The Year Count of the Zohar

As I brought a few months back, the Rambam says that our year count is based on Adam HaRishon being born in year 2.

Therefore:

• Yetziat Mitzraim was in 2449.
• Binyan Bayit Rishon was 2929
• Churban Bayit Rishon was 3339
• Binyan Bayit Sheini was 3409
• Churban Bayit Sheini was 3829

3929 was a Shmitah year, and therefore we just continue the count from this.

It appears from a couple of predictions regarding Acharit HaYamim in the Zohar that the writers of the Zohar did not count from year 2, but rather year 1.

• The Introduction to the Tikkunei Zohar on page 4 talks of 1200 years and then 70 years and then 2 more years = 1272. The GR"A says there that 1272 + 3828 = 5100
• The Zohar Chadash in Maamar Darach Kochav MiYaakov talks about a year with Shmitah and Yovel, and says it is 274 years "from" the 6th millenium. 6000 - 274 = 5726. This is 1 year prior to the Yovel calculation that I've shown here, which is based on the Rambam. The Zohar Chadash there seems to be referring to the same year, but we need to add 1 to arrive at our calendar system's year.

The switch to the Tohu system (i.e. where the first year on the calendar is the Tohu Year, before creation of man) is late, perhaps the time of the Gemara (feel free to comment here with proofs either way). The traditions themselves that are the foundation for the Zohar's teachings, are indeed very old.

1050 - Mechirat Yosef

On the ratio between Bayit Rishon and Sheini against Yemot HaMoshiach.

The division is based on two numbers: 830 years and 220 years, which add up to 1050.

(For this drash I am only using round numbers.)

If we look at the numbers, they both end in 0, so let's divide by 10.

83 years and 22 years.

Both of these years are in the Chumash.

• Aharon was 83 years in the year 2448, when he became the first Cohen.
• Yosef didn't see Yaakov Avinu or his brothers for 22 years, due to being sold by his brothers (Mechirat Yosef).

The Zohar Chadash, in Maamar Mechirat Yosef (first couple of sentences), mentions these 22 years as an explanation as to why Am Yisrael spent 210 years in Mitzraim.

22 years * 10 tribes = 220 years. Subtract 10 years, 1 per the actual heads of the tribes that received a portion of Din in that they perished in Mitzraim, and you get 210 years.

Nonetheless, we know that the sin of Mechirat Yosef was not completely atoned for, see the matter of the Asarah Harugei Malchut. There is also a relation between Mechirat Yosef and the Sin of the Spies. For, as Midrash Tanchuma states, whatever happens to Yosef happens to Tzion, and thus they are equal in gematria (156).

I propose that Am Yisrael as a whole will have a final opportunity to fix the collective sin of Mechirat Yosef starting at the beginning of Yemot HaMoshiach. One of the main errors that caused Mechirat Yosef? It is hinted at during the brothers encounter with Yosef at the end of 22 years.

בראשית מב:ח - ויכר יוסף את אחיו, והם לא הכרהו

Breishit 42:8 - And Yosef recognized his brothers, but they didn't recognize him.

May our success come soon, let us all recognize Yosef at the beginning of these "22 years" and thereby repair the split between Yosef and Yehudah.

More on Tazria and Yovel

I just think this is interesting, so I am examining it a bit further.

• For a baby boy, there are 7 days of tumah, and then 33 days of dam tohar, total of 40 days.
• For a baby girl, there are 14 days of tumah, and then 66 days of dam tohar, a total of 80 days.
• Grand total 21 days of tumah, 99 days of dam tohar, 120 days total.

Why add them together? Because history also brings perfection to the male and the female sides.

If the 6000 years of history is divided up in to 120 days total, each day is 50 years.

• 21 * 50 = 1050 years of tumah
• 99 * 50 = 4950 years of dam tohar

We therefore have 1050 years to "fix", so to speak. This Tikkun is done by the Beit HaMikdash in Yerushalayim.

• Bayit Rishon stood 410 years.
• Bayit Sheini stood 420 years.
• 410 + 420 = 830 years total.
• 1050 - 830 = 220.

We have 220 years remaining that need to be fixed.

• 6000 - 220 = 5780

According to 1 opinion (I believe in the Rishonim, see the mefarshim to Rambam Hilchot Shemitah v'Yovel chapter 10), the 2nd Beit HaMikdash stood for 421 years.

• 6000 - 219 = 5781

But really, Adam HaRishon, who marks the beginning of the Era of Tikkun, was born in year 2, so we should add another year, since we should have 6000 years to make the Tikkun.

• 6001 - 219 = 5782

The Fourth and Final Keitz

As I mentioned here, the Geulah Shleimah is made up of 4 individual Geulot, each a more obvious level of revelation.

1. רנו
2. 60
3. 66
4. 72

As I mentioned here, the Geulah at 72 is not really at 72, but some time before that. It is a sort of worst case scenario's Achishenah. We will have a few "easy" chances to cause Geulah Achishenah between now and then, but regardless, we are guaranteed that even at the very end it will be Achishenah.

The reason for that is hidden in the secret of Kol HaTor and Birkat HaChamah.

Happy is One Who Waits...

Daniel 12

9. And he said, go Daniel, for closed and sealed are the words until the time of the Keitz. 10. Many will be refined, whitened, and the wicked will do wickedly, and the wicked will not understand, and the enlighted will understand. 11. And from the time of the cessation of the Tamid, and to the giving of the Desolate Abomination, days: one thousand two hundred and ninety. 12. Happy is the one who waits and arrives to days: one thousand three hundred and thirty five. 13. And you Daniel, go to the end, and rest and stand for your destiny for the Keitz HaYamin.

The Introduction to Tikkunei Zohar on page 4b

And immediately after it went up, "and they went without strength before the pursuer", and because of this the masters of the mishnah have set up, that everyone that says Amen Yehei Shmeh Rabba with all his might, (in heaven) they tear up a sentence of 70 years, that these 70 years, are after 1200 years, that the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, and there are those that calculate it from the time that the Tamid ceased, because the Keitz of the Redemption is dependent on the level of Yaakov, which is the level of Truth, and that is what is written "Give truth to Yaakov" (Michah 7), which is the sign for 1290, and there are those that add a further 2, from "Close is Hashem to those that call Him, to all those that call Him in truth (in truth has 2 more in gematria), to know in the land Your ways, thus it is here with land, Aleph Ra"tz (i.e. Elef, or 1000, and Ra"tz which is the gematria of 290), 90, to fulfill with it Truth sprouts up from the Land, so that there will be a value of Land (i.e. 1290), but the sentence itself is 70 years.

