teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, established a condition with the act of Creation, and said to them: If Israel accepts the Torah on the sixth day of Sivan, you will exist; and if they do not accept it, I will return you to the primordial state of chaos and disorder. Therefore, the earth was afraid until the Torah was given to Israel, lest it be returned to a state of chaos. Once the Jewish people accepted the Torah, the earth was calmed.

(1) יום הששי THE SIXTH DAY — The letter ה, the numerical value of which is 5, is added to the word ששי when the work of Creation was complete, to imply that He made a stipulation with them that it endures only upon condition that Israel should accept the five books of the Torah (Shabbat 88a). Another interpretation of יום הששי THE SIXTH DAY — The whole Creation (the Universe) stood in a state of suspense (moral imperfection) until the sixth day — that is, the sixth day of Sivan which was destined to be the day when the Torah would be given to Israel (Avodah Zara 3a).

(3) The sixth day: [The Torah] added [a letter], hay to the word, sixth, to say that the Holy One, blessed be He, made a condition with [his creations] that it all depends on whether Israel will accept the five [the numerical equivalent of the letter hay] books of the Torah; or that all of you will be in suspension until the sixth day of Sivan [when the Jews accepted the Torah], since hey, when it is spelled out, comes out to [the number, six.] And the reason for this matter is because the upper ones and the lower ones are two opposites, and they cannot exist [together] except through an intermediary that combines and unites these two opposite elements; and this is a human who has a physical part and a spiritual part - "a part of God above;" and the retention of the spiritual side depends on the acceptance of the Torah. If so, if Israel had not accepted the Torah, there would not be any intermediary here to to unite the two opposite extremes and necessity would dictate that the world would return to being chaos and void....

§ Apropos the significance of Torah study, Rabbi Alexandri says: Anyone who engages in the study of Torah for its own sake introduces peace into the heavenly entourage above and into the earthly entourage below, as it is stated: “Or let him take hold of My stronghold [ma’uzi], that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me” (Isaiah 27:5). One who observes the Torah, which is called oz, introduces peace, even before the presence of God, as it were. Rav says: It is as though he built a palace of heaven above and of earth below, as it is stated: “And I have placed My words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of My hand, to plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, you are My people” (Isaiah 51:16). One who has the word of God placed in his mouth through Torah study has established heaven and earth....

For the Torah scholars create everything through their words, as it is written (Isaiah 51:16), “and I have declared to Zion: You are ami (My people)”—do not read ami, but imi (“with Me”). Just as I make heaven and earth through My word, so you do the same (Zohar, Introduction, p.4b-5a) .

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Bezalel knew how to join the letters with which heaven and earth were created. From where do we derive this? It is written here in praise of Bezalel: “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship” (Exodus 31:3); and it is written there with regard to creation of heaven and earth: “The Lord, by wisdom, founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19), and it is written: “By His knowledge the depths were broken up and the skies drop down the dew” (Proverbs 3:20). We see that wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, the qualities with which the heavens and earth were created, are all found in Bezalel.

HALAKHAH: It was stated: Before the Ark was hidden he entered and exited by the light of the Ark. After the Ark was removed he was groping and entering, groping and leaving.

(1)... It is stated (in Hab. 3:6), “God arose and measured the earth; God looked and made nations tremble.” What is the meaning of “God arose and measured the earth?” It is simply that, when the Holy One, blessed be God, wanted to give the Torah to Israel, God arose and measured (mdd) the earth. Then God gave the Torah in public in the desert. Therefore (in Hab. 3:6), “God arose and measured the earth,” because God wanted to return the world to the measurements of God's waters, when [if?] the [world] did not want to accept the Torah. If it had not been for Israel accepting it, the world would have returned to the measurements of God's waters. [It is] just as you say (in Is. 40:12), “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand?” But when Israel accepted it, the earth was still [silent], as stated (in Ps. 76:9), “the earth was afraid and was still [silent].”