And G-d saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good, and it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day. Now the heavens and the earth were completed and all their host. And G-d completed on the seventh day His work that He did, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work that He did.
YOM HaShishi… The sixth day… That’s how we begin saying Kiddush every Friday Night, hearkening back to the original Shabbos of creation.
The Sixth day; Rashi is troubled by the prefix “HEY” which means “THE”. Why is that day of creation worthy more than other days of the title “THE”? Rashi offers two explanations which can really be merged into one.
The letter “HEY” has the numerical value of 5. Also there is another day in history worthy of that appellation “THE SIXTH DAY”. It’s “THE SIXTH DAY OF SIVAN, the day of the giving of the Torah, when the Jewish People stood like one person with one heart by the Mt of Sinai and received HASHEM’s Torah, 3331 years ago and 2448 years from the beginning of creation. At that cosmic event The Five Books of Moshe were born into the world and received by the Nation of Israel, hence the letter “HEY” which equals five, signifying The Five Books of Moshe.
Now we understand that “THE SIXTH DAY” mentioned there is actually referring to THE SIXTH DAY of SIVAN when the Jewish Nation received the Five Books of Moshe.
Everything is clear now, except one thing and that one thing will invite more information from Rashi to join and complete the picture. Why is this point the correct address for referring to THE SIXTH DAY of SIVAN? This is right at the end of the creation and just before the first Shabbos, and an event 2448 years later is being referenced! Why here? Why now?
Today is a very important day in my life. It’s THE SIXTH DAY! No it’s not Shevuos yet. It’s the 6th day of June. Why is that so important? Does it have something to do with D-Day? No! It is related to an event closer in history without which I would not be here today. No it’s not my birthday, but it is almost my birthday. Here’s a hint. Why would I have had to come into this world if HASHEM had not prepared for me a proper match?! Although the 6th of June date to which I refer actually happened more than 6 years after my arrival in this world, even still, there’s no doubt a plan was being hatched so that one day this pot would find its matching lid, and become one. It’s my wife’s birthday!
Rashi explains that HASHEM put a condition in the world right from the beginning of creation that he would endorse and support a world that would promise that there would be a nation ready and willing in time to arrive at that date on THE SIXTH DAY of SIVAN in the year 2448. Had there been no individual as Avraham and his progeny who seek out and discover HASHEM and then wish to do His will, the world would not have been worthy of being created. HASHEM would have unplugged His will, aborting the creation, and returning the universe to less than void and nothingness. There is no need for a world without direction and without those willing to receive directives. THE SIXTH DAY of SIVAN is when the Jewish Nation received the Torah and when the world received its reason for being.
Now how can HASHEM know in advance that there would be a nation that would arrive in time for that date with destiny? Isn’t freewill the main rule of this game of life?! HASHEM’s fore-knowledge doesn’t interfere with man’s ability to choose. Immediately before declaring completion of a sixth day the Torah states, “G-d saw all that He had made and it was very good.” Perhaps HASHEM peered deeply into the future here in happy anticipation of “THE SIXTH DAY”.