Seder Olam Rabbah Reader

Chapter 1 From Adam to the Flood was 1656 years, and this is their enumeration: Adam 130, Seth 105, Enosh 90, Kenan 70, Mahalalel 65, Jared 162, Enoch 65, Methuselah 187, Lamech 182, and Noah was six hundred years old, etc." (Genesis 7, 6). Enoch buried Adam, and lived after him 57 years. Methuselah exhausted his days just before the Flood. From the Flood to the division [of languages] was 340 years. Noah lived ten years after the division [of languages]. Our father Abraham was at the division [of languages] 48 years old. Rabbi Yosei said: Eber was so great a prophet that he [preemptively] named his son Peleg ["division"], [aided] by the Holy Spirit. [Eber having foreseen what was to come] as it says "in his days the earth was divided" (Genesis 10, 25).

Chapter 2 Our forefather Jacob was 63 when he was blessed. Ishmael died at that time as is written, "Esau saw that Isaac had blessed...Jacob listened to his father...Esau saw [the Canaanite women] were bad [in the eyes of Isaac]...Esau went to Ishmael..."(Genesis 28:9). There seems no need for the verse to state "sister of Nebaioth." What do we learn from the fact that it says "sister of Nebaioth"? We learn that Ishmael died and Nebaioth [Ishmael's firstborn therefore] married off his sister to Esau. Jacob our forefather hid [from Esau] 14 years in the land of Israel and served Eber. Eber died two years after Jacob went to Aram-Naharaim. [Jacob] left and went to Aram-Naharaim and he was found by the well when he was 77 years old and he was in Laban's house for 20 years: 7 before he married any matriarchs, 7 from when he married in the Matriarchs and 6 years after the 11 tribes and Dinah were born. It comes out that all the tribes were born in seven years besides Benjamin. Each and every one each 7 months. He left Aram-Naharaim and came to Succoth and stayed there 18 months as is written "And Jacob went to Succoth" (Genesis 33:17). He left Succoth and went to Bet El and made 6 new encampments close to the place.

... The judgment of the wicked in Gehinnom lasts twelve months, as it says “And it shall be from new moon to new moon…” (Yeshayahu 66:23) R’ Yochanan ben Nuri says: from Pesach until Atzeret (Shavuot), as it says “…and from Sabbath to Sabbath…” (ibid.) After twelve months the souls of the sinners of Israel who transgressed the Torah and the commandments are consumed and their bodies are consumed and they are turned to dust. Gehinnom spits them out and the wind scatters them underneath the feet of the righteous, as it says “And you shall crush the wicked, for they will be as ash under the soles of your feet…” (Malachi 3:21) But those who separated from the ways of the community, like the Sadducees, and the betrayers and the hypocrites and the heretics, and those who ‘spread their terror in the land of the living,’ and those who denied the resurrection, and those who say Torah is not from heaven, and those who scoff at the words of the Sages – Gehinnom is locked before them and they are judged there forever, as it says “And they shall go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against Me…” (Yeshayahu 66:24) Not only this, but the netherworld will cease to be but they will not cease to be, as it says “…and their form will outlast the grave as his dwelling place (zevul).” (Tehillim 49:15) From His dwelling place He will wear out their form, and their form will wear out the netherworld. What caused this to happen to them? Because they stretched out their hands against the dwelling place, as it says ‘as his dwelling place,’ and there is no dwelling place other than the Holy Temple, as it says “I have surely built You a house to dwell in…” (Melachim I 8:13)

