Avodah Zerah and the Messiah

וְכִי מֵאַחַר דַּחֲזוֹ לְקַמָּאֵי דְּלָא מַהֲנֵי וְלָא מִידֵּי, מַאי טַעְמָא עָיְילִי? סָבְרִי: הָנָךְ אִישְׁתַּעְבַּדוּ בְּהוּ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, וַאֲנַן לָא שַׁעְבַּדְנוּ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל. מַאי שְׁנָא הָנֵי דַּחֲשִׁיבִי, וּמַאי שְׁנָא הָנֵי דְּלָא חֲשִׁיבִי לְהוּ? מִשּׁוּם דְּהָנָךְ מָשְׁכִי בְּמַלְכוּתַיְיהוּ עַד דְּאָתֵי מְשִׁיחָא.

The Gemara asks: But once the other nations see that everything said by the first ones, Rome and Persia, is completely ineffective, what is the reason that they come forward? The Gemara answers that they think: Those Empires subjugated the Jewish people, but we did not subjugate the Jewish people. The Gemara further asks: What is different about these, Rome and Persia, which were singled out explicitly, and what is different about those other empires that come afterward, which were not singled out and mentioned by name? It is because with regard to these, Rome and Persia, their kingship extends until the coming of the Messiah. (Avodah Zarah 2b)

כֵּיוָן שֶׁרוֹאִין מִלְחֶמֶת גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג, אוֹמֵר לָהֶן: עַל מָה בָּאתֶם? אוֹמְרִים לוֹ: עַל ה׳ וְעַל מְשִׁיחוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לָמָּה רָגְשׁוּ גוֹיִם וּלְאֻמִּים יֶהְגּוּ רִיק וְגוֹ׳״,

When these converts see the war of Gog and Magog, every convert of this sort will say to Gog and Magog: For what purpose did you come? They will say to him: We came to fight against the Lord and against His Messiah, as it is stated: “Why are the nations in an uproar? And why do the peoples mutter in vain. The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Messiah” (Psalms 2:1–2). (Avodah Zarah 3b)

וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: אֵין בֶּן דָּוִד בָּא עַד שֶׁיִּכְלוּ נְשָׁמוֹת שֶׁבַּגּוּף, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״[כִּי לֹא לְעוֹלָם אָרִיב וְלֹא לָנֶצַח אֶקְּצוֹף] כִּי רוּחַ מִלְּפָנַי יַעֲטוֹף וּנְשָׁמוֹת אֲנִי עָשִׂיתִי״!

And similarly, Rabbi Yosei says: The Messiah, son of David, will not come until all the souls of the body have been finished, i.e., until all souls that are destined to inhabit physical bodies will do so. As it is stated: “For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit that enwraps itself is from Me, and the souls that I have made” (Isaiah 57:16). According to Rabbi Yosei, in order for the Messiah to come in the end of days, it is necessary for the future generations to be born. (Avodah Zarah 5a)

תָּנָא דְּבֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ: שֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים שָׁנָה הָוֵי הָעוֹלָם, שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים תּוֹהוּ, שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים תּוֹרָה, שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים יְמוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ, בַּעֲוֹנוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁרַבּוּ יָצְאוּ מֵהֶן מַה שֶּׁיָּצְאוּ מֵהֶן.

In relation to the discussion on the calculation of years, the Gemara states that one of the Sages of the school of Eliyahu taught: The world is destined to exist for six thousand years. For two thousand years the world was waste, as the Torah had not yet been given. The next set of two thousand years are the time period of the Torah. The last set of two thousand years are the period designated for the days of the Messiah, but due to our many sins there are those years that have been taken from them, i.e., such and such years have already passed and have been taken from the two thousand years that are designated for the Messiah, and the Messiah has not yet arrived. Whenever a tanna taught this baraita, he would insert the number of years that was correct for his time.

שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים תּוֹרָה מֵאֵימַת? אִי נֵימָא מִמַּתַּן תּוֹרָה עַד הַשְׁתָּא, לֵיכָּא כּוּלֵּי הַאי, דְּכִי מְעַיְּינַתְּ בְּהוּ תְּרֵי אַלְפֵי פְּרָטֵי דְּהַאי אַלְפָּא הוּא דַּהֲוַאי.

The Gemara asks: With regard to the two thousand years of the time period of the Torah, from when are they counted? If we say that they started from the giving of the Torah until now, then there is not enough time for all of these years. As, when you examine the calculations, it is evident that from the creation of the world until the giving of the Torah there were two thousand years plus a part of this third thousand, as the Torah was given 2,448 years after the creation of the world. This would mean that the time period of the Torah encroaches upon the days of the Messiah…

כַּמָּה בָּצְרָן מִדְּתָנֵי תַּנָּא? אַרְבַּע מֵאָה וְאַרְבָּעִים וּתְמָנְיָא שְׁנִין הָוְיָין, כִּי מְעַיְּינַתְּ בֵּיהּ מֵ״הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן״ עַד מַתַּן תּוֹרָה — אַרְבַּע מְאָה וְאַרְבָּעִים וּתְמָנְיָא שְׁנִין הָוְיָין.

How many years are missing from the two thousand year period of the Messiah, if the period of the Torah that is taught by the tanna is counted from the giving of the Torah? There are 448 missing years. When you examine the calculation from the time when it is stated about Abraham and Sarah: “The souls that they had gotten in Haran,” until the time of the giving of the Torah, there are 448 years.

אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: אִי טָעֵי תַּנָּא וְלָא יָדַע פְּרָטֵיהּ כַּמָּה הָוֵי — לִישַׁיְּילֵיהּ לְסָפְרָא כַּמָּה כְּתִיב, וְנִיטַפֵּי עֲלַיְיהוּ אַרְבְּעִין וְתַמְנֵי, וּמַשְׁכַּח לֵיהּ לְחוּמְרֵיהּ, וְסִימָנָיךְ:

With regard to this baraita as well, Rav Pappa said: If a tanna meant to state that at his time such and such years were already lost from the two thousand years that are designated for the days of the Messiah, but he forgot and did not know the details of exactly how much time had passed, let him ask a scribe how many years he writes when he dates documents. And let him add forty-eight to the number, correcting for the century, and in this manner he will find his number. And your mnemonic for this is the verse:

9b

״אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמֹנֶה עִיר״. וְאִי טָעֵי סָפְרָא — נְשַׁיְּילֵיהּ לְתַנָּא כַּמָּה קָתָנֵי, וְנִיבַצַּר מִינַּיְיהוּ אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנֶה, וּמַשְׁכַּח לֵיהּ לְחוּמְרֵיהּ, וְסִימָנָיךְ: סָפְרָא בְּצִירָא, תַּנָּא תּוֹסְפָאָה.

“Forty-eight cities” (Numbers 35:7). Similarly, if a scribe forgot the exact year, let him ask the tanna how many years does he teach have already been lost from the two thousand years that are designated for the days of the Messiah. And he should deduct forty-eight years from the number, correcting for the century, and in this manner he will find his number. And your mnemonic to remember that the tanna must add to the date of the scribe, while the scribe must deduct from the number of the tanna, is again: A scribe deducts, while a tanna adds on [tosfa’a]. (Avodah Zarah 9a)