Lessons in Jewish History - Part 1 - General

00:01 Speaker 1 Today we’ll first get an overall picture of what you might call the history of the world. That will help us put everything in its place. I’m not necessarily going to say anything new right now, but when you want to understand the history of the world, and human history in particular, it really helps to lay it out in an orderly way. This will be the big picture, and afterward we’ll look at particular periods within it. The Gemara says in Tractate Rosh Hashanah, “The world will exist for six thousand years, and for one thousand it will be desolate.” In other words, the world exists for six thousand years, and the seventh millennium is the one about which it says, “A day that is entirely Shabbos and rest for everlasting life.” The seventh millennium is the millennium of the days of Moshiach; the world will not follow its ordinary order then. But the world as we know it lasts six thousand years. We are now in the year 5782. That means we’re near the end of the sixth millennium. The first five millennia are already over. We’re in the final millennium, the sixth. So that’s the six thousand years. The Gemara also says in Sanhedrin that these six thousand years are divided into three periods: two thousand years of Tohu, two thousand years of Torah, and two thousand years of the days of Moshiach. In other words, the six thousand years are divided into three stages. The first two thousand years were years of Tohu. What does Tohu mean? It means there was a world without a purpose. The Torah had not yet been given, so there was no obligation to observe the mitzvos. The world therefore operated in a manner of Tohu. According to Chassidus, it means something deeper: the souls that came into the world during those two thousand years were souls from the world of Tohu. In other words, everything was of the world of Tohu. Anyone who learns Chassidus knows that there are abundant lights,

02:38 Speaker 1 few vessels. As a result, there was abundance in that world: a great deal of kindness, a great deal of giving—everything. People lived for many years. People were great even physically; lifespans were long, everything was on a grand scale. It was Tohu: abundant light but few vessels, which led to the shattering of the vessels, and so on. Of course, the world of Tohu is a spiritual world, but in the physical world, its expression was the first two thousand years. That’s the first period. The second period is two thousand years of Torah, which includes the time of the Giving of the Torah and continues through the end of the era of the Tannaim. Those are called the two thousand years of Torah. After that come two thousand years of the days of Moshiach. What does “the days of Moshiach” mean? Moshiach hasn’t come yet, though we’re already near the end. It means that the last two thousand years are the time when the world prepares for the Geulah. This is the time of ikvesa d’Meshicha, the time of “all the appointed times have passed.” All of that refers to the last two thousand years. The expression of our Sages that the Rebbe quotes many times in his sichos—“All the appointed times have passed, and the matter depends only on teshuvah”—all of that refers to these two thousand years. One of the Amoraim said this; he lived at the beginning of the last two thousand years, and that’s why he said, “All the appointed times have passed.” In other words, from the year 4000 since Creation onward, the final two thousand years are all part of the days of Moshiach. Every day, every moment, is the time. So first I want to lay out a little of the history using the broad divisions. What do we mean by two thousand years of Tohu, two thousand years of Torah, and two thousand years of the days of Moshiach? After that we’ll look at thousand-year divisions, see how the history breaks down within each millennium, and then go into more detail. So when we talk about these three stages, it’s very interesting. How does it work

