Three stages: derech eretz, Torah, teshuvah

במד' חכמות בנתה ביתה כו'.

In the Midrash: "Wisdom has built her house etc."

The Midrash opens with the verse describing how Chochmah (wisdom) constructed her dwelling, hinting that the world itself was built with wisdom.

כלל הענין כי הקב"ה ברא העולם לכבודו ולכן בחכמה יסד ארץ ויכולין להכיר כבוד ה' בכל הבריאה.

The general idea is that Hashem created the world for His glory, and therefore "with wisdom He founded the earth," and one can recognize the glory of Hashem in all of creation.

Because the world was made for Hashem's kavod and built with His wisdom, that very wisdom is embedded in creation — so a person can perceive Hashem's glory by contemplating the world itself.

וז' עמודים דז' ימי בראשית שעל ידן יחכם האדם למצוא כבוד ה'.

And the seven pillars are the seven days of Creation, through which a person becomes wise to find the glory of Hashem.

The "seven pillars" that Wisdom hewed are the seven days of Bereishis; through engaging the wisdom woven into these foundations of the world, a person learns to discover Hashem's glory.

וז"ש שלחה נערותי' תקרא כי האדם צריך להוציא מכח אל הפועל חכמה הגנוזה במעשה בראשית.

And this is the meaning of "she sent forth her maidens, she calls" — for a person must bring from potential into actuality the wisdom hidden within the act of Creation.

The "maidens" sent out to call represent the summons to mankind: it is man's task to draw out and realize the latent Divine wisdom concealed in the natural world.

אבל כאשר חטא האדם ונתערב בחכמת הטבע שלא לשם שמים.

But when man sinned and became mixed up in the wisdom of nature not for the sake of Heaven,

After the sin, man's pursuit of natural wisdom became tangled with self-interest, no longer directed purely toward recognizing Hashem.

ניתן לבנ"י התורה שע"י התורה יכולין להכיר כבוד ה' בלי תערובות חכמות חיצוניות.

the Torah was given to Bnei Yisrael, so that through the Torah one can recognize the glory of Hashem without the admixture of external wisdoms.

The Torah was given as a pure path to perceive Hashem's glory directly, untainted by the foreign, self-serving "outer" wisdoms that had corrupted man's view of nature.

וכאשר חטאנו גם אחר התורה יש דרך התשובה אשר על ידה יכולין לשוב להכיר דרך האמת.

And when we sinned even after the Torah, there is the path of teshuvah, through which one can return to recognize the way of truth.

When sin clouds even the clarity of Torah, teshuvah is provided as a further path to return and once again recognize the true way to Hashem.

וזה נעשה במשכן וימי המילואים.

And this was effected in the Mishkan and the days of the milu'im (inauguration).

This power of teshuvah and renewed closeness was realized through the building of the Mishkan and the seven days of its dedication.

וכל אדם צריך לעבור כל אלה האופנים.

And every person must pass through all of these stages.

These three avenues are not merely historical; each individual must traverse all of them in his own avodah.

בדרך ארץ שקדמה לתורה.

By way of derech eretz, which preceded the Torah.

First comes the natural, foundational stage of derech eretz — the basic recognition of Hashem available through the created world, which preceded the giving of the Torah.

ואח"כ התורה.

And afterward the Torah.

Next a person ascends to the clear, undiluted recognition of Hashem that the Torah provides.

ואח"כ דרך התשובה:

And afterward the path of teshuvah.

Finally, when one falls even from the level of Torah, the path of teshuvah restores him to the way of truth — completing the three stages every person must walk.

Summary: The world was built with Divine wisdom so that Hashem's glory could be recognized within creation — the "seven pillars" of the seven days. After sin clouded man's grasp of natural wisdom, the Torah was given as a pure path to Hashem's glory, and teshuvah (realized in the Mishkan's inauguration) as a path of return. Every individual must journey through all three: derech eretz, then Torah, then teshuvah.