I do not want to enter in to the subject that is actually being discussed, which is 1200 years of Galus.

Note the following:

• The time of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash is taken as a different year than the cessation of the Tamid. When dealing with years, 3 weeks (between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av) is not significant.
• The juxtaposition of the two year counts, 1200 and 1290, indicates that they start at the same time.

So the question is, are we referring to the 1st Beit HaMikdash or the 2nd Beit HaMikdash?

The GR"A's peirush on the Tikkunei Zohar answers this implicitly. On the words "and there are those that calculate it from the cessation of the Tamid", he writes that the Tamid ceased to be brought 20 years prior to the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. In his notes on the bottom of the page, on the issue of the 2 years for the letter beit, he writes that in reality it was 18 years.

(Explanation - We go 20 years back, and then count 1292 years, or go forward 2 years before counting 1290. Alternatively, subtract 18 from the year of destruction.)

The 1st Beit HaMikdash was destroyed in the year 3338. If we look 18 years prior, we find the year that Nevuchadnezar first came to Yerushalayim. The writers of the Tikkunei Zohar are referring us to this year as our starting point.

So theoretically, if we add 1290 years to this point, we should find our answer as to the identity of the Desolate Abomination.

• 3338 - 18 = 3320
• 3320 + 1290 = 4610
• 4610 - 3760 = 850 CE

What happened in 850 CE of note that might shed light on the matter? Nothing.

However, according to the physical reality, the 1st Beit HaMikdash was not destroyed 2430 years ago, but rather a further 163 years prior in the year 3175 (586 BCE).

• 3175 - 18 = 3157
• 3157 + 1290 = 4447
• 4447 - 3760 = 687 CE

That year was the beginning of the construction of the Dome of the Rock.

That is it.

The verses say to count days. Why would it say days if the meaning is years? I propose that the word days is given to indicate to us that these are physical years. Why? If I tell you to count a number of days, you can actually count the number of days very easily. If I tell you to count a number of years, you will most likely find an outside event as a reference point for your beginning and end. Days represent the physical reality, while years represent a different, yet not contradictory, spiritual reality based on the Jewish year count.

It is clear as day that 45 years later (i.e. 1335 years from the starting point) was not something to rejoice over. We must start over at 0 and count to 1335 starting the next year.

4448 + 1335 = 5783

Construction continued until 4451.

4451 + 1335 = 5786

Indeed happy we will be to witness the events that will occur during those years.

Note how this period coincides with the time that Moshiach ben Yosef will finally be completely free of the Klipah of the Left as I wrote in The Sprouting of Moshiach. The implication is clear. The reason that we are to pray for the survival of Moshiach ben Yosef during the blessing regarding the building of Yerushalayim is now understood. Moshiach ben Yosef will build the Beit HaMikdash. He will be in danger at that time, but he is destined to succeed, for Moshiach ben Yosef does and he succeeds.

Postscript: The chidush here is not the simplicity of seeing that 3175 is about 1290 years before the Dome of the Rock was built, but rather:

• The calculation for the exact year comes directly from an ancient Jewish source, Tikkunei Zohar, made more precise/explicit by the GR"A.
• The "secular" dating of Churban Bayit Rishon also has its place in Torah.
• If the Geulah follows the order of prayer, we can have a further sense of where we are and where we're going.

Further, it opens up further interesting questions to ponder:

• What date was the introduction to Tikkunei Zohar written?
• Though the GR"A obviously lived after the Dome of the Rock was built, did he know the actual year it was built?

Shmitah & Yovel - Sefirat HaOmer & Shavuot

(For more on the subject of Yovel, click here to return to the Table of Contents.)

The parallels between the 50 year cycle and the 50 days of Sefirat HaOmer and Shavuot are obvious due to the numeric similarity. So let's examine them in light of what I wrote before.

Vayikra 23:16 states that we are to count 50 days. However, as halachah states, we only count 49 days. We do not count the 50th day on the night of Shavuot. One explanation that I've heard is that after Am Yisrael has worked to get out of the 49 levels of Tum'ah over the 49 days of the Omer, there is no more effort necessary, and therefore no work is necessary after the 49th day to move in to the 50th day. This would parallel what I have written, there are 49 Yovel cycles for Am Yisrael to count, and it is proper for us to take charge and count the 49th cycle ourselves before we effortlessly enter in to the Yovel of Yovels.

But let us look back over the entire period. Fifty Yovel cycles, some 50 years, most 49 years, is between 50 * 49 years (2450) and 50 * 50 years (2500 years). Let us picture this period of time as paralleling the Kabbalistic Sefirah-development of the Omer period: Each week is one overriding Sefirah, each day is an aspect thereof.

For this analysis, a day of the Omer is 1 Yovel cycle, a week is 7 Yovel cycles.

Chesed - 3416 - 3765 (-345BCE - 5CE)

• According to Daniel 9, there were 490 years decreed from the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash to destruction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash. The period that the Beit HaMikdash stood, therefore, can be understood to be a decree in and of itself, a gift from Hashem. The 2nd Beit HaMikdash stood throughout this period. Chesed she'b'Chesed contained the founding of the Knesset HaGedolah.

Gevurah - 3766 - 4110 (6CE - 350CE)

• This is a period of increasing persecution at the hands of the Edom. The period of Gevurah she'biGevurah covers the destruction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash. This period ends at approximately the time that the Talmud Yerushalmi was sealed. It was sealed prematurely due to Roman persecution. This period saw a steep decline in the number of Jews in Eretz Yisrael.

Tiferet - 4110 - 4453 (350CE - 693CE)

• Tiferet represents Torah, and as such the Talmud Bavli was finished during this period. Torah finished getting ready for the long exile. Torah is Truth. The final decade of this period saw the building of the Dome of the Rock, for the age of Truth ended.