Chapter 4. The Flood lasted a full twelve months, as it is said, "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life..." (Genesis 7:11). That generation does not live in the world to come and is not judged, as it is said, "My spirit shall not judge in man forever" (Genesis 6:3). Rabbi Joshua says: "In the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month" (Genesis 7:11) means Iyar, which is second to Nisan, for in Nisan the world was created. In Iyar the Pleiades sets; because they changed their deeds before the Omnipresent, He changed the orders of creation against them. Rabbi Eliezer says: "In the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month" means Marheshvan, which is second to Tishrei, for in Tishrei the world was created. In Marheshvan the Pleiades rises, and it was the season of the first rains. The sages follow Rabbi Eliezer about the Flood and Rabbi Joshua about the seasons. "The rain was..." (Genesis 7:12). Until when? Forty days and forty nights, until the twenty-seventh of Kislev. "The waters prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days" (Genesis 7:24). Until when were those one hundred and fifty days? Until the first of Sivan. The waters stood still and silent, and the wicked were judged in them, each according to his deeds. "The waters diminished at the end of one hundred and fifty days..." and "the waters went on diminishing..." (Genesis 8). The waters were fifteen cubits above the earth, and they were gone in sixty days: one cubit every four days, a handbreadth and a half each day. "The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day" (Genesis 8:4). This is Sivan. When you begin counting from the time the rains stopped falling, you find that the ark rested after sixteen days. How high was it above the earth? Four cubits. How much of it was sunk in the water? Eleven cubits. "It came to pass at the end of forty days" (Genesis 8:6), meaning from the point when the waters began to diminish, on the tenth of Tammuz. "Noah opened the window of the ark..." and "he sent out the raven..." (Genesis 8). He waited seven days and sent out the dove, "but it found no resting place..." (Genesis 8:9). He waited another seven days and again sent out the dove, and the dove came back to him. He waited another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return to him again (Genesis 8:12). It went and settled on the tops of the mountains. "In the tenth month, on the first of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen" (Genesis 8:5). This is Av. When you begin counting from the time the rains began to fall, from the first of Av until the first of Tishrei the waters were absorbed. "It came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month..." (Genesis 8:13). A part of a month counts as the whole month. We learn that once one day of a month has entered, that month is counted as a full month; and once one month has entered a year, that year is counted as a full year. A part of the month is like the whole month, and a part of the year is like the whole year. "The waters dried from upon the earth" (Genesis 8:13). The waters that came down from above were dried by the wind, and the waters that rose from below were swallowed back in their place. The earth was still moist and like a thick porridge. They waited and did not sow until rains fell for them, because the waters of the Flood were a sign of curse, and blessing is not included within curse. "In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month" (Genesis 8:14). This is Marheshvan. "The earth was dry" (Genesis 8:14), and it became firm. Here are twelve full months. What is the meaning of the eleven extra days? It teaches that the days of the solar year exceed the days of the lunar year by eleven days. Rabbi Elazar said: But from the beginning of the creation of the world, did the days of the solar year not exceed the days of the lunar year by eleven days, since they were created full at fifteen? Remove four days from before this point, and there are eleven. They said to him: Since the first intercalation had passed, the moon had reached the sun. He said to them: It returns and repays it. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Whoever wants to know the sign that the days of the solar year exceed the days of the lunar year by eleven days should make a scratch at the summer solstice. In the next year, the sun will not reach that place until eleven days later. In this way you know that the days of the solar year exceed the days of the lunar year by eleven days.

