Yovel and Geulah

(Hopefully this post will summarize all the posts on the subject of Yovel to date, as this still seems to be a topic of interest for many.  I will be adding some more to this post, so check back if you are interested.  Edited last 10/15/2008 3:15pm IST, minor changes towards the end)

Chapter 1

The Rambam on Counting Yovel

The following is an excerpt from chapter 10 of the Mishneh Torah Hilchot Shmitah v'Yovel chapter 10.

1.    It is a positive commandment to count years, 7 by 7, and to sanctify the 50th year, as it is written "And you shall count for yourselfs 7 sabbaths of years... and you shall sanctify the 50th year" (Leviticus 25:8).  And these two commandments are the responsibility of the Great Court (the Sanhedrin) alone.  And from when did they start to count?  They started 14 years after entering the land, as it is written "For 6 years you shall plant your fields, and for 6 years you shall prune your vineyeard" (Leviticus 25:3), when every person should know their land.  And they spent 7 years conquering the land, and 7 years in division.

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.

 

Chapter 2

Explanation of the Rambam

1. It is a positive commandment to count years, 7 by 7, and to sanctify the 50th year, as it is written "And you shall count for yourself 7 sabbaths of years... and you shall sanctify the 50th year" (Leviticus 25:8).  And these two commandments are the responsibility of the Great Court (the Sanhedrin) alone.  And from when did they start to count?  They started 14 years after entering the land, as it is written "For 6 years you shall plant your fields, and for 6 years you shall prune your vineyeard" (Leviticus 25:3), when every person should know their land.  And they spent 7 years conquering the land, and 7 years in division.

The Exodus took place in the year 2448, according to the count brought in Midrash Seder Olam Rabba.  The 40 years in the desert finished in 2488.  After this there were 7 years in which Yehoshua bin-Nun led B'nei Yisrael in conquering the land, ending in 2495.  A further 7 years went in to dividing the land amongst the 12 tribes.  This ends in the year 2502.

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.

The Rambam here tells us that they started in the year 2503, but counting from year number 2.  Really, then, the count started in year 2504.  This is implied by the fact that the 1st Shmitah is recorded as the year 2510. The first Yovel was, therefore, in 2553.

Background: Midrash Seder Olam Rabba assumes that Adam HaRishon was born in year 1.  The Rambam, however, states that we count starting from the "Year of Chaos".  If Adam HaRishon was born on the 1st of Tishrei, that means that the other 5 days of creation were in Elul, and since we don't have a year 0, we shift the creation of Adam HaRishon to year 2.  Then, in order to simplify our calendrical calculations, we calculate backwards to the prior hypothetical Tishrei, and that is the 1st Molad, on which all other calculations are based.  This is called Molad BaHaRa"D.  (BaHaRa"D is an acronym for the 2nd day of the week, the 5th hour, and 204 chalakim)

In Tractate Arachin, there is a disagreement on how to count the Yovel Cycle.

• Rabbanan say that the 50th year does not count as part of a Shmitah Cycle.  (Arachin 33A)
• Rebbi Yehudah says that the 50th year is also the 1st year of the next Shmitah cycle. (Arachin 12B)

The Rambam brings as the halachah the opinion of Rabbanan, that we count 7 Shmitah Cycles, and then have a Yovel Year.  The following year is number 1 of the followign Shmitah and Yovel Cycles.

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.

The 1st Beit HaMikdash, which stood from 2929 to 3339.  Continuing these 50 year cycles onward from 2504, we see that 3339 was the 36th year of the 17th Yovel cycle.  That is to say that 16 Yovel cycles were completed, and the Destruction was during the 17th cycle.

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.

The Rambam's opinion is that during the 70 years of the Babylonian Exile, Shmitah and Yovel were not counted, due to the nullification of the initial holiness of the land imparted in the time of Yehoshua bin-Nun.  As the Gemara teaches, the holiness imparted by Yehoshua was for its time, but the 2nd holiness, imparted in the time of Ezra, is eternal, even to our days.

This is an interesting idea.  We have seemingly separate issues: The counting of Shmitah and Yovel, and the holiness of the Land of Israel.  According to the Rambam, the counting of Shmitah and Yovel is dependent on the holiness being in force. 

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.

There is a very old tradition brought down that both of the Temples were destroyed in the year after Shmitah.  In order to make this work, the Rambam asserts that in the case of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, we are referring to the year after the destruction.  It should be noted that the Tosefot on Arachin says that the 2nd Beit HaMikdash stood 421 years; this makes the calculation work.

