Rabbi Shmuel bar Ami said: From the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He desired to enter into a partnership with the creations below.25To have his Divine Presence rest among His creations. Either way, it [the wording of the verse] is difficult. If it [the counting of the days] was for the purpose of a tally, it should have said: ‘One, two, three,’ or else ‘first, second, third’; is it proper to say: ‘One, second, third?’
This is bewildering.26The explanation is that “one day” is an allusion to the one God, who attached His name to the day when the creation of the world began to show His desire to be together with them. When did the Holy One blessed be He repay them?27By altering the proper wording of the numbering of days, it is as if God owed them something. It was later, at the establishment of the Tabernacle, as it is stated: “The one who presented his offering on the first day” (Numbers 7:12) – [alluding to] the first [day] of the creation of the world.
The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘It is as though I created the world on that day.’28It was on that day, which was the day the Tabernacle was erected, on the first of Nisan (Exodus 40:17), when God’s original desire was realized and His Divine Presence rested among His creations below.. It was taught: That day was conferred with ten crowns. It was the first day of the act of Creation;29It was a Sunday, the first day of the week. the first day for [years of] kings;30The years of Jewish kings are counted from the first of Nisan. the first day for the princes;31The princes’ offerings were presented for the dedication of the altar. the first day for the priesthood;32Aaron and his sons began to serve as priests after the Tabernacle was dedicated.
Moses had filled that role during the preceding seven days of Inauguration. the first day for the Divine Presence [on earth], as it is stated: “They shall craft a sanctuary for Me [and I will dwell in their midst]” (Exodus 25:8); the first day for blessing;33The Priestly Benediction. the first day for sacrificial service; the first day for the prohibition of improvised altars; the first day for slaughtering [sacrifices] in the north;34Offerings of the most sacred order were to be slaughtered in the north of the courtyard. and the first day for descent of fire [from heaven], as it is stated: “Fire emerged from before the Lord…” (Leviticus 9:24).