04:44 Speaker 1 exactly? What happened in the year 2000 since Creation? In the year 2000 since Creation, there was Avraham Avinu. According to the chronology we know from the Torah, Avraham Avinu was born—you can work out the whole calculation by taking a Chumash. Take Chumash Bereishis and look at Adam Harishon: how many years he lived before Sheis was born, how old Sheis was when Enosh was born, then Keinan, Mahalalel, all ten generations. You’ll get to Noach, then to Avraham, and you’ll know exactly which year Avraham Avinu was born. By that calculation, Avraham Avinu was born in the year 1948. Nineteen forty-eight. Since Creation, of course—don’t get confused. So Avraham Avinu was born that year, and at age fifty-two it was the year 2000. That was roughly when Avraham Avinu began spreading awareness of G-dliness in the world. According to the Rambam, it began when he was forty: “At forty years old, Avraham recognized his Creator.” That’s what the Rambam writes. The Raavad says he was three years old. The Rambam says forty. There’s a Midrash that says forty-eight. There are various opinions about exactly when Avraham Avinu recognized his Creator. But broadly speaking, by the year 2000, Avraham Avinu had already begun publicizing his belief in one G-d: “And he called there in the name of Hashem, G-d of the world.” That’s why, from this period onward, we call it the two thousand years of Torah: Avraham Avinu began the preparations for the Giving of the Torah. We know from many of the Rebbe’s sichos, where the Rebbe often explains, that Avraham Avinu observed the entire Torah before it was given, and that Avraham Avinu had the mitzvah of bris

06:56 Speaker 1 milah, and so on. Avraham Avinu prepared the way for the Giving of the Torah. Then came Yitzchak, then Yaakov, and “the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children.” That’s why we call it the two thousand years of Torah from that point on. Those two thousand years that began with Avraham Avinu continue, as we said, until the end of the era of the Tannaim. To get a little sense of the history: the Giving of the Torah took place in the year 2448. Yes, that was the Giving of the Torah, in the year 2448. That was the day the Torah was given at Mount Sinai. And that’s why, in this year, as is well known and has been discussed in many places, we are 3,333 years from the Giving of the Torah. In 5781, this past Shavuos marked—3,333 years from the Giving of the Torah. So the Giving of the Torah was in the year 2448. Then came forty years, after which they entered the Land of Israel, and then the whole period of “Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua; Yehoshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly.” The Men of the Great Assembly were there at the beginning of the building of the second Beis Hamikdash. The second Beis Hamikdash was built in the year 3408. That was the time of the Men of the Great Assembly, almost a thousand years after the Giving of the Torah. Right? And the second Beis Hamikdash stood for 420 years. In the year 3828—keep track of the numbers, everyone—in the year 3828, almost two thousand years ago, the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, and the era of the Tannaim began.

09:19 Speaker 1 Right? Who were the Tannaim at the time of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash? Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was one of the well-known Tannaim. As related in Tractate Gittin, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai went out through the gate and went in to speak with the king, and so on, to save Yavneh. So that was really the beginning of the era of the sages of the Mishnah: Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and his five students, the five students mentioned in Pirkei Avos: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkanus, Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, Rabbi Yosi HaKohen, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya. They were the first generation after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. There were Tannaim before that too. For example, Shammai and Hillel lived during the time of the Beis Hamikdash; Shammai and Hillel were before Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. That is why the entire first chapter of Pirkei Avos, beginning with “Moshe received the Torah from Sinai,” has all sorts of names in it. Right? Shimon and Shoshana, Shimon HaTzaddik. He was one of the Men of the Great Assembly. After that, there is a list, mishnah by mishnah, of pairs of names: the Nasi and the head of the beis din. That was throughout the period of the Second Beis Hamikdash. All the Tannaim in chapter one of Pirkei Avos, from Shimon HaTzaddik to the end of the chapter, where Shammai, Hillel, and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel are mentioned—that was around the time of the destruction. So that was the period of the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash and a little before it. In any case, those are more or less the Tannaim who lived before the destruction. But Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was among the Tannaim at the time of the destruction. There was also Rabban Gamliel. After that came Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, and then the Tannaim of the Mishnah began. So, the Tannaim of the Mishnah—there were about five generations of them. Right, we mentioned Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai as one generation; Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkanus, the five students, and other Tannaim of that time.