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.

Following the idea in Halachah 4, the holiness of the land is still in force, and therefore we should still count Yovel cycles.  These numbers are the result.

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.

The Rambam here brings a tradition which nullifies his own conclusion.  During the time of the Babylonian Exile, the counting did continue, but only Shmitah cycles.  Thus it is also during the Exile of Edom in our days, we continue with only the Shmitah cycles.  This calculation, that 3829, the year of the Destruction, was a Shmitah year, leads to the year 5768 also being a Shmitah year, as we practice now as halachah.

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 Cancellation of Debts, for tradition and deed are major pillars for instruction, and it is proper to depend upon them.

The Rambam here stresses the need to follow this tradition from the Geonim, despite the logic for this decision not being evident to us.  We submit to their superior judgement.

 

Chapter 3

Arriving at a Combined Approach

As mentioned before, there are two opinions on how to count Yovel.

• Rabbanan say that the 50th year does not count as part of a Shmitah Cycle.  (Arachin 33A)  The result is that the year after Yovel is the first year of the following cycle.
• Rebbi Yehudah says that the 50th year is also the 1st year of the next Shmitah cycle. (Arachin 12B)  The result is that the year after Yovel is second year of the following cycle.

The conclusion in the Gemara is that the halachah is according to Rabbanan, and that is the counting system used by the Rambam, cited above.

• According to Rabbanan, the 46th, 47th, and 48th Yovel years from the time of Ezra would be in 5715, 5765, and 5815 respectively.
• According to Rebbe Yehudah, the 46th, 47th, and 48th Yovel years from the time of Ezra would be in 5670, 5719, and 5768 respectively.

There is a problem with both of these systems: They contradict our halachic practice.  Per Rabbanan, Shmitah was in the year 5764.  Per Rebbi Yehudah, it was in 5767, and our accepted halachah is that Shmitah was last in 5768.

It would appear that there is a secret behind the disagreement between Rabbanan and Rebbi Yehudah which is hinted at in the tradition of the Geonim.  The tradition that we have states that after the destruction of each Beit HaMikdash, instead of counting according to Rabbanan, we count just Shmitah cycles of 7 years.  Perhaps that is not entirely precise.

I propose the following:

During the time of Exile, both Babylon and Edom, the halachah is like Rebbi Yehudah.

That is to say:

• From 2504 until 3339, the counting is like Rabbanan, with 50 year cycles.
• From 3340 until 3415, the counting continues, but it is now according to Rebbi Yehudah, with 49 year cycles.
• From 3416 until 3829, the count restarts/resets, and the counting proceeds according to Rabbanan.
• From 3830 until the Yovel will be reinstated, the counting continues, again according to Rebbi Yehudah, with 49 year cycles.

This is hinted at in Sefer Yehezkel chapter 40, verse 1:

In the 25th year of our exile, on Rosh Hashanah, on the 10th of the month, in the 14th year after the city was hit, in the midst of this day, the Hand of Hashem was upon me, and brought me there.

What year has the Rosh Hashanah on Yom Kippur?  That is Yovel.  And thus it is, since the 1^st Beit HaMikdash was destroyed in the 36^th year of the Yovel, the following Yovel would be in the 14^th year after the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.

Per the Rambam, cited above, the purpose of the Yovel count (when the commandment of Yovel is not in force) is in order to ensure that Shmitah is observed in the proper years.  However, if we use the counting system of Rebbi Yehudah, it is now no longer necessary to count Yovel for that purpose.

If we examine the Yovel years that occur from the time of Ezra, where the count restarted in the year 3416, we find a startling result:

• The 46th Yovel took place in the year 5678 (1917/1918CE), the year of the Balfour Declaration.
• The 47th Yovel took place in the year 5727 (1966/1967CE), the year of the Six-Day War and the Unification of Jerusalem.

The events of those Yovel years have obvious ramifications for the Redemption of the Land of Israel, which is one of the ideas of Yovel itself.

The 48th Yovel will take place in the year 5776, after the next Shmitah year.  If we count the Yovel years starting in the time of Yehoshua bin-Nun, 5776 will be the 66th Yovel.

 

Chapter 4

A Yovel of Yovels

By the commandment of Counting the Omer, we see two seemingly contradicting commands:

1. We are commanded to count 50 days.
2. We are commanded to count 7 complete weeks.

For halachah, we count 49 days, and Shavuot is celebrated on the 50th day, without any counting.  There is an idea of 49 days of our efforts from below, and then Hashem completes the 50 days for us from above.

