The Gold Corresponds to the Kingdom of Babylon

"And this is the offering which you shall take," and so forth (Exodus 25:3). Gold, corresponding to the kingdom of Babylon, of which it is written: "You are this head of gold" (Daniel 2:38). Silver, corresponding to the kingdom of Media, of which it is written: "and ten thousand talents of silver" (Esther 3:9). Bronze, corresponding to the kingdom of Greece, which is the lowest of them all. "And rams' skins dyed red," corresponding to the kingdom of Edom, as it is said: "And the first came out ruddy" (Genesis 25:25). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Even though you see four kingdoms growing arrogant and coming against you, I will cause salvation to sprout for you from the midst of subjugation. What is written after it? "Oil for the light" (Exodus 25:6) -- this is the king Messiah, as it is said: "There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have set up a lamp for My anointed" (Psalms 132:17). And Daniel was seeing these four kingdoms and was afraid, as it is written: "My spirit was grieved in the midst of my body, I Daniel, and the visions of my head troubled me" (Daniel 7:15). And what did Daniel see? When Nebuchadnezzar saw the dream, Daniel came and interpreted it and said to him: The image that you saw -- "You are this head of gold" (Daniel 2:32); "its breast and its arms of silver" (Daniel 2:32) -- this is the kingdom of Media, "and after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you" (Daniel 2:39); "its belly and its thighs of bronze" (Daniel 2:32) -- this is the kingdom of Greece, "and a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth" (Daniel 2:39); "its legs of iron" (Daniel 2:33) -- this is the fourth kingdom, which is the kingdom of Edom, "and the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron" (Daniel 2:40), it shall rule over all the earth like iron which crushes everything. And why is its rule compared to iron and clay? Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said: This kingdom is destined to use coinage of clay. Another interpretation: Why is it compared to iron and clay? Because it is destined to use iron and clay. Just as iron is hard, so the kingdom is hard. Just as clay is easily broken, so it will be broken suddenly: "and its breaking is like the breaking of a potter's vessel that is shattered without pity, so that there is not found among its fragments a shard with which to take fire from the hearth or to scoop water from a cistern" (Isaiah 30:14). Another interpretation: Why is Babylon compared to clay? Because it is destined to use vessels of clay. And he was seeing the king Messiah, for thus Daniel says: "You watched until a stone was cut out without hands, and it smote the image" -- ben Lakish: this is the king Messiah. "And it smote the image" -- every kingdom that worships an image in the shadow of death. And by what merit does the king Messiah rule by the stone? By the merit of the Torah, over which Israel labors, as it is said: "tablets of stone, written with the finger of God" (Exodus 31:18). Another interpretation: by the merit of Jacob, of whom it is written: "from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel" (Genesis 49:24). Another interpretation: Why by the stone? To break the heart of stone, as it is said: "And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). "And it smote the image" -- for it destroys all the nations, as it is said: "And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth," and so forth (Isaiah 11:4). And at that moment Israel dwell in quiet and security in the world, as it is said: "And they shall dwell upon it securely, and shall build houses and plant vineyards, and dwell securely" (Ezekiel 28:26).