Netzach - 4453 - 4796 (693CE - 1036CE)

• Netzach is a lower level of Chesed. In this week of Yovels, Har HaBayit was free from idolatry.

Hod - 4796 - 5139 (1036CE - 1379CE)

• The 33rd of the Omer, Lag Ba'Omer commemorates the revelation of the Zohar by Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai. The 33rd Yovel period, Hod She'b'Hod, parallels the time that the Zohar was revealed in the days of Rav Moshe DeLeon (approximately 5020-5030, 1260CE-1270CE). Hod is also a lower form of Gevurah, the Jewish population of Eretz Yisrael (as well as Europe) suffered much during the Crusades.

Yesod - 5139 - 5482 (1379CE - 1722CE)

• Since Yesod is the Sefirah directly below Tiferet, it is to be expected that there be an intricate relationship between the periods of these two Sefirot. Yesod has many meanings, including Moshiach ben Yosef, the revealer of the Torah's secrets. This is the age of the major revelations in Kabbalah, namely from the Ariza"l.

Malchut 5482 - ~5826 (1722CE - ~2066CE)

• Starting 2 years after the GR"A's birth, who came down from Heaven in order to start the Geulah process, this period of time sees the rebirth of Am Yisrael as a nation in Eretz Yisrael. We will soon enter Malchut she'b'Malchut.

Yovel of Yovels ~5826 - ~5876

Yovel Count of Rebbi Yehudah

(Click here for an in depth discussion of Yovel in the online book "Yovel & Geulah".)

According to the Rambam, Yovel is counted as follows:

There are 7 Shmitah cycles, followed by a Yovel year. The year after Yovel is year 1 of the next Shmitah cycle. This is the opinion of the Chachamim brought in the Gemara. Yovel occurs every 50 years.

However, that is not the only opinion. Rebbi Yehudah says that we count this way:

There are 7 Shmitah cycles, followed by a Yovel year. Yovel counts as the 50th year of the prior cycle, and the 1st year of the next cycle. The year after Yovel is the 2nd year of the Shmitah cycle. Yovel occurs every 49 years.

Perhaps it is not that the Geonim held that we don't count Yovel when the Beit HaMikdash isn't standing, but that the halachah is to use the counting system of Rebbi Yehudah in times of Galus, when Shmitah is on a sort of autopilot, which on the outside (for halachah) seems as if we count Shmitah alone.

So while the 2nd Beit HaMikdash stood, Yovel years were:

3415 + 50n where 1 <= n <= 9 (3415 was the year before the counting of Yovel began in the time of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash)

However, when the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, Yovel switched to:

3816 + 49n where 1 <= n <= 44 (3816 was the year after the last Yovel counted of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash)

By this, we find that the last Yovel year was 5727 (1967CE), the year of the 6-Day War. This was the 48th Yovel year starting from the time of Ezra in 3416. The Yovel year which is 49 years later is 5776. Perhaps the year following would be a fitting time for the Sanhedrin to assume/resume its role in counting of Shmitah and Yovel, to assume its role of leadership of Am Yisrael. This next Yovel would start the 49th Yovel period. Rather fitting that the Sanhedrin would count the last Yovel before the 50th Yovel, a Yovel of Yovels.

It is nearly time to take Am Yisrael off of autopilot.

Rambam - Why Don't We Count Yovel?

(For more on the subject of Yovel, click here to return to the Table of Contents.)

Am Yisrael first started counting the years of Shmitah and Yovel after the division of the land in the days of Yehoshua bin Nun. There have been since this time, as we learned from the Rambam, 2 periods wherein Am Yisrael didn't count Yovel: Galut Bavel and Galut Edom, or alternatively, when the Beit HaMikdash was not built.

If we look closely at the Rambam, we find a difference between the Rambam's relationship to Galut Bavel and Galut Edom. By Galut Bavel, he says they didn't count (both Yovel and Shmitah - but it should be noted that the Rambam says later on in the chapter that the tradition of the Geonim is that Shmitah was counted), for the land was nullified. What was nullified? Kedushah Rishonah of Kibbush Yehoshua (The Holiness of the Land which was imparted upon it by Yehoshua capturing the land) was nullified. But, as it says in the Gemara, Kedushah Shniyah, imparted by the settling and acquisition of the land in the days of Ezra, is eternal. Therefore, when the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, the count continued. This is why the Rambam brings the entire calculation of what the year count should be, he assumes that we should still be counting the Yovel. He then nullifies his own opinion for halachah, saying we should rely on the tradition of the Geonim.

Conclusion from the Rambam is as follows:

• Yovel is a mitzvah from the Torah only in times when certain criteria are met, per the Yerushalami Shvi'it chapter 10.
• Regardless of this, counting of the Yovel is dependent on the Kedushah of Eretz Yisrael being in force. This was nullified with the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash in 3339 (per Rambam), and reinstated in the days of Ezra, and the count resumed in 3416.
• Since, per the Gemara, the Kedushah imparted in the time of Ezra is eternal, the count of Shmitah including Yovel should continue regardless of whether or not the Beit HaMikdash standing. This is akin to the fixed calendar of Hillel HaKatan, which continues regardless of whether or not the Sanhedrin declares the new month. We follow for halachah, however, the tradition of the Geonim, despite the fact that it contradicts this.

The question that this raises is as follows. According to a continuing calculation from the year 3416, the year 5765 was Yovel. When the Sanhedrin begins counting the years of Yovel, will they pick up from this count or start over from year 1? Or more imminently, will they pick up on the Shmitah count, where either 5772 (instead of 5775) or 5779 (instead of 5782) is Shmitah?

Commentary on Rambam

(For more on the subject of Yovel, click here to return to the Table of Contents.)

This is a commentary on the post "Rambam on the Year Count".

Let's start with Halachah 2. Am Yisrael left Mitzraim in 2448 after the birth of Adam HaRishon, entered Eretz Yisrael 40 years later in 2488, spent 14 years in conquering and dividing the land, leaving us in 2502. Therefore the next year, 2503, was the first to be counted towards Shmitah. If 2503 is the first year, then that makes 2509 the first Shmitah. However, the Rambam brings a chidush (per the GR"A there, see the Frankel edition of the Rambam here). It is 2503 from the birth of Adam HaRishon, which is the beginning of year 2, therefore if we are counting from Creation, we push everything back 1 year. The first Shmitah ever was in the year 2510.