If we consider from the time of Ezra that there are to be 49 Yovel Cycles of our own efforts, we stand today 7 years ahead of the beginning of the 49th cycle.  The 49th cycle is destined to be the completion of the efforts of the nation of Israel.

If we look at the original count as being 50 year cycles, and that our goal, even then, was to arrive at a Yovel of Yovel years, then we see an act of kindness from Hashem: Switching to 49 year cycles shortens the time of Galut by decades.  In our case, we are set to arrive at the 48^th Yovel a total of 39 years earlier than we would in a 50 year cycle count.  That is because the first 9 Yovel years are identical in the 2 sets, so 48 – 9 = 39 years.  Hashem has mercy on us, and the end comes towards us (Tehillim 102:14 per Kol HaTor)

Looking at the Yovel cycles as parallel to the Omer period, we also find parallels.  To name a few:

• 3416-3765 is the period corresponding to the Yovel “week” of Chesed, in which the Beit HaMikdash stood.  The Chesed she’be’Chesed (the 1^st “day”), 3416-3455, included the founding of the Great Assembly (HaKnesset HaGedolah), the last remnants of prophecy until the days of Moshiach.
• 3816-3865 is the period corresponding to Gevurah she’bi’Gevurah (the 8^th Yovel cycle), in which the 2^nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed.  The 8^th day of the Omer is the day after Isru Chag, full mourning customs begin at this point.
• 4992-5041 is the period corresponding to Hod she’be’Hod, which is Lag BaOmer, in which we celebrate the revelation of the Zohar.  This Yovel cycle brought the publication of the Zohar.
• 5482-present is the period corresponding to the Yovel “week” of Yesod, and the Geulah is rooted in the sefirah of Yesod, per Kabbalah.

 

Chapter 5

Yovel Number "Yovel"

 

In the book Imrei Binah, the years 5719 and 5768 are mentioned in relation to the Geulah, because they are the 2 Yovel years which encase the 48th Yovel cycle.

Why is the 48^th Yovel significant? It is because the Gematria of the word Yovel is 48.  Therefore, the 47th Yovel, which is the 1st year of the 48th cycle, marks the beginning of Am Yisrael's movement towards the Geulah, whereas the end of the cycle, on the 48th Yovel itself, will bring Am Yisrael's return to its land, with the arrival of Moshiach.

We now stand after this 48th Yovel cycle, and we can see that the events did not materialize as the text has said explicitly.

With the combined counting system mentioned above, the beginning of the 48th cycle is the year 5727, the year of the Six-Day War, with obvious implications.

The year 5719 is given dual significance by Imrei Binah

• It is the beginning of the 48th Yovel cycle (3416 + 47 * 49)
• It is the end of the 301st lunar cycles of 19 years (301 * 19 = 5719).

The year 5727 has a similar nature:

• It is the beginning of the 48th Yovel cycle (3416 + [8 * 50] + [39 * 49] = 5727)
• It is the year in which Pesach falls latest in the solar year (hinted at in the Baraita in Brachot 59b), which is currently the 8th year of the lunar cycle of 19 years (8 + 301*19 = 5727)

This calculation for 5727 is stated in Zohar Chadash in Ma'amar Darach Kokhav miYaakov:

At the time of the End of Days, according to the hour of the day, at the time that the sun shines, from the 6th Day, at the time that is ready according to the count of years, of Yovel and Shmitah together, which is רע"ד (Raa'd, 274 in Gematria) from the 6th Day...

This is at 60 years of the 6th millenium...

Shmitah and Yovel fell together in 5727.  The reason that 5727 is called Shmitah, or rather why the latest year of the 19 year cycle is called Shmitah, I will not explain now.  But notice that the Zohar gives a confirmation: It is 274 years from the end of the 6th day, or 6001 - 274 = 5727.  It is 6001 and not 6000, for the Zohar counts using the system of Seder Olam Rabba, which is one year lower than our count.  This can be shown also from the Introduction to the Tikkunei Zohar 4a, wherein the author implies that that the 2^nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed in the year 3828, which accords to the Seder Olam Rabba.

The end of this same passage of the Zohar Chadash makes it clear that it is describing the events surrounding year 60, which as Zohar Vayera 119 tells us, is the Pekidah, a rocky beginning to the Geulah.

