Counting from the time of Ezra, year 5776 will be the 48th Yovel year. Eight periods of 50 years and forty periods of 49 years will have
passed since year 3416. Before the Babylonian exile,
36 Yovel periods were counted. To be precise, the exile started after six Shmita periods of the 36th Yovel period. Hence, at the end of the current Shmita period, 84 Yovel periods will have passed, minus one Shmita period of Yovel period 36.
In Sanhedrin 97b, the Sages teach in the name of Eliyahu that Moshiach will come in the 85th Yovel period. In Sanhedrin 97a, the Sages teach about one Shmita period preceding the coming of Moshiach. In the light of the above, and the preceding post, the two teachings are connected: The Shmita period before Moshiach is the first Shmita period of the 85th Yovel period. It compensates for the one Shmita period that was missed.
צד