Halachah 3 states that Am Yisrael counted 17 Yovels. They were not 17 complete Yovels. There were 16 complete 50 year periods, and another 36 years. That is to say 2503 is year 0, add on 16 * 50 = 800 years, and add another 36 years, and you arrive at the year 3339, the year the 1st Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, 1 year later than the Seder Olam Rabba brings, due to the different starting point.

Halachah 4 states that the 50 year cycle which started in 2504 ceased altogether in the year 3339, and for 70 years, there was no such cycle. Then we count the years following the building of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash in 3409, so 3409 is year 1. It was 7 years after that when Ezra arrived. The counting restarted the following year, since Shmitah and Yovel counting is from Rosh HaShanah (see the Radbaz there). Therefore the count for the 2nd Beit HaMikdash period started in the year 3416. The Rambam states that even though there was no Yovel during the period of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, nonetheless, they counted the Yovel anyway.

Halachah 5 tries to resolve a difficulty. Our tradition says that both of the Batei Mikdash were destroyed in the year after Shmitah. The Rambam is basically saying that the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed during Shmitah, but since it was so close to Rosh HaShanah of the next year, it counts as being part of the next year.

Halachah 6 comes to tell us that if we were to continue the count of Shmitah and Yovel onwards, then the year that he is writing would be considered Shmitah, year 21 of the Yovel cycle.

Halachah 7 tells us that what we actually count is different from this; there is no 50 year cycle. Basically, when the Beit HaMikdash is not standing, we count only the 7 years of Shmitah, but not the 50 years of Yovel. This is a nafka minah. Yovel is only in full effect when the majority of Am Yisrael are in Eretz Yisrael, and the land is divided among the tribes (per the Yerushalmi Shvi'it chapter 10, and the Rambam). But we still count the cycle if the Beit HaMikdash is standing. If not, the cycle goes away altogether and there is only the 7-year cycle.

Halachah 8 shows us that when we get down to it, the cycle the Rambam brings is the same one that we keep today. If the Rambam tells us that 4936 is the year after Shmitah, then that means 4935 was Shmitah. 4935 / 7 = 705, an integer, just like this year 5768 / 7 = 824. It is not taught as a direct relationship with Creation but rather a count from the Destruction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash. Nonetheless, the formula works. Shmitah Year = 3829 + 7n where 0 <= n <= 310.

According to what we do today, the year preceding Birkat HaChamah is always Shmitah. From the above, it would seem that there is no inherent relation between the two at all. The question remaining is what year does the Rambam hold we should use to make the brachah? No formula is given in Hilchot Brachot chapter 10.

Rambam on the Year Count

(For more on the subject of Yovel, click here to return to the Table of Contents.)

There are a few halachot from Rambam Hilchot Shmitah v'Yovel chapter 10 that are relevant to the chronology.

(Translation and division of halachot is according to this page)

2. We see from this that in the year 2503 from the Rosh Hashanah after the birth of Adam HaRishon, which is the 2nd year of creation, they began to count. And they did the year 2510 from creation, which is the 21st year from the time they entered Eretz Yisrael, Shmitah. And they counted 7 Shmitah years and sanctified the 50th year, which was the 64th year from the time they entered Eretz Yisrael.

3. Am Yisrael counted 17 Yovels, from the time they entered Eretz Yisrael to the time they left, and the year they left, in which the 1st Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, was the year after Shmitah, and year 36 of the Yovel, for the 1st Beit HaMikdash stood 410 years.

4. And due to the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, this count ceased, for the land was nullified. And the land remained destroyed, 70 years; and the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was built, and stood 420 years. And in the 7th year from its construction, Ezra came up to Eretz Yisrael, and that is the Bi'ah Shniyah, and from this year a new count began. And they made the 13th year of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash Shmitah, and they counted 7 Shmitah years and sanctified the 50th year, even though there was no Yovel during the time of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, they would count it in order to sanctify the Shmitah years.

5. We see from this that the year that the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, whose start is from Tishrei after the destruction by 2 months, for it is from Tishrei that we count Shmitah and Yovel, that year was the year after Shmitah, and year 15 of the 9th Yovel.

6. And according to this calculation, this year, which is 1107 of the Destruction, which is 1487 to the count of Shtarot, which is 4936 to Creation, is a Shmitah year, and it is year 21 from the Yovel.

7. However, all of the Geonim said that it is a tradition in their hands, from one generation to the next, that they only counted Shmitah during the 70 years between the Destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash and the Building of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, without Yovel, and thus it is since it was destroyed this last time, we don't count the 50th year, but rather just every 7 years alone, from the the beginning of the year of the Destruction. And thus is the conclusion from the Talmud Avodah Zarah, according to this calculation, which is a tradition.

8. And the year of Shmitah is well known by the Geonim and the people of Eretz Yisrael, and all of them counted only from the years of the Destruction, and removing the remainders of 7. And according to this calculation, this year which is 1107 to the Destruction, is the year after Shmitah. And this is what we rely on, and according to this calculation we teach for the matter of Maaser, and Shmitah, and Shmitat Kesafim, for the tradition and the deed are great pillars for instruction, and upon them it is proper to depend.

When was Adam HaRishon Born?

The chronology on which our calendar is based uses an assumption:

The first year of a life is year 0. In other words, we count the number of birthdays completed.

Using this assumption, we can arrive at all the traditional dates, that the Flood was in 1656, that Avraham was born in 1948, that the Exodus was in 2448, etc. The problem is with the birth of Adam HaRishon.

In order to get the traditional dates, Adam HaRishon must be born in year 0. This is problematic:

• Birkat HaChamah is based on the creation of the sun being in Nissan of year 1 (according to the opinion that Creation was in Nissan), which is why the formula for Birkat HaChamah is 1 + 28n, for 0 <= n <= 214. According to this, we should say Adam HaRishon was born in year 1 (in Nissan)
• The Molad that we calculate today is based on the 1st day of Creation being the 25th of Elul, year 1 (according to the opinion that Creation was in Tishrei). In other words, Adam HaRishon is born on Rosh Hashanah of year 2.