If the Zohar defines 5727 as year 60, let us try to complete the picture.

Imrei Binah says that the following Yovel, Yovel number 48, brings the arrival of Moshiach.  The Zohar in Vayera says that in year 66, Moshiach will be revealed in the Galil.

This next Yovel, in 5776, is also the 66th Yovel counting from Yehoshua's time.  That is to say, counting the 16 Yovels before the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash, the 2 during Galut Bavel, and then the 48 more Yovel years from Ezra until 5776, for a total of 66 Yovel years.

We must remember that the revelation of Moshiach, per the Zohar, is in 66, whereas the Zechirah, which brings the Geulah, is after another half time.  This too is hinted at in Imrei Binah, where the author refers to the Dome of the Rock as the desolate abomination.  A total of 1335 years after its construction brings us to 5783-5786.

Nonetheless, it is no wonder that the Yovel year brings such advancement in the Geulah process, for this is already taught in Kabbalah that the Geulah comes from the side of the Upper Yovel.

Imrei Binah - Table of Contents / Index

• Chesed L'Avraham - Yovel - Not on Imrei Binah yet, but on the significance of the Yovel with the Geulah.
• Imrei Binah - The Great Yovel - A first post on the topic of Imrei Binah.
• Why the 48th Yovel? - Why davka is the 48th Yovel cycle the one that brings the Geulah?
• The Year Count of Imrei Binah - The count of Imrei Binah is not the one that we use for halachah.
• The Significance of 5719 - The beginning of the 48th Yovel cycle, per the author, is a point of intersection between Yovel counts and the 19 year cycle counts.
• Comparison of Yovel Counts - This shows the 3 different Yovel counting methods from the time of Ezra: Rebbi Yehudah, Rabbanan, and a mixture of the 2.
• Imrei Binah Translation - A (mostly) full translation of the short sefer in to English, with commentary inserted.
• Imrei Binah and Daniel - A review of the calculations of Daniel mentioned in Imrei Binah.
• Imrei Binah - Original Text - A full text of Imrei Binah in Google Documents (therefore it is searchable).
• Imrei Binah - Not a Chiddush - The author implies that what he has written is not new; the wise of the ages already knew what he was revealing. What was he hinting at?
• Yovel and Geulah - A summary post on the topic of Yovel, including references to Imrei Binah.

Imrei Binah - Not a Chiddush

A recurring theme throughout Imrei Binah is that the Chaverim or the Chachamim already know what the author has written.

As far as I have been able to deduce, the author might refer to the same tradition of Shmitah and Yovel falling together as is written in the Zohar Chadash.

The math is fairly simple, per the author's method:

Shmitah (301 * 19)

is equal to

Yovel (3416 + 47 * 49)

The math that I have brought on the subject is not so simple.

Shmitah (8 + 301 * 19)

is equal to

Yovel (3416 + [50 * 8] + [49 * 39])

Perhaps the author did not have the full tradition brought down in the Zohar Chadash, wherein a checksum of sorts is given: 274 from the 6th day.  6001 - 274 = 5727, like the above calculations.

If the author knew this, perhaps he also related that Yovel to the Pekidah, and the coming Yovel to the arrival of Moshiach.

The question remains (at least for me): What showed the author that Yovel's Gematria of 48 is significant?

Imrei Binah - Original Text

I typed it up, it's a good exercise for Hebrew/Aramaic typing speed.

Here it is.

Shabbat Shalom

Imrei Binah and Daniel

Towards the end of Imrei Binah (the translation for which I hope to finish within the coming days, keep checking the post until it is finished), the author writes explanations for 2 famous calculations in Daniel:

• Daniel 8's 2300 evening/mornings - The calculation of 2300 years starts either by the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash, or the Pekidah of Koresh, giving a result of approximately 5640 / 5690, about 20 years shy of what I posted here.
• Daniel 12's 1290 days - The 1290 year period ends in the 4400's, and the Shikutz Shomem is identified with *a* Muslim shrine: The author doesn't give a precise date, nor identify which structure he is referring to, but he says it is on the site of the Holy of Holies, which would indicate he is referring to the Dome of the Rock.  Definitely agreeing with what I posted here.

Imrei Binah Translation

(My commentary is within parenthesis).

