Midrash HaKeitz

Rabbi Yitzchak, who knew the Keitz, calculated in the years of Malchut. He said: The world was created ששת ימים, which is six times one thousand years, from year 1 to year 6001. Each day is Erev and Boker, and so the world is 12 times 500. But the very end of Malchut is a little later, as is written (Yirmyahu 31:16) יש תקוה לאחריתך. Therefore, the very end must be the year 6133, 511 (תקו"ה) times 12 after year 1.

Rabbi Yehuda, who heard from Eliyahu (Sanhedrin 97b) and knew Ma'aseh B'reishit, calculated in years of the Earth. He said: It is written (B'reishit 6:3) "his days shall be a hundred and twenty years." Read "his generations". The generations are ע"ב נ"ב, Keter Malchut. That is, 72 generations of 1000 years until the Mabul, and 52 generations of 120 years thereafter. Also, the generations are Tzaddik Malchut, צ' נ"ב, Ninety generations of 800 years until the Mabul, followed by 52 generations of 120 years until the end, in accordance with what is written (B'reishit 7:1): צדיק לפני בדור הזה. Until Yetziat Mitzrayim are ברי"ת generations of 120 years. The Brit of the Tzaddik, Noach. After Yetziat Mitzrayim, מ' דורות, forty generations of 120 years, remain. Together: ברי"ת מ' דורות, or 78,240 years, until the year 6129. The Brit of the Mem. Replied Rabbi Yitzchak: Add four years and get ברי"ת ד"ם.

Eilu v'Eilu.

פט

ברוך שהגיעני

Shemot 27:20, VaYikra 24:2:

שמן זית זך כתית למאור להעלת נר תמיד

At the level of Pshat, this verse describes the slow process of preparing oil for the Ner Tamid. At the level of Sod, it describes the slow historical process leading to the rise of the everlasting Light. The word ז"ך is 507 and refers to year 5776 from the side of the right and to year 5786 from the side of the left - 410 and 420 years into the "extra time" after year 5366 - כ"ת י"ת years. למאור - להעלת נר תמיד.

The Talmud records a statement of Eliyahu hinting that Moshiach will come in the 85th Yovel period (Sanhedrin 97b). Year 5776 is a Yovel year, marking the end of Yovel period 48 of history's second Yovel count, which commenced in the beginning of Bayit Sheni, in year 3416. Year 5776 is also the first year of Yovel period 49, after Ezra. Before Ezra, the initial count of Yovel periods commenced in year 1383, 54 years after Yetziat Mitzrayim. Thus, 36 Yovel periods of 50 years were counted until the destruction of Yerushalayim in year 3175. Summing up, the year 5776 is the beginning of Yovel period 85.

פח

What Went Wrong?

Today, all of mankind knows that the Universe had a beginning but that it is quite ancient. Many centuries ago, this was already known among the students of the secrets of the Torah. The understanding was deduced from the Torah's account of Creation, roughly along the lines of the previous post. Paradoxically, and very tragically, many of those who claim to be the carriers of authentic Judaism have come to deny the now revealed truth about the world's anciency.

What went wrong? The Arizal revealed a new understanding of the account of Creation, explaining the days of Creation in unison with the concept of the seven Kings of Edom who died, in spiritual, non-temporal, terms. The words of the towering Arizal were henceforth propagated widely, too widely, with less than complete understanding, and so it became accepted in broad circles that the Arizal had invalidated the concept of primordial Shmita periods (the same as the Omer weeks of the previous post) which preceded the creation of Adam HaRishon.

The Arizal was misunderstood. He did not come to say that Sephirot and Kelipot do not have temporal correlates. He came to explicate the spiritual underpinning of concepts that hitherto had commonly been understood in a temporal sense. Who would wish to dispute this, let him contemplate on the fact that the understanding of the week of Creation as the Shmita period of human history, with each day representing one millenium, remains universally accepted, together with the understanding of the days of Creation in terms of Sephirot.

In the Arizal's system, the days of Creation are included in the spiritual concept of the kings of Edom: The days of Creation are the eigth King of Edom. Hence, if the days of Creation can be viewed in temporal fashion, by extension the kings of Edom must have a temporal meaning as well.

...אני יהוה רפאך
פז

Shabbat Bereishit

Very influential religious authorities of our days teach in the name of Torah that the world's age is less than 6000 years. They do this in defiance of clear scientific evidence to the contrary. They even attempt to ban books in order to enforce their teachings. They even try to say that who does not accept their teachings regarding this issue, cannot be a Dayan, or a Ger. I find it hard to think of a more tragic mistake. This is not Torah. Tikkunei Zohar 36 starts like this:

בראשית דאיהו שבת בראשית דהא שבע שבתות אינון ולכל חד אית ליה שית ימי המעשה וכל יומא דקודשא בריך הוא הוא אלף שנים הדא הוא דכתיב כי אלף שנים בעיניך וכו' ושבת בראשית שית יומין דיליה אינון אלפים תהו שני אלפים תורה שני אלפים ימות המשיח

The word "Bereishit" hints at "Shabbat Bereishit." Now, there are seven Shabbatot and every one of them has six working days. Every day of HaKadosh Baruch Hu is a thousand years, as is written: "A thousand years in your eyes [is like yesterday (Tehilim 90:4)]." The six [working] days of Shabbat Bereishit are 2000 [years] of Tohu, 2000 [years] of Torah, and 2000 [years] of Moshiach.

This is a profound and fundamental teaching. The seven Shabbatot hint at the seven weeks of the Omer period. Shabbat Bereishit, then, is like day 49 of the Omer period, the Shabbat of the last of the seven weeks. The seventh week is holy and elevated above the 42 preceding days, just like the seventh day of every week is holy and elevated above the preceding six days.

The 49 days of the counting of the Omer prepare for Shavuot. Likewise, the first 42 days prepare for the holy seventh week. Now, here is a great secret: Before the 42 preparational days are four more preparational days, between the tenth of Nissan and Pesach. Altogether, therefore, there are 46 days of preparation for the seventh week, separated by Pesach into 4 and 42 days. The period of four days and the six Omer weeks that follow it represent the seven kings of Edom that died. The seventh week represents the eigth king of Edom.

The days of the seventh week are days of Zeir Anpin. Because Zeir Anpin is elevated above Malchut, the six working days of the seventh week correspond to 6000 years of Malchut. This is what the teaching of Tikkunei Zohar 36, cited above, alludes to. Both 4 and 42 refer to names of HaShem associated to the level of Adam Kadmon. Accordingly, the 46 days of the seven kings of Edom are days of Adam Kadmon. They correspond to 46,000 years of Zeir Anpin (מ"ה), as Adam Kadmon is elevated above Zeir Anpin. The 46,000 years of Zeir Anpin and the 6000 years of Malchut make up 52,000 (נ"ב) divine years until Shabbat Bereishit. Measured in physical time, the years of Zeir Anpin last much longer than the years of Malchut, because Zeir Anpin is elevated above Malchut. A year of Zeir Anpin is 300,000 physical years, whereas a year of Malchut is close to a physical year.

The vast amount of physical time that elapsed before the seventh week, 13.8 billion years, was to prepare for the advent of man. Likewise, the six working days of the seventh week, the history of mankind, prepares for Shabbat Bereishit, the climax of all of history.

פו