According to the above, our chronology of Adam HaRishon being born in year 0 indicates that the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed in 3828. Yet according to the other systems of counting, we could say that it was destroyed in 3829 or 3830.

There is a statement I believe in a few places, including the Zohar Chadash, that says that the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed in the year after Shmitah. Shmitah, according to our counting, is any year evenly divisible by 7 (like this year, 5768, is evenly divisible by 7 a total of 824 times). This would make 3830 the closest year that mathematically fits this statement. However, it is not necessary to fit this, because Shmitah (I believe according to most opinions, correct me if I am wrong) was counted by the Sanhedrin during the 2nd Beit HaMikdash period, meaning it wasn't based on the overall year count (where a Shmitah Year is when year divided by 7 is an integer).

The idea that Adam HaRishon was born in year 0, according to this counting system, has a message that the 6000 years that we count is really the 6000 year life of Adam HaRishon, and not just the world overall. It is a 6000 year story of the development of mankind.

On The 163 Year Discrepancy

When we check dating of events of Galut Bavel in Jewish chronology against secular dating, we find a striking discrepancy of 163 years:
Destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash

• Secular Dating: 3175 (586BCE)
• Jewish Dating: 3338 (423BCE)

There is basic agreement regarding the beginning of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash Period being the year 3408 (353BCE).
So we seem to have a contradiction.

• According to Secular Dating, Galut Bavel was 233 years long
• According to Jewish Dating, Galut Bavel was 70 years long (very close to 30% of the Secular Dating)

To gain a better understanding of how this discrepency came to be, I recommend reading Moshe Lerman's article on Arutz Sheva: "Why Do We Live in the Year 5765?"
Our question here, however, is not how our chronology or the secular chronology was determined. The question is this: How do we understand the discrepency?
The dating of the Churban of the 1st Beit HaMikdash to 3175 (586BCE) is on fairly solid ground, from astronomical data in Babylonian records. From a physical perspective, the secular dating is truth. Does that make the traditional Jewish date of 3338 faleshood? Is the physical perspective the only true perspective? Of course not.
The chronology taught in the Jewish Calendar as derived in Seder Olam Rabba represents a deep reality. It is the reality of the 6 Days of Creation, the Sin of Adam HaRishon, and the 6000 Years of Tikkun to bring Mankind back to Gan Eden before the 7th Millenium. The chronology takes us from the Tanach and shows us just where we stand in relation to this 6000-year story.
Our calendar starts with and parallels the 6 days of Creation. The chronology itself indicates the timing for the Geulah, in parallel to the 6th Day. The GR"A makes it explicit in his commentary on chapter 5 of Sifra Ditzniuta.
Since the 6000 Years are a hint to the process of Geulah, and the setting of the calendar is based on the traditional (yet mathematically inaccurate) cycles of the Sun and Moon, then there must be a relation between the Geulah and the cycles that make up the calendar. This is mentioned by the early Kabbalists, and indeed some of them made Geulah calculations (which did not prove to be correct) based on the number of cycles to have passed. Birkat HaChamah marks this relation, yet as I have mentioned before, the 28-year cycle by itself is not sign of the Geulah.
In a way, the different symmetries of the calendar, the mathematical beauty of it all, was programmed in to the calendar for us to find.
In the Zohar, the following is pointed out:
In all of th Torah, it is never written that Hashem made the earth in 6 days. The exact phrasing in Hebrew is:

כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ

To translate literally: For six days G-d created the heavens and the earth. Inserting the preposition "in" is definitely the easy way to read this. However, the necessary letter ב is simply not there. One of the implications is that the purpose of creation is the 6 "days", or 6000 years.

So how do we relate this back to the 163 year discrepancy? The men of the Great Assembly, among them prophets, determined the date, as Moshe Lerman explains. Through the prophetic insight they had, they determined that the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was built in the year 3408. They saw that 70 "years" had passed since the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash until the construction of the 2nd. Their insight was to realize where they stood in the 6000 years of history. From the beginning of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash period, the correlation is straightforward between secular and Jewish chronologies.

Perhaps the most surprising of all is this: I have found reference in a very kosher and old source leading me to believe that the dating of 3175 for the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash is true (from a Torah perspective) as well. Perhaps I will be able to elaborate on this one day.

On The End of Galus

In my prior post, The Sprouting of Moshiach, I mentioned the end of Galus, which is rapidly approaching. I also mentioned that the year 5708 is a starting point, and there is symmetry between the birth of Avraham and Churban Bayit Sheini on one hand, and Churban Bayit Sheini and the founding of the State of Israel on the other.

Talmud Yerushalmi Masechet Brachot 2:4 brings a Midrash that on the day that the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, Moshiach was born (it gives his name as Menachem ben Chizkiyah). This of course is not meant to be taken literally (we are not expecting a 1900 year old man to be proclaimed as Moshiach). Perhaps this is a hint to what I have written. Every 1880 years, Moshiach is born.

Of all that I wrote, only 1 item calls for immediate physical action from a majority of world Jewry: Aliyah. I stated that the year after the 63rd Yom HaAtzmaut would be a last chance to get out of Galus at our own volition. Let's take a look for parallels with 1879 years prior (i.e. 1880 years prior, but after this cutoff year). What we see is the beginning of the doomed Bar Kokhba Rebellion. The revolt ended such that the culmination of the failure is one of the things we mourn on Tishah B'Av.

Esav pursued Yaakov, and that was the end of Jewish autonomy for about 1800 years. It was a time of danger in the land of Esav, which unfortunately (for other reasons) at that time included Eretz Yisrael.

Such is not the case today. Esav's influence inside Eretz Yisrael is not nearly on the same level as it was. Moshiach ben Yosef of yesteryear was unable to act, only suffer. The chains of Galus were still too much to shake off. That is not the situation today. We are relatively safe from Esav's direct control here, and in about another year, Esav's influence will begin to decrease.

We live in the last generation of the Footsteps of Moshiach, there are no more do-overs. There is simply no space left on the 6000-year Calendar of Jewish history to account for further chances.