Chapter 5. All seven days the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke with Moses at the bush, as it is said, "Moses said to the LORD: Please, my Lord, I am not a man of words, neither since yesterday, nor since three days ago, nor since You have spoken to Your servant" (Exodus 4:10). "Since three days ago" gives three days; the three repeated words "also" add three more; and the day on which He was speaking makes seven days. It was the season of Passover, and they align it with the fifteenth of Nisan. At that same time in the following year, the children of Israel went out from Egypt. Likewise, on the fifteenth of Nisan He spoke with Abraham our father between the pieces. On the fifteenth of Nisan the angels came to Abraham our father to announce the birth to him, and at that same season in the following year Isaac our father was born, as it is said, "At the appointed time I will return" (Genesis 18:14). On the fifteenth of Nisan Israel went out from Egypt, as it is said, "It came to pass at the end of thirty years..." (Exodus 12:41), one endpoint for all of them. On the fourteenth day of that month, Israel slaughtered their Passover offerings in Egypt, and it was the fifth day of the week. That night the firstborn were struck. "On the morrow after the Passover," it was the eve of Shabbat, they traveled from Rameses, as it is said, "The children of Israel traveled from Rameses to Sukkot" (Exodus 12:37), and it is written, "They traveled from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month" (Numbers 33:3), and it is written, "The Egyptians were burying..." (Numbers 33:4). From Rameses they traveled to Sukkot, from Sukkot to Etham, and from Etham to before Pi-hahiroth. These are three days. On the fourth day, "it was told to the king of Egypt that the people had fled" (Exodus 14:5). On the fifth and sixth, "the Egyptians pursued..." (Exodus 14:9). At the light of the seventh day they went down into the sea, as it is said, "The cloud and the darkness came, and it lit up the night" (Exodus 14:20). In the morning Israel came up from the sea and the Egyptians sank. At that hour Israel sang the song, as it is said, "Then Moses sang..." (Exodus 15:1). It was the fifth day of the week, and it was the last festival day of Passover. From the Sea of Reeds they traveled to Marah, as it is said, "They came to Marah..." (Exodus 15:23), and Scripture says, "There He set for him a statute and a judgment" (Exodus 15:25). There ten commandments were given to Israel. Seven were among those that the children of Noah had already been commanded, as it is written, "The LORD God commanded the man, saying: From every tree of the garden you may surely eat" (Genesis 2:16). "Commanded" refers to laws, and so it says, "For I have known him, so that he will command..." (Genesis 18:19), and it is written, "to do righteousness and judgment" (Genesis 18:19). "The LORD" refers to blessing the Name, as it is said, "Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD..." (Leviticus 24:16). "God" refers to idolatry, as it is said, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). "The man" refers to bloodshed, as it is said, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed" (Genesis 9:6). "Saying" refers to sexual immorality, as it is said, "Saying: If a man sends away his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man's, shall he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many companions; yet return to Me, says the LORD" (Jeremiah 3:1). "From every tree of the garden" refers to robbery, as it is said, "or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall restore it in full, and add a fifth to it" (Leviticus 5:24). Rabbi Hiyya taught: That which is guarded on a roof is forbidden because of robbery, and that which is not guarded on a roof is permitted with respect to robbery. "You may surely eat" refers to a limb from a living animal, as it is said, "But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat" (Genesis 9:4). At that time Israel added three commandments to those seven: Shabbat, laws, and honoring father and mother. From Marah they traveled to Elim, as it is said, "They traveled from Marah and came to Elim..." (Numbers 33:9). From this we learn that Israel camped only by water. From Elim they traveled to Alush, as it is said, "They traveled from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin" (Exodus 16:1). This is Alush. It was "on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt" (Exodus 16:1), and it was the first day of the week. From this we learn that the new moon of Iyar fell on the first day of the week. We also learn that Israel ate from the cake they had brought out in their hands from Egypt for thirty full days. On that day it ran out. In the evening they ate the quail, and in the morning they gathered the manna. At Alush the Shabbat was given to them, and there they kept the first Shabbat, as it is said, "The people rested on the seventh day" (Exodus 16:30). On the first day of the week, the twenty-third of Iyar, they traveled from Alush and came to Rephidim. There the well was given to them, they fought with Amalek, and there they kept the second Shabbat. They traveled from Rephidim and came to the Wilderness of Sinai, where they found the clouds of glory. During all five days Moses would go up to the top of the mountain and come down, telling the people the words of the Omnipresent and bringing their words back before the Omnipresent. In the third month, on the sixth day of the month, the Ten Commandments were given to them, and it was Shabbat.

On the seventh day after the Ten Commandments Moshe went up on the mountain, as it says "The Presence of the LORD abode on Mount Sinai, and the cloud hid it for six days..." (Shemot 24:16) This was in order for Moshe to purify himself. "On the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud." (ibid.) "Moses went inside the cloud and ascended the mountain; and Moses remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights." (Shemot 24:18) On the 17th of Tammuz he came down and shattered the tablets, "The next day Moses said to the people, “You have been guilty of a great sin. Yet I will now go up to the LORD; perhaps I may win forgiveness for your sin.” Moshe went back up on the 18th of Tammuz and pleaded for mercy on behalf of Israel, as it is written "When I lay prostrate before the LORD those forty days and forty nights, because the LORD was determined to destroy you," (Devarim 9:25) At that moment, the Holy One once again viewed Israel with favor and said to Moshe to carve new tablets and to come up the mountain once again, as it says "Thereupon the LORD said to me, “Carve out two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain; and make an ark of wood." (Devarim 10:1) He came down on the 28th of Av and carved the second tablets, as it says "So Moses carved two tablets of stone, like the first, and early in the morning he went up on Mount Sinai..." (Shemot 34:4) He went back up on the 29th of Av and the Torah was repeated to him a second time, as it says "I had stayed on the mountain, as I did the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD heeded me once again: the LORD agreed not to destroy you." (Devarim 10:10) 'As I did the first time,' just as the first was a time of favor, so too the second were a time of favor- we can derive from this that those in the middle were a time of anger. He came down on the 10th of Tishre, which was Yom Kippur, and announced to them that they had found favor before God (Hamakom), as it says "Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own!” (Shemot 34:9) Therefore it was established as a fixed day and a remembrance for the generations, as it says "This shall be to you a law for all time: to make atonement for the Israelites for all their sins once a year..." (Vayikra 16:34)