Page Bet

Sidra Kadma’ah – At Mount Sinai, a voice went out and said “In this Yovel year, you will return, each man to his inheritance”.  At (the time of) 1938 years after the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (which was in 3829, which makes a total of 5767), each man will return to his inheritance, and the year after these years will be the Great Yovel, and Yovel releases at the beginning, therefore at the beginning the holy nation will return to its inheritances.

Leva’ah said: For sure this is the explanation of these words: In the year of the 48th Yovel (cycle), in the beginning, in the middle, in the end.  In the end for sure, when it says “I am Hashem, in its time I will hasten it”.  Come and see: The Holy Nation counted 59 Shmitah years when the Beit HaMikdash stood (3416 + 7*59 = 3829), and when it was destroyed, they stopped counting, and until the time of the Geulah will be 277 Shmitah years that they didn’t count (3829 + 277 * 7 = 5767).  This is hinted at in the words “Isn’t it hidden with me”? (Devarim 32:34) (Gematria of 292).  Oy vey to them, that the (time until) the redemption of the Holy Shechinah has been lengthened another times and a half time, the sign for which is "The Truth Sprouts up from the Ground" (where truth is a sign).  Truth (Emet) is an abbreviation for Elef (1000) Meot (hundreds) Tesha (nine) (i.e. 1900), and the word Eretz (land) with 2 Gematrias (adding the simple Gematria and the small Gematria of Eretz together) is 303 (303 * 19 = 5757, the number of completed 19 year cycles before 5768).

Nehurai said: For sure these words and calculations of this verse are clear and sure, and this is certainly a hint at the redemption of the Holy Nation in this verse, and the Friends know this (the author hints that what he says is to be found hinted at elsewhere in earlier works).  And the year after these years is the Great Yovel, this matter is certain and we know it from what we learned: In the year 3408 from Adam HaRishon, which is 3409 from Molad BaHaRa”D, the year of Tohu, which we learned from the prophets (that is to say, the author is giving prophetic weight to the Jewish chronology), the Holy and Awesome Name that comes out of the 42 letters at the beginning of the Torah.

 בראשית וב"הו ויאמ"ר ויב"דל

And that is “Open for me the gates of righteousness and I will come in them” (In them in Gematria is 42).  In the 42 letters of the Explicit Name, to know every letter and its repair, and thus have the masters of the Mishnah taught: “To my heart I have revealed it, to my limbs I haven’t revealed it” (My heart in Gematria is 42).  “My heart” is a name that is 42 letters long.  The Written Torah is called “My Heart” and the Oral Torah is called “Mouth”.  The King did not reveal it to the Mouth.  To “My Heart” I revealed it, which is the 72 of the Sanhedrin (The 70 members, plus Moshe and Aharon are 72), but to the others, which are like the rest of the limbs, about which it is said “but to my limbs I didn’t reveal it”, and the redemption is dependent on the heart, about which it is said: “the heart sees”, and because of that “For it is a day of vengeance in My Heart”, and thus they have taught “G-d lives (lives, חי, Gematria of 18): Lie down until morning” (Rut 3:13), the nation in 18, which are included in the 18 blessings of the prayers, in which the redemption is dependent, and in which it is revealed, which is the foundation of 18 worlds, about which it is said “my eyes and heart are there for all days” (Divrei HaYamim 2-7:16).  (i.e. “My Heart” will see it, the 18 blessings of the prayers, every day, in order to merit the redemption).  There are amongst Israel eyes, that is what is written “And if from the eyes of the congregation”, and there are those of them that are the heart, “the heart understands, heart knows”, “and from the sons of Yissachar are the those that know of understanding for times.”   “Times” in מנצפ"ך Gematria is equal to 1080 parts of the hour, the calculation of the moon.  (to) “My Heart” I revealed, “My Heart” in Gematria is 42, “to My Limbs” I did not reveal, those are the 252 amount of height, 7 times 42 (=294) cycles of the moon give the Gematria of “knowers of righteousness” (Gematria 294) cycles of the moon, and when this calculation comes out, of “Knowers of Righteousness”, with it goes 42 cycles of Shabbat, “And they will rest in them (In them is 42 in Gematria), all of Israel, sanctifiers of Your Name”.  And with the passing of those (cycles), the 252 (cycles) in “When the morning stars sing together” (Iyov 38:7), which are the 252 limbs of the height of Imma, mother of the children, and the prayers and requests of Israel will go out, “See, please, our poor state” (first initials in Gematria are 252), and the whole world will be in happiness and complete peace,