The Sprouting of Moshiach

I have recently attempted to establish that there is significance to the year 5708 on the Jewish calendar. If you have not read the posts already, you can find them here. However, it is blindness to not realize that the State of Israel that we have had these last 60 years is not the pinnacle of history. We must see that the State of Israel is a means, not an end.

Maaseh Avot Siman LaBanim - The deeds of the forefathers are a sign for the children.

As I quoted before, the original Right Side of Kedushah (Side of Chesed), Avraham, which represents Moshiach ben Dovid, was perfected through the birth of the Yishmael, and the original Left Side of Kedushah (Side of Din), Yitzchak, which represents Moshiach ben Yosef, was perfected through the birth of Esav. (The reason, in short, is their birth was the removal of the Klipah from the Kedushah.)

Now we can see one of the reasons that Yitzchak merited children earlier than Avraham; Moshiach ben Yosef comes first, he is the First Moshiach.

The 2 sides of Moshiach, Moshiach ben Yosef, and Moshiach ben Dovid, came in to this world (no, I do not mean that they were born on that day) with the founding of the State of Israel. Perhaps more proper is to say that they stood up at the time of the founding of the State of Israel. Up to a certain point, Moshiach ben Yosef is concealed in the Klipah of the Left, and up to another certain point, Moshiach ben Dovid is concealed in the Klipah of the Right.

So let us examine the lives of Avraham and Yitzchak as brought in the Chumash and Seder Olam Rabba with the notes of the GR"A.

The Chumash teaches that when Yaakov and Esav were born, Yitzchak was 60 years old. However this is problematic by itself: Esav was the firstborn and destined to carry on the family line. According to the Seder Olam Rabba, Esav and Yaakov were 15 years old when Esav sold Yaakov the bechorah (i.e. Yaakov became legally the firstborn at that point). This point is further made in Rashi to Breishit 27:36 - Yitzchak agrees that Yaakov was the rightful recipient of the blessings because Esav sold him the bechorah.

Let's move on to Avraham.

As per the GR"A on Seder Olam Rabba, Avraham Avinu left Ur Kasdim when he was 70 years of age. He then spent 5 years in Charan, and it was there that Brit Bein HaBetarim took place. That same year, while he was 75, he made Aliyah, was forced to go to Mitzraim due to the famine, and came back to Eretz Yisrael. After 10 years of being in Eretz Yisrael and still being barren, Sarah gives Hagar to Avraham, and 9 months later Yishmael is born, with Avraham being 86 years of age.

But let us not ignore Yaakov. Although Yaakov came in to the world without having a Klipah attached to him, the events of his life still have meaning for our times. Seder Olam Rabba states that Yaakov was 63 years of age when Yitzchak (at Rivkah's behest) commanded him to go find a wife (but her real intention is to flee Esav). It was another 14 years, when he was 77 years old, however, before he actually left Eretz Yisrael. It would be a further 20 years, when he was 97, that Yaakov Avinu conquered the Angel. He was yet 1 year older, 98, when he arrived "complete to the city of Shechem".

Our anniversary point is the 20th of the Omer, the day the State of Israel was founded. We will count according to the way people speak, how many anniversary dates we've reached.

That leaves us with the following years:

• Between Yom HaAtzmaut 5768 and Yom HaAtzmaut 5769 - Esav is born. The initial separation of Moshiach ben Yosef from the Internal Klipah of the Left Side, the Erev Rav.
• Between Yom HaAtzmaut 5771 and Yom HaAtzmaut 5772 - Yaakov is told by Yitzchak to flee Esav. This signals the impending end of the Galut. He who doesn't leave Esav by the appointed time is in danger.
• Between Yom HaAtzmaut 5783 and Yom HaAtzmaut 5784 - Esav loses the Bechorah. By this point the External Klipah of the Left Side, Esav, will have been defeated by Moshiach ben Yosef. This will be a turbulent year of ups and downs, reflecting Avraham's Aliyah, as well as his short sojurn in Mitzraim and his return to Eretz Yisrael. This is the year Avraham was promised Eretz Yisrael for his descendents forever.
• Between Yom HaAtzmaut 5794 and Yom HaAtzmaut 5795 - Yishmael is born. By this period, Moshiach ben Dovid will have complete freedom from the Klipah of the Right Side, Yishmael.
• Between Yom HaAtzmaut 5805 and Yom HaAtzmaut 5806 - Yaakov defeats the angel. This might hint at the defeat of the Angel of Death.
• Between Yom HaAtzmaut 5806 and Yom HaAtzmaut 5807 - Yaakov is complete. The unification of the 2 Moshiach's.

According to Targum Yonatan, Rivkah was pregnant with Esav and Yaakov for a total of 270 days. We know from the Gemara that the soul is put in the fetus 40 days in to pregnancy (Menachot 99b), so we can add 230 days on to the beginning of the events of 5768 and 5794, however, as is the concealed nature of pregnancy, we will comprehend this period after the fact. This is further hinted at by the troublesome nature of both births. For Avraham, he had to go to another woman, Hagar the Mitzrit. For Yitzchak, the entire beginning of Parshat Toldot shows us how there was conflict in the womb, up until the birth itself.

Kol HaTor shows us another hint regarding Moshiach ben Yosef. In chapter 2, we learn the following:

• Yosef HaTzaddik became Moshiach ben Yosef at age 17, when he had his first dreams.
• Yitzchak Avinu became Moshiach ben Yosef at age 37, at the time of the Akiedah.
• Yehoshua bin-Nun became Moshiach ben Yosef at age 42, at the time he fought against Amalek.
• Avraham Avinu became Moshiach ben Yosef at age 75, at the time of Brit Bein HaBetarim.
• Moshe Rabbeinu became Moshiach ben Yosef at age 81, at the time he took Yosef's bones out of Mitzraim.

Why do I say 81 years for Moshe? The Jewish system of counting that we have for our forefathers, and the accompanying timeline of human history, is based on counting birthdays past. I.e. the entire year 1948, until his first birthday, is considered year 0. Shemot 7:7 says that Moshe was 80 years old when he spoke to Par'oh. According to tradition, this was about 6 months prior to the actual Exodus, and as such, Moshe reached his next birthday before Yetziat Mitzraim (Moshe's birthday is the 7th of Adar, some 6-7 weeks before Pesach).