Chapter 7. "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: On the first day of the first month you shall set up the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. You shall place there..." and "you shall bring in the table..." (Exodus 40:2-3). The seven days of ordination began on the twenty-third of Adar, and on the first of Nisan they were completed. During all seven days of ordination, Moses would set up the Tabernacle every morning, offer sacrifices upon it, and dismantle it. On the eighth day he set it up and did not dismantle it. Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Yehudah says: Even on the eighth day he set it up and dismantled it. "Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket," and "at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting you shall sit day and night for seven days..." and "Aaron and his sons did..." (Leviticus 8:35). "It came to pass on the eighth day..." (Leviticus 9:1), after the seven days of ordination. It was the first day of the week and the new moon of Nisan. On that very day Aaron and his sons stood, washed their hands and feet from the basin, performed all the services, and arranged them in order. On that day the tribal princes began to bring their offerings, as it is said, "The one who brought his offering on the first day..." (Numbers 7:12). It was first in the act of creation, first for the princes, first for the Shekhinah dwelling in Israel, as it is said, "I will dwell among the children of Israel" (Exodus 29:45), first for the prohibition of private altars, first for the priesthood, first for blessing, first for service, first for the months, first for slaughtering in the north, first for eating consecrated foods, and first for the descent of fire, as it is said, "Fire came out..." (Leviticus 9:24). On that day Israel brought daily offerings, vows, voluntary offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings, firstborn offerings, and tithes. About that day Scripture says, "Awake, north wind, and come, south wind; blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow" (Song of Songs 4:16). "Awake, north wind" refers to the burnt offering slaughtered in the north. "Come, south wind" refers to peace offerings slaughtered in the south. "Blow upon my garden" refers to the Tent of Meeting. "That its spices may flow" refers to the incense of spices. "Let my beloved come into his garden" (Song of Songs 4:16) refers to the Shekhinah. "And eat its choice fruits" refers to the sacrifices. "I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride" (Song of Songs 5:1) refers to the eighth day. "I have gathered my myrrh with my spice" refers to incense, frankincense, and the meal offerings. "I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey" refers to the limbs of the burnt offering and the sacrificial portions of the most holy offerings. "I have drunk my wine with my milk" refers to the libations and the sacrificial portions of offerings of lesser sanctity. "Eat, friends" refers to Moses and Aaron. "Drink, and become drunk, beloved ones" refers to the congregation of Israel. On that day Elisheba daughter of Amminadab was greater than Israel in four joys and one mourning: her brother-in-law was a king, her husband was the High Priest, her brother was a prince, her sons were deputy priests, and her mourning was for her two sons, Nadab and Abihu. Some say that even her grandson was the priest anointed for war, namely Phinehas. On the second of Nisan, Eleazar the priest burned the red heifer of sin offering, and all Israel were sprinkled and repeated the sprinkling. On the fourteenth of that month Israel slaughtered their Passover offerings, and it was Shabbat.