And at a time known to the Friends, they said to the Tsaddik “for it is good, raise (raise in Gematria is 301) the“ number of B’nei Yisrael.  (At) “raise” (301) cycles of the moon, the freedom of Yovel (number) 47 will begin the Yovel (cycle) of Yovel (which is in Gematria 48), at that time all of the judgments are subdued, as it says “and death is swallowed up for eternity”, and at that time “השתררה דויד מלך ישראל חי וקים”, (Gematria 1939), and the moon will be full, and the hint at this matter is “And Hashem blessed Avraham with everything” (with everything in Gematria is 52), gematria of 52, the male, and freedom will be for the male with the female.  Some birds will chirp in supplication to their mother, which is the Holy Imma, and about her it is said “and also a bird has found a home, a nest is freedom for her”, that is the Upper Imma, Yovel, about which it is said “and you shall call a dror in the land”.

(Returning to the calculations)

In these years, B’nei Yisrael went out of Bavel and built the honored Beit HaMikdash, and after 6 years, Ezra came out and sanctified the land with eternal sanctity, to count Shmitah and Yovel according to the opinion of Rebbi Yehudah bar Ilai (who is the Rebbi Yehudah of the Mishnah), that says that the 50^th year of the Yovel counts to both the first and second cycle.  To be called the 50^th of the first cycle, to make it Yovel, and for the following one to make it the beginning of the Shmitah cycle.  And in the 420^th year of the Beit HaMikdash, it was destroyed, “and the land was chaos” when the 1^st Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, and “darkness on the face of the deep” when the 2^nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, like the Gematria of “was” (420, Bayit Sheini stood 420 years), etc., there will be in life (?) 4 kingdoms that total the gematria of אש"ם (which it gives as an abbreviation for) 1875, אשם אשם לה', and then S”M and his mate will be lost from the world.  “And all the sons of Shet (Shet in Gematria is 700).  In 700 in to the 6^th millennium and an additional 4, a hint to the 4 kingdoms, that have stood: Tohu is Bavel, vaVohu is Madai, v’Choshech is Yavan, Al P’nei Tehom is Edom, that during the time of their rule, the moon is Tohu in its defect.  Three hundred cycles like the gematria of “and the earth”, 2 extra as a hint to the 2 Batei Mikdash that were destroyed and about which it says “and the earth is the dwelling place of My Legs”, and when the "You send out Your Spirit and they are created, and You renew the face of the earth", that at the time of their rulership, it is said of King David "You have profaned his crown to the ground", and the S"M was not afraid of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, which is the Heavens.

And he destroyed the Beit HaMikdash at the 420th year of its building, in the year 3829, starting at the Molad of Tohu, the year after Shmitah, at a time set aside for retribution.  When the 1st Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, it was the year after Shmitah year, Saturday night, and the 9th of Av, and thus it was by the 2nd Beit HaMikdash.

And from the time that they started to count Shmitah and Yovel, there were 414 years while the Beit HaMikdash stood (that they counted), and until 1938 years after the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, it is a grand total of 2352 years, and you will find in this is equal to 48 Yovels, (48, which is) the Gematria of (the word) Yovel.  And in these Yovels there are 335 Shmitah years, of which 59 are equal to 413 years, a hint at the word HaZot ("this", of the the phrase "In this Yovel year") they counted when the Beit HaMikdash stood, and on Tishah B'Av on the 1st year of the Shmitah cycle, the 2nd Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, and they stopped to count (for the duration of) 277 shmitah years that weren't counted.  The secret of that is "and is it not hidden with Me?" (The commentary there says gematria of part of this expression taken in a certain way is 277) מנא מנא the gematria of this is in a known way to the wise, and you will find it to be proper, it is said in the way of gematria parperaot l'chochmah, but this secret is a secret of Hashem for those that fear Him.  דלאו בלאותא דרזא דמהימנותא

And at the beginning of the 49th Yovel cycle, the freedom of the 48th Yovel, in the year 5768, it is the Great Yovel, and the holy nation will return to its inheritence.

And at that time, the Vav will go up to its level, 6 degrees to the chair, etc.  Heh is 5000 years from the creation of the world, Vav is the 6th millenium in 248 (sinews of the body), and in the left, that there is the heart to take vengeance from the nations of the world, and the hint at this is "a day of vengeance in My Heart".

