The Five Eras of History From Creation to the Eternal Sabbath

From the creation of the world until the generation of the Flood, thus far the first era. From the generation of the Flood until the generation of Manasseh, the second era. The generation of Manasseh, to what may it be compared? To a king of flesh and blood who arose and gathered all his servants and gave authority into the hands of them all, and went out with them to the field. And when they went to the field they found a certain man buried in a rock. They seized him by his feet and drew him out of the rock, and his face was scorched. They began to blow into his nostrils and to rub his face, and they kept blowing into his nostrils and rubbing his face until he spoke many words before them. And when he had multiplied his words before them, immediately they threw down the staffs of authority from their hands to the ground and said: From the place where they fell, let them never rise from there again, as it is said, "And they shall go into the caves of the rocks and into the holes of the earth, before the terror of the LORD and before the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made for him to worship, to the moles and to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks and into the crevices of the cliffs, before the terror of the LORD and before the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. Cease from man, in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?" (Isaiah 2:19-22). And from the generation of Manasseh until the Second Temple was built, the third era; thus three thousand four hundred and eight years. And from when the last Temple was built until it was destroyed, four hundred and twenty years. And from when the last Temple was destroyed until now, behold, nine hundred years. And from when the last Temple is rebuilt until the days of the son of David, when the Temple will be built that shall not be destroyed forever, this is the fourth era. And from the days of the son of David until the world is destroyed and abolished, and "the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day" (Isaiah 2:11), the day that is wholly Sabbath, this is the fifth era. My Father who is in heaven, it is revealed and known that You sit and wait for Israel, when the days of the son of David will arrive, and You find among Israel some who are masters of Scripture and some who are masters of Mishnah, some who are masters of honest business dealing. I call heaven and earth to witness concerning me that the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and waits for Israel more than a father waits for his son and a wife for her husband, that they should repent so that He may redeem them and build for them the Temple that shall never be destroyed, and that there may again stand before Him two rows of ministering angels who stand before Him and recite song before Him. The one row that stands before Him sanctifies His name every day continually, from the rising of the sun until its setting, and says, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:3). The second row that stands before Him sanctifies His name every day continually, from the setting of the sun until its rising, and says, "Blessed be the glory of the LORD from His place" (Ezekiel 3:12). And what does "from His place" teach? Only that the creatures do not see Him, for even the ministering angels do not see Him, for even the holy living creatures who bear His throne of glory do not see His glory. House of Israel, I have atoned for them in all their dwelling places. From when Israel went out of Egypt until they entered the land was forty years; how much did the Holy One, blessed be He, embrace them, and how much hug them, and how much kiss them. And from when they entered the land until the First Temple was built, four hundred and forty years, the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, was stretched out over them to save them from every foe and enemy. And likewise from when the First Temple was destroyed until the last Temple was built, seventy years, His hand was stretched out over them to save them from every foe and enemy. And likewise from when the last Temple was destroyed until now, nine hundred years, how much He embraces them, how much He hugs them, how much He kisses them. From here onward, even if we and our children and our children's children should stand, and we had a mouth full of song like the sea, and our tongue full of glad cry like the multitude of its waves, and our lips full of praise like the breadth of the firmament, and our hands spread out like the eagles of the sky, and our feet swift like the hinds, we would not be able to thank You, O LORD our God and God of our fathers, and to bless Your name, for even one of the thousand thousand thousands and myriad myriads of the miracles and good things that You did with us. And in the time to come, how greatly will the Holy One, blessed be He, light up the faces of the righteous, that they shall be like the first era. A parable, to what may the matter be compared? To a king of flesh and blood who sent to his servants and members of his household that he was coming to them with horses and horsemen and many troops, that they should prepare for him a fine and pleasant tent so that he might come and dwell with them in their quarter. When his servants and the members of his household heard this, immediately they too went out to meet him with horses and horsemen and many troops with them, and they said to him that they had already prepared for him a fine and pleasant tent so that he might come and dwell with them in their quarter. But if they did not do so, that they did not go out to meet him with joy and did not prepare for him a fine tent, immediately the king drives them out. Therefore it is said, "And He drove out the man" (Genesis 3:24). And why is it not said, "And He drove out the cattle, and He drove out the beast and the birds"? Rather, I call heaven and earth to witness concerning me that the cattle, beast, and bird do not speak and do not read and do not repeat, and therefore Scripture made it depend on the man; therefore it is said, "And He drove out the man." What does it say above it? "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you return to the ground, for out of it were you taken; for dust you are, and to dust shall you return" (Genesis 3:18-19). When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Adam, "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field," all his limbs trembled. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Since your limbs have trembled, you shall eat bread, as it is said, "In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread," until "and to dust shall you return." It does not say "to dust shall you go," but rather "and to dust shall you return." From here is a hint to the resurrection of the dead from the Torah; therefore it is said, "and to dust shall you return." And how is the letter bet different from all the twenty-two letters, that with it the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, as it is said, "In the beginning [Bereshit] God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1)? Was it not fitting to say only "God created in the beginning"? What then does "In the beginning God created" teach? Rather, go and learn from this child whom today they open with and say to him alef, bet, and tomorrow they say to him bet, alef. And from whom do you learn? Learn from the blessings and curses stated in Deuteronomy; therefore the Torah was first stated with a bet, bet and alef, alef, as it is said, "In the beginning God created [the heavens]" (bet, then alef). And another reason: the Torah is stated first with bet, which is a word of blessing [berakhah], and not stated first with alef, which is a word of the curse of "cursed" [arur]. And if you say, is it not written with a bet, "She weeps sorely [bakhoh tivkeh]" (Lamentations 1:2)? It is also stated with an alef, "How [eikhah] she sits solitary" (Lamentations 1:1), and the curse of "cursed." And all the righteous who stand at the resurrection of the dead in the days of the son of David shall never again return to their dust forever, as it is said, "And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy, everyone who is written for life in Jerusalem" (Isaiah 4:3). And where do they go? Rather, at the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, receives the face of the righteous in the time to come, they shall come before Him like sons before a father, and like servants before their master, and like disciples before their teacher, as it is said, "Behold, a day comes for the LORD... And the LORD shall go forth and fight against those nations... And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in its midst toward the east and toward the west... And you shall flee as you fled before the earthquake... And the LORD my God shall come, and all the holy ones with You. And it shall come to pass in that day that there shall not be light, but cold and frost; and it shall be one day which is known to the LORD, not day and not night, but it shall come to pass that at evening time there shall be light. And it shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter shall it be. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD shall be one and His name one" (Zechariah 14:1-9). And so may it be Your will before You, O LORD our God and God of our fathers, that You show us the rebuilding of Jerusalem speedily in our days. Amen.