Chapter 8. "The LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year..." "Take a census..." "from twenty years old..." and "with you there shall be..." (Numbers 1:3). After that, "count every firstborn male of the children of Israel..." (Numbers 3:40). After that, "take the sum of the sons of Kohath..." (Numbers 4:2). After that, "take the sum of the sons of Gershon also..." (Numbers 4:22). After that, the sons of Merari were counted (Numbers 4:29). After that, "according to the command of the LORD they were counted by the hand of Moses" (Numbers 4:49). On the fourteenth of Iyar, those who were impure by contact with the dead slaughtered the second Passover offering, as it is said, "There were men who were impure by the dead body of a man..." and "those men said to him..." and "the LORD spoke to Moses, saying..." and "If any man will be impure by the dead..." (Numbers 9). "It came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was lifted" (Numbers 10:11). It follows that they spent twelve months in the Wilderness of Sinai, less ten days. Scripture says, "Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys..." (Numbers 33:2). They traveled from the Wilderness of Sinai and came to Kibroth-hattaavah, and they stayed there thirty days, as it is said, "You shall not eat one day..." but "up to a full month..." (Numbers 11). They traveled from Kibroth-hattaavah and came to Hazeroth, and they stayed there seven days, as it is said, "Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days" (Numbers 12:15). They traveled from Hazeroth and came to the Wilderness of Paran on the twenty-eighth of Sivan. On the twenty-ninth of Sivan, Moses sent the spies, as it is said, "The days were the days of the first ripe grapes" (Numbers 13:20). "They returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days" (Numbers 13:25), and it was the ninth of Av. You therefore find that on the ninth of Av it was decreed against our ancestors that they would not enter the land. After the spies came Korah's dispute and his being swallowed, as it is said, "Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey..." (Numbers 16:14). "The LORD's anger burned against Israel" (Numbers 32:13), and Scripture says, "The days in which we went from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered were thirty-eight years..." (Deuteronomy 2:14). Nineteen years they wandered and were unsettled, and nineteen years they sat in Kadesh-barnea, as it is said, "You stayed in Kadesh many days, like the days that you stayed" (Deuteronomy 1:46). All the journeys together are found to be forty-two journeys.

Chapter 9 They [the Israelites]--the entire congregation--came to the wilderness of Tzin in the first month, and the nation settled there, and Miriam died there and was buried there, and therre was not water for the congregation, and they gathered against Moses and Aaron (Numbers 20:1-2). When the well disappeared, it was Year 40, and it was the first of the month of Nissan, there in the episode when Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the King of Edom (ibid. 20:14), and Israel made [themselves] there for 3 months. Aaron the Priest went up etc., and Aaron was 123 years old when he died at the hill of the mountain (ibid. 33). When Aaron died, the clouds of glory disappeared, and the Canaanites came to make war against Israel. The Canaanites, King of Arad, heard etc. (ibid. 33:40), but what hearing did he hear? He heard that Aaron died, and he the greatest scout traveled among them, and the cloud of glory disappeared, for he had fought for them, and he came to fight with them, and they retreated seven stations and camped at Moserah, for it says "The Israelites traveled from Be'erot Beney Ya'akan towards Moserah; there Aaron died" (Deuteronomy 10:6). Did Aaron die in Moserah? Lo, did he not die at the hill of the mountain? Rather, starting from the location where Aaron died, they retreated seven stations, until they encamped at Moserah, and, from there they traveled towards HaGidgad, etc. (ibid. 10:7), and, from there, towards Be'er etc. (Numbers 21:16), which is the well to which they returned. The Israelites traveled and encamped in Avot, and they traveled from Avot and encamped in Iyyey Ha'avarim etc., and from there they traveled and encamped at the Wadi Zered, and from there they traveled and encamped beyond Arnon etc. (ibid.). There they fought with Sihon, and Israel struck him with the sword etc., and they turned and arose on the path of Bashan etc., "and the Lord said to Moses: 'Do not fear him etc.' and they struck him and his children etc." (ibid.). "The Israelites traveled and encamped at Arvot Mo'av etc." (ibid. 22:1). "It was after the plague etc." (ibid. 26:19), "for these the land shall be divided etc." (ibid. 26:53), and, when staying in Arvot Mo'av, the children retreated to their parents, and their parents retracted and gave inheritance to their children. Serah bat Asher was among those who came to Egypt and those who left it. [She was] from those who came to Egypt, as it is written, "And Serah their sister" (Genesis 46:17), and [she was] from those who came to the Land [of Israel], as it says, "And there was the daughter of Asher, Serah" (Numbers 26:46). And Yokheved was among those who came to Egypt and those who left it. [She was] from those who came to Egypt, as it is written, "And the name of the wife of Amram was Yokheved, daughter of Levi etc." (ibid. 26:59). Ya'ir son of Menasheh and Makhir son of Menasheh were born in the lifetime of our ancestor Jacob, and they died after the death of Moses our teacher, and Novach was among those born in Egypt, and he died after the death of Moses our teacher, and he was buried beyond the Jordan, but there was no man among them left etc. (ibid. 26:65).