If we line this up with our timeline of the State of Israel, we find the following:

• 17 years - Yom HaAtzmaut 5725 - Yom HaAtzmaut 5726 - On the 16th of Iyar 5725, Eli Cohen is hanged in Syria, just 11 days in to this period. He sacrificed his life to save Am Yisrael from danger.
• 37 years - Yom HaAtzmaut 5745 - Yom HaAtzmaut 5746 - On the 8th of Kislev 5746, Jonathan Pollard is refused entry to the Israeli Embassy and arrested in America. He was rejected by his brothers.
• 42 years - Yom HaAtzmaut 5750 - Yom HaAtzmaut 5751 - On the 17th of Cheshvan 5751, Rav Meir Kahane is assassinated in Brooklyn by a terrorist on the payroll of Osama Bin Laden. He worked tirelessly to inspire his brethren to follow Torah and return to Eretz Yisrael.

Using the past as a key to understanding the future:

• 75 years - Yom HaAtzmaut 5783 - Yom HaAtzmaut 5784
• 81 years - Yom HaAtzmaut 5789 - Yom HaAtzmaut 5790

These are years of danger for Moshiach ben Yosef. Moshiach ben Yosef is especially vulnerable to the Klipah of the Right at these times after he has defeated the Left.

May we all merit to have the strength to always stand with the side of truth.

The Hours of the Sixth Day

According to Chaza"l, there are 6000 years of human history in parallel to the 6 days of Creation. The 6 days in Creation had a purpose, to continue perfection in to the first Shabbat. This did not happen, due to the sin of Adam HaRishon. Therefore, as a tikkun, there are 6000 years of human history as a preparation for the Great Second Chance. See the Ramban on Breishit 2:3 for an in depth explanation of this idea, including parallels for each of the days with each of the different millenia.

As I have said before, Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer says that an hour of Hashem's day is taking 1000 years and dividing it by 12, with the end result being 83.333 years per hour. Kol HaTor brings a different division, taking 1000 years and dividing it by 24, with the end result being 41.666 years per hour. Both are words of the Living G-d. For the 83.333 years, all 1000 years have acts of creation. For the 41.666 years, it is only the second 500 years of the millenium have acts of creation.

There are three places that I am aware of that refer to the events of this first and most fateful Sixth Day.

• Sanhedrin 38B
• Vayikra Rabba 29:1
• Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer chapter 11

Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer and the Bavli Sanhedrin have nearly identical orders (the differences come in the last few hours of the day).

It is worthy to note that the 5th hour, according to both of them, that Adam HaRishon stood up on his legs.

To illustrate:

• First Hour (5500 - 5541.666) - The dust was brought together
• Second Hour (5541.666-5583.333) - It was made into a Golem (a lifeless shape, a shell)
• Third Hour (5583.333 - 5625) - The limbs were stretched out
• Fourth Hour (5625 - 5666.666) - A soul was thrown in to him
• Fifth Hour (5666.666 - 5708.333) - He stood up on his legs.

From this we can see very clearly, Adam HaRishon of the 6th day of Creation is Am Yisrael in the 6th millenium, who, with 600,000 souls, stood up during the fifth hour, culminating in 5708.

Daniel 8

The 8th chapter of Daniel discusses the Four Great Kingdoms that were to span history from the time of the fall of Bavel. It includes within it one of the well-known predictions in the book.

At the end, the question is asked: How long will it take for all this to transpire? The answer is terse enough:

He said to me: Until evening morning, two thousand, three hundred, and the holy one will be justified. (Daniel 8:14)

Among the commentators we see the opinion that the 2300 mentioned is 2300 years, see Rav Sa'adiah Gaon, Rashi, etc. The question, however, before looking to see what the end-date is, is to ask: what is the start date?

And the vision of the evening and the morning that was said, it is true; And you - hide the vision, for it is for many days. (Daniel 8:26)

Daniel indeed hid the true meaning of his vision, as he did later on in chapter 12, however in a different manner.

In the third year of the kingdom of Belshatzar the king, a vision appeared to me; me, Daniel, after what appeared to me at the beginning. And I saw in the vision, and it was when I was seeing, I was in Shushan... (Daniel 8:1-2)

The third year of Belshatzar was the last year of Belshatzar, and indeed the 70th year of the kingdom of Bavel, as brought in Megillah 11b. The Ibn Ezra takes note of this and states that it couldn't be that Daniel went to Shushan and came back even the same year. He saw himself in the future in Shushan.

Daniel is hinting to us that the starting point of the vision is in the future during the reign of Paras uMadai. The vision starts at the tachlit of their kingdom, the construction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, which came to fruition in 3408.

The year 3408 was a beginning that went awry. It would be a full cycle to start over.

And there was evening and there was morning, one day (Breishit 1:5)

It would be 2300 years to restart the cycle.

3408 + 2300 = 5708

Now, unlike then, we achieved the minimum threshold of ingathering, 600,000 souls. The Geulah is proceeding according to Daniel's vision, with the order of tefillah as its guide.

70 Years

For the 10th of Tevet, let us take a short look at one small aspect of Galut Bavel.

The theme of 70 years shows up 3 times regarding Galut Bavel (See Seder Olam Rabba chapter 28, the GR"A there).

(The following years are mainly taken from Seder HaDorot HaKatzar by Rav Shlomo Binizri, which largely follows Seder Olam Rabba)

3319 - Nevuchadnetzar becomes king of Bavel. (Seder HaDorot HaKatzar, based on Seder Olam chapter 24 with the GR"A there, and Yirmiyahu 46).

3320 - Nevuchadnetzar captures Yerushalayim.

3338 - Destruction of the Beit HaMikdash

3389 - The death of Belshatzar, the last king of Bavel, as recorded in Daniel chapter 5. Beginning of the kingdom of Paras uMadai.

3390 - First year of the reign of Koresh, Koresh declares that the Jews can return to Eretz Yisrael and build the Beit HaMikdash.

3408 - Construction Resumes on 2nd Beit HaMikdash, this is considered the year it was built (although construction continued for a few years)

We therefore end up with three periods.

