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