Chapter 10. "It came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel..." (Deuteronomy 1). From the first of Shevat until the sixth of Adar, thirty-six days, Moses our teacher explained the whole Torah. On the sixth of that month, "The LORD said to Moses: Behold, your days draw near to die" (Deuteronomy 31:14). On the seventh of Adar, "Moses went and spoke..." and "he said to them: I am one hundred and twenty years old today" (Deuteronomy 31). The word "today" need not have been stated. What does "today" teach? It teaches that Moses was born on the seventh of Adar and died on the seventh of Adar, as it is said, "Moses, servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab by the mouth of the LORD. He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, and no man knows his burial place..." and "Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye had not dimmed, and his freshness had not fled" (Deuteronomy 34). "It came to pass after the death of Moses, servant of the LORD..." "Moses My servant is dead; now rise, cross over..." "Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying: Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying: Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are crossing this Jordan, to go in to possess the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess" (Joshua 1). "The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, at the eastern edge of Jericho" (Joshua 4:19). Count thirty-three days back from that date, and you learn that Moses our teacher died on the seventh of Adar. Three good sustainers stood up for Israel: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Three good gifts were given through them: the well, the pillar of cloud, and the manna. The manna came through the merit of Moses, the pillar of cloud through the merit of Aaron, and the well through the merit of Miriam. When Miriam died, the well departed, and it returned to Israel through the merit of Moses and Aaron. When Aaron died, the pillar of cloud departed, and it returned through the merit of Moses. When Moses died, all three departed and did not return, as it is said, "I cut off the three shepherds in one month" (Zechariah 11:8). Did they die in one month? Did they not die in one year? Miriam died on the tenth of Nisan, Aaron on the first of Av, and Moses our teacher on the seventh of Adar. Rather, on the day Moses died, all three departed and did not return. From the manna that they gathered on the seventh of Adar, they ate until the sixteenth of Nisan, as it is said, "The manna ceased on the morrow after they ate from the produce of the land, and there was no more manna for the children of Israel; they ate from the produce of the land of Canaan that year" (Joshua 5:12). Why does Scripture say, "The children of Israel ate the manna..." "until they came to an inhabited land" (Exodus 16:35)? On the day Moses died, that same day the manna stopped falling. "Until they came to the edge of the land of Canaan" (Exodus 16:35) means that on that day the manna in their hands ran out. This makes forty years less thirty days, plus the thirty days during which they ate the cake they had brought out in their hands from Egypt, which was as good for them as the manna. End of the chapter and of the first gate.

Eli led Israel for forty years, and the day Eli died, he forsook his tabernacle, as it is said, “He rejected the tent of Joseph” (Psalm 78:67), and “He gave His strength into captivity” (Psalm 78:61). And the Ark of the Lord was in the field of the Philistines for seven months. The Philistines called and said (1 Samuel 6:1-2). The men of Kiriath-Jearim came and took it, and it was from the day the Ark rested (1 Samuel 7:2). Subtract from these seven years the time David reigned in Hebron over Judah, which remained there for thirteen years, and subtract eleven years for Samuel himself and two years for Samuel and Saul. It was from the day the Ark rested (1 Samuel 7:2). At the beginning of these twenty years, the Tabernacle was brought to Nob. Although the Ark of the Lord was in Kiriath-Jearim, in Nob they offered sacrifices for thirteen years and for seven years in Gibeon. At the end of twenty years, David moved the Ark of the Lord from Kiriath-Jearim to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, and the Ark of the Lord stayed in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months (2 Samuel 6:11). From this, we learn that Obed-Edom was blessed only because of the Ark of God. Saul was one year into his reign (1 Samuel 13:1). Samuel said to Saul at the time of his anointing, “You will go down before me to Gilgal” (1 Samuel 10:8). Saul went down in the first year and struck the Ammonite king, and the Israelites anointed him. In the second year, he went down and did not keep his promise. Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord” (1 Samuel 13:13). In that chapter, David was anointed, as it is said, “And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul?’” (1 Samuel 16:1). Then Samuel took the horn of oil (1 Samuel 16:13), and he was twenty-nine years old. And Saul was hostile towards David (1 Samuel 18:9), and it is said, “The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 16:14). In that chapter, Nob was destroyed, and they came to Gibeon. All the days of Samuel the Seer were only fifty-two years. It is also said, “Eli the priest sat on the seat” (1 Samuel 1:9), and she was bitter in soul (1 Samuel 1:10). In that chapter, he was appointed as a judge, and it is said, “And he judged Israel forty years” (1 Samuel 4:18). Thirteen years remained. Subtract one year for the intercalation, eleven years for Samuel, and one year for Saul. Thus, fifty-two years. Samuel died about four months before Saul's death, as it is said, “And the number of days that David stayed in the field of the Philistines was days and four months” (1 Samuel 27:7). And afterward, David inquired of the Lord, saying (1 Samuel 30:8). Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, was forty years old when he began to reign (2 Samuel 2:10), and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. The kingdom of Israel was therefore nullified for five and a half years. All the elders of Israel came to King Hebron (2 Samuel 5:3). In that chapter, David was anointed again, being thirty years old at his anointing (2 Samuel 5:4), and he reigned for forty years.