3319 - 3389 - 70 Years of Bavel, from the beginning of the reign of Nevuchadnetzar to the murder of Belshatzar

3320 - 3390 - 70 Years from the initial capture of Yerushalayim until the order for Yerushalayim to be rebuilt

3338 - 3408 - 70 Years from the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash to the construction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash

Symmetry in Jewish History

• 100 Years - From the birth of Avraham to the birth of Yitzchak (1948 - 2048)
• 190 Years - From the birth of Yitzchak to the beginning of the exile in Mitzraim (2048-2238)
• 210 Years - From the beginning of the exile in Mitzraim until Yetziat Mitzraim (2238 - 2448)
• 40 Years - In the desert (2448 - 2488)
• 440 Years - From the entrance to Eretz Yisrael to the beginning of the 1st Beit HaMikdash (2488 - 2928)
• 410 Years - From the construction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash to its destruction (2928 - 3338)
• 70 Years - From the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash to the building of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash (3338 - 3408)
• 420 Years - From the construction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash to its destruction (3408 - 3828)
• 1880 Years - From the destruction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash to the founding of the modern state of Israel (3828 - 5708)

This is the general progression of Jewish history from 1948 to 1948 (i.e. the year 1948 from creation, to 1948 of the secular calendar). And as one would expect from that fact that they are the same year in those 2 different calendars, the difference between the beginning and end is exactly 3760 years, as this is the general margin of difference between the two calendars.

However, what is not so obvious is that this is also 2 equal periods of time hinged around one year, the year of the destruction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash in 3828.

• 1880 Years - From the birth of Avraham to the destruction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash (1948 - 3828)
• 1880 Years - From the destruction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash to the founding of the modern state of Israel (3828 - 5708)

Rebbi Akiva and Bar Kokhba

It is becoming increasingly evident to me, via the writings in Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer, that at least some of the Sages of the Mishnah knew when the Final Keitz would be. The chapter of Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer quoted in the latest post on Birkat HaChamah includes within it Rebbi Akiva, famous for, among other things, for being a supporter of Bar Kokhba as Moshiach.

I mentioned before that according to the GR"A, if we are worthy, Moshiach ben Yosef could have come any time after the year 4000 and reigned over us until the appointed time came for the arrival of Moshiach ben David. This is the GR"A's drash on the 2000 years of Moshiach from the Tana D'vei Eliyahu.

For reasons I will not discuss at this time, it is apparent that the count that we use today for years is 163 years behind the physical year count since the events of the Sixth Day when Adam HaRishon was created. If we adjust the year count for the Churban of Bayit Sheini, we receive a year in the 4th millenium, but Bar Kokhba's revolt is squarely in the 5th millenium.

I think from this that Rebbi Akiva believed Bar Kokhba to be Moshiach ben Yosef, who fought against Edom, worked towards the building of Yerushalayim, etc. However, as the Rambam says in the Mishneh Torah, he died due to sins.

That is to say that any Moshiach that comes before the final Keitz in our generation and dies, it is known that we did not have the proper level of zechut, and inversely the sins of the generation (as well as individual sins) caused the death.

From this we can interpret the statement of Rebbi Yochanan in Yerushalmi Taanit (4:5) that grass would grow from Rebbi Akiva's face and still Moshiach ben Dovid will not have arrived. Perhaps Rebbi Akiva agreed, the Final Keitz was indeed far off. Rebbi Akiva thought that the situation was ripe according to the merit of Am Yisrael to move in to the age of Moshiach ben Yosef, but his colleagues disagreed on this point. Every generation, indeed every year, has its own special level of Teshuvah necessary for us to merit the Geulah. Their Teshuvah isn't our Teshuvah. This level of National Teshuvah, whatever it may be at an appointed time, causes Am Yisrael to be successful in actions towards the Geulah. Anything less than this level, and things go according to the last date (for each of Moshiach's Footsteps).

Birkat HaChamah - Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer

(Make sure to read all posts on Birkat HaChamah here)

I do not believe that one can really begin to understand the sod of Birkat HaChamah without learning Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer about the solar cycle.

Particularly chapter 6 discusses, in a rather cryptic way, the correlation of the sun and the moon. The internal contradictions point to something very deep. (Please note in some printings it is chapter 6, others it is chapter 7. The chapter starts with the words Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai)

On the one hand, the exact halachic length of the lunar cycle is mentioned. However, there is a cycle concept introduced for the Molad progression. Namely, if we take the Molad to occur at the hour of a certain planet, like Shabbtai, for example, which one will it land in in the next month, and twelve months later?

In order to give over this answer, we must assume round numbers of hours. This is in the exact same chapter where we are told the length of the month down to the number of chalakim.

We are shown that if we assume no leap years (i.e. every year is always 12 months, no Adar II), that the Moon has a cycle of 21 years.

Now, as an aside, we see here that the first Molad is taken as the same moment that the Sun was created, i.e. Tuesday night 6pm, the day of the Spring Equinox, not in line with our system of calculating the Molad, based on the first Molad to have occurred by the end of Elul, BaHaRaD.

So the beginning of the 21 year cycle and the beginning of the 28 year cycle start at the same moment, what is the logical thing to do? That would be to determine the point how often the two cycles start at the same time. The earliest amount of time for this is 84 years, because 21 * 4 = 28 * 3.

We have now introduced an 84 year cycle to the mix. But what is it based on?

84 years * 365.25 days, we get 30681 days.

84 years * 354 days (approximate lunar year length), we get 29736 days.

Subtract one from the other and get 945 days differential. So the significance is not that the events occur at the same time at all (or in the same calendar year).

That all being said, it is further asserted that 84 years is the time it takes for one hour to pass for Hashem. If we take 1000 years and divide by 12 hours, we get 83 and a 1/3 years per hour, a value stated explicitly in chapter 48.

That, however, doesn't necessarily explain 84 years. The math presented is contradictory. Every 84 years they line up. Is that 84 lunar or solar years? I would theorize that we are directed to make a brachah on the solar, and not the lunar. The solar takes precedence. The number 84 is 12 times 7, the 7 leap years and the 12 simple years, the 19 year cycle.

That is part of the sod.