(I don't know how to translate the next  sentence, which is part of the previous paragraph)

בשתא קדמאה בטרן שמטיא תליתאה ביובלא ום ותליתאה

Zeira said: In the Aleph Beit I have learned (the following): It is written (Eichah 2:18) "Their heart cried out", etc "Oh Wall of the daughter of Tzion, bring down tears as a river", etc, "don't let the apple of your eye cease", etc.  Oy Vey that the kingdom of this snake, the dark kingdom that has darkened the light, about which it is written "and darkness on the face of the deep" (Breishit 1:2) (this is referencing the kingdom of Edom as mentioned above), and the visions of the prophets ceased, and the kingdom is over the whole world, and control has been given to it (this kingdom), to remember the kingdom with contracts (Here it is referencing the year that Minyan of Shtarot began, 3448/3449), and long life was given to it, 2300 (years) until the time and season, 5748, and until that time is a time, times, and a half since the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash, 3 times (the Gematria of) סתר and a half (660 * 3.5 = 2310), as it is written "I will hide My Face from them", "And (I will surely hide My Face", (as if to say) I will remove my presence from them, the Holy Ark, the Urim and Tumim, and they won't be in the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, until the time of the redemption, that is known to the wise, then "the voice of the mute will sing" (will sing in Gematria is 650), "and he will break all the sons of Shet" (Shet in Gematria is 700), and on Shavuot they will go out in the merit of Moshe, which is Matan Torah, mercy and in him is "Like an eagle that arouses his nest", in the 6th millenium in 248 in "and the left" that there is the heart, in 248 years after the middle, which is 500 years that go out at once, (that is) "Tzion will rejoice, the daughters of Yehudah will be glad, for the sake of your statutes, Hashem" (will rejoice in Gematria is 748), and the hint at this matter is "for it is a day of vengeance in my heart", and for sure it is included in the middle column, (for it is the) middle column from which the Torah was given, which includes the right and the left, in the Wall (implying gematria of "wall of", 448) of Tiferet, (Isaiah 44:13) "according to the beauty of the man to sit in the house".

And at that time, (Isaiah 52) "for eye to eye they will see when Hashem returns to Tzion", the light of the eye, which is the center column, the apple of the eye is its house, and at that time, the upper Shechinah will be like an eagle that awakens its nest, which is Yerushalayim.

And in the book of the cherished man (Daniel), when we see that there are two "times" (that will be completed) in the year 5640 / 5690 (2300 + 3340 [approximate time of Churban Bayit Rishon] = 5640, and 2300 + 3390 [time of Pekidah of Koresh] = 5690), evening morning, and the holy ones will be justified, until that time, "and truth will be thrown to the ground, and giving, and the holy ones and the army trampled, 2300 from the time of the first order for Exile (3390) by the Ruler Moshiach (Koresh).

Oy Vey from this time that the Arab mutilators came, in the year 4400 (the Arab conquest of Israel was about the year 637 CE, 4397), and to give a desolating abomination on the place of the Holy of Holies, to build a house (in which) the impure people put their bodies in that house at a time known, 1290.  At that time, smoke will be aroused to that Left in order to make pass from there the S"M, and immediately a different smoke will go out, which is the smoke of the incense, to be burned and sacrificed Right in Left of the column of smoke which is the center column, that is the smoke of the incense, "in this Aharon shall come to the Holy", the End Time of the Right, and the enlightened shall understand, enlightening the middle bar, the עוברא דדשא, a closed סת"ר, End Time of the Right, until ע"ת קייץ משו"מרים לבק"ר שמרי"ם.  For the morning (לבק"ר), in 2 days before the day of the Churban, a word went out: at the end, there will be for you a convocation (עצר"ת), many will be clarified, whitened and purified, and the enlighted will understand and shine like the shining of the firmament.  On the 7th to the convocation is a sabbath of sabbaths, and at that time the building will be built by HaKadosh Baruch Hu, above and below, and it is said in the upper and lower Shechinah.  And the light of the moon shall be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be 7 times the light of the 7 days, the heavens will be glad and the land will rejoice.

Comparison of Yovel Counts

I have updated the Yovel Spreadsheet to show the different methods of counting Yovel since Ezra:

• According to Rabbanan (and the Rambam's svara) exclusively
• According to Rebbi Yehudah (and the svara in Imrei Binah) exclusively
• Mixing the 2 counts as I have described elsewhere.

Here it is.

The Significance of 5719

Imrei Binah gives importance to the year 5719 for 2 reasons:

1. It is the 47th Yovel year / beginning of the 48th Yovel Cycle (3416 + 47 * 49)
2. It is the end of the 301st Machzor Gadol of the Moon (301 * 19 = 5719)

The truth is that the same is true about 5727, but for slightly different reasons.