Ahaziah son of Ahab reigned two years, and in the second year of Ahaziah, Elijah was hidden away and was not seen until the time when the messianic king will come; and he will be seen, and hidden away a second time, and he is not seen until the time when Gog and Magog will come. And now he is recording the deeds of all the generations, all of them.

“And in the first year of Cyrus, the king of Persia, at the completion of the word of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord aroused… So said Cyrus, the king of Persia… Who is among you of all His people… And the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose…” (Ezra 1:1-5) “…forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty. Besides their slaves…” (Ezra 2:64-65) This was the overall count, but in specifics of the count they are only thirty thousand three hundred and sixty. Where did the other twelve thousand go? These are the members of the other tribes who went up. “And they set the altar on its bases… And they gave money to the quarries…” (Ezra 3:1-7) Cyrus reigned for three truncated years. “And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign… Then the work of the House of God, which was in Jerusalem, was stopped…” (Ezra 4:6-24) “In the third year of his reign, he made a banquet…” (Esther 1:3) Esther was hidden in Shushan the capitol for four years, “So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus…” (Esther 2:16) Haman gathered spoils against Mordecai for five years, “In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus…” (Esther 3:7) On the thirteenth of Nisan Haman wrote the letters “…to destroy, kill, and cause to perish all the Jews…” (Esther 3:13) On the fifteenth of Nisan Esther went in to the king. On the sixteenth of Nisan they hung Haman. On the twenty-third of Nisan Mordecai wrote letters to contradict Haman’s decree. On the thirteenth of Adar “And the Jews smote all their enemies…” (Esther 9:5) They killed five hundred in Shushan, and they hung the ten sons of Haman because “…they wrote an accusation against the dwellers of Judea and Jerusalem.” (Ezra 4:6) “On that day, the number of those slain in Shushan the capital came before the king.” (Esther 9:11) And at that time in the coming year, it says “Now, Queen Esther, the daughter of Avichayil, and Mordecai the Jew wrote down…” (Esther 9:29) Behold, it says “For at the completion of seventy years of Babylon…” (Jeremiah 29:10) and “…since the destruction of Jerusalem seventy years.” (Daniel 9:2) Israel spent fifty-two years after the destruction of the Temple under the rule of the Chaldeans, and then they went up. Three years of Cyrus, fourteen of Ahasuerus, two of Darius. In the second year of Darius, the Temple was rebuilt. So Zechariah said “And the angel of the Lord replied and said, ‘O Lord of Hosts! How long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and upon the cities of Judah, upon whom You are wroth for seventy years already?’” (Zechariah 1:12) The Temple stood for four years, as it says “And the completion of this House…” (Ezra 6:15) And at that time in the coming year Ezra came up from Babylon with a new group of exiles, as it says “Ezra ascended from Babylon… And there ascended from the Children of Israel… in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes… For on the first of the first month… For Ezra had prepared his heart…” (Ezra 7:6-10) He came and separated Israel from the foreign women.

... Rabbi Yossi says, "A merit ends up being on a day of merit and a punishment ends up being on a day of punishment. For you will find to say that when the First Temple was destroyed, that day was the culmination of the Shabbat, and it was at the culmination of the sabbatical year and it was during the watch of Yehoyariv and it was the ninth of Av. And likewise with the Second. And in both this one and that one, the Levites were standing on the platform and reciting song. And what song did they recite? 'He will make their evil recoil upon them' (Psalms 94:23)."