The Year Count of Imrei Binah

The count given in Imrei Binah assumes the count of Rebbi Yehudah, starting in the year 3416, which is the same start-year as the Rambam.  That being said, it is not 5769 that is the Yovel, but this year, 5768, which is the Yovel.  Of course this conflicts with our halachah l'maaseh, and I don't see any rationale for adding a year to this count to make 5769 the Yovel, since the sefer is fairly explicit that it starts to count from Molad BaHaRa"D.  As such, the prior Yovel would be in the year 5719 (1959).

Why the 48th Yovel?

(See here for context)

The sefer Imrei Binah attaches significance to the 48th Yovel in particular because the Gematria of Yovel is 48, therefore this is Yovel of "Yovel" (as opposed to the Yovel of Yovels that I have mentioned before which would be number 50.

Furthermore, on page 5/6 of the sefer, it is mentioned that the preparation for Yovel # 48 starts at the beginning of cycle # 48, which is the year of Yovel # 47.

By the logic in this sefer, that would refer to the year 5720 (1960), wherein no great events of mention took place for Am Yisrael.

Rather, I would here point to the system that I have shown here, that the 47th Yovel was 5727, the Six Day War.

There are some positives to this method that I have developed.

• It fulfills the statement made in the Zohar Chadash regarding Shmitah and Yovel falling in the same year, as well as the proof calculation of being 274 from the 6th day.
• It applies the statement of Eilu v'eilu divrei Elokim Chayim to the disagreement regarding the 50 and 49 year cycle.
• The events of the Six Day War are of a Yovel-ic nature.

(For more on Yovel, click here)

Imrei Binah - The Great Yovel

Continuing from the last post.

This blog post brings the 1st Ra'avad to say that 5769 is a Yovel year. The text quoted is to be found here, the page in question is the first 1st page of the book.

There are some calculations given.

At Har Sinai, a voice went out and said "In this Yovel year you shall return, a man to his inheritance". In 1938 years after Churban HaBayit, each man will return to his inheritance, and the year after those years is the Great Yovel...

... the explanation of this is that the year of the Yovel is the 48th Yovel...

... come and see that the holy nation counted 59 Shmitah years when the Beit HaMikdash arose, and when it was destroyed, they ceased to count, and until the time of the Redemption is 277 Shmitah years that aren't counted, in the secret of "is it not revealed to me..." (Devarim 32:34)

Let's start on the last paragraph. We should just look at these 59 Shmitah years.

Per my charts here, there are a total of 57 Shmitah years that were counted during the time of Bayit Rishon. Starting in 3409, there are exactly 59 Shmitah years to 3829, the year of Churban Bayit Sheini. What's the problem with this? Shmitah was still on "auto-pilot" for the first 7 years of Bayit Sheini, until after Ezra arrived (3416). The year Ezra arrived was a Shmitah year (3415).

There is another option in order to arrive at 59. If we take year 1 of the first cycle to be 3416, but only count 7 year cycles, then the 59th Shmitah is 3829.

We can figure out which of these 2 is at work by going backwards. It is said that the Great Yovel will be the 48th Yovel.

If we take everything to be according to Rebbi Yehudah since the time of Ezra, we see the following:

3929 + 1938 = 5768 (this is the Shmitah year, not according to our halachah l'maaseh)

49 * 48 + 3416 = 5768 (this would be the Yovel year)

So it seems that these calculations are based on the following:

• Counting of the Shmitah and Yovel starts the year after Ezra's arrival to Eretz Yisrael (i.e. 3416), as per the Rambam.
• The Yovel count is based on the count of Rebbi Yehudah, 49 year cycles, which is not in accordance to halachah for the time of the Beit HaMikdash, as recorded in the Rambam.

This is all made explicit later on the book, which after having glanced over, I see mentions the same calculation at least 1 more time.

The difference between this, and the 48th Yovel year that I mention elsewhere on this blog is that during the time of Bayit Sheini, there were 8 Yovel years, which pushes back the calculation by 7 years total, arriving at 5776.

Regarding the authorship of this book: This book is attributed to Rav Avraham ben David HaLevi, who is known as the 1st Ra'avad, as opposed to the more famous Ra'avad who commented on the Rambam, who was the 3rd Ra'avad.

(For more on Yovel, click here)