11:23 Speaker 1 That is called the second generation. After that came their students, like Rabbi Akiva and his generation—Rabbi Yishmael, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Tarfon. That was the third generation. Then we have Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Yosi—the five students of Rabbi Akiva, including Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai. In any case, these are the main Tannaim mentioned in the Mishnah. Most of them belong to the fourth generation, and among their students was Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, who compiled the Mishnah. Those are five generations of Tannaim, and around that time was the end of the year, um, four thousand. In other words, the two thousand years of Torah came to an end then. Around that time, the Sanhedrin came to an end, and most of the Jewish people were already in Bavel. Then there were Rav and Shmuel. They were students of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi—especially Rav, who studied under Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and afterward went up to Bavel—went down, sorry, to Bavel. That is when the era of the Gemara began. The era of the Gemara is already counted as part of the two thousand years of the days of Moshiach. In other words, once Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi had completed the Mishnah and the era of the Gemara had more or less begun, that is already considered the period after the two thousand years of Torah; it is considered the two thousand years of the days of Moshiach. That is why the one who says the—who uses the expression “All the appointed times have passed, and the matter depends only on teshuvah” is Rav Yehudah in the name of Rav, if I am not mistaken. That is the wording in the Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin. Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav, and that was the first generation of the Amoraim. So the era of the days of Moshiach began. The era of the days of Moshiach, as we said, is the time of the birth pangs of Moshiach, the time of exile, when the Jewish people began in Bavel and spread from Bavel to all the lands of Ashkenaz,

13:33 Speaker 1 of Sefarad. Then, after a period of two hundred years—the period of the Amoraim—came the period of the Geonim. The period of the Geonim is a fairly important period. There is not much history relative to the length of that period; it lasted about five hundred years, and still there is a little more to it. But in any case, most Jews still lived in the region of Bavel then. Gradually they began to spread out, because in those years, during the time of the Geonim, the whole upheaval involving the Muslims began. How do you say—the Muslims on one side; what was his name? Muhammad, who began spreading his teachings. On the other side were the Christians. These were two movements that, in those years, became the two largest in the world. Between them, they conquered almost the entire world. What they have in common is a connection to Judaism—though, of course, we must make the distinction. On one hand, Christianity, as is well known, began among the Jewish people. Yoshke came from the Jewish people, and from there he developed Christianity. On the other hand was Muhammad, though of course not at the same time. Yoshke lived toward the end of the period—he lived during the time of the Second Beis Hamikdash, but his teachings mainly began to spread many years later. Muhammad lived during the time of the Geonim. Muhammad lived around the year 4500—4000, somewhere around then. In short, it was a short time after the completion of the Gemara. Muhammad, too, studied with Jews, spent time among Jews, and built his teachings on the basis of Judaism. In fact, in a certain sense, the Muslims adopted aspects of Judaism much more strongly, especially belief in one G-d. That is why, according to halachah, Muslims are considered believers in one G-d, and their faith is not considered idol worship according to halachah. Islam is not considered idol worship under Jewish law.

15:47 Speaker 1 They believe in one G-d; they abolished all forms of idol worship. One of the things Muhammad did was abolish all forms of idol worship: there is only one G-d. The Christians, by contrast, believe in what is called the Trinity. They believe that Yoshke is a son, and there is a spirit, and there are, as it were, these three different things. So according to halachah, it is considered idol worship. But in practice, this was during that period, the time of the Geonim. At the same time, it was an era when the Jewish people began to suffer greatly, with all the birth pangs of exile and the hardships of exile. The greatest hardships came precisely because of this: these movements began conquering the world and wanted to force everyone to follow only their way. And the Jews were always persecuted when they lived under the Christians. Then there were the Crusades, as they are called. The Christians decided that they had to go to the Land of Israel, where their redeemer would come, as they believed about their redemption. On their way, they killed hundreds of thousands of Jews. Those were the difficult times referred to in the Tishah B’Av kinos, around the time of Rashi. Before that, after that, hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed by the Christians. This was around the time of the Rambam—Rashi, the Rambam. On the other side, there were the Muslims too. At first, the Jews lived well among them, because they respected the Jews. But over time, they wanted to force the Jews to accept their faith, and that caused many hardships. It also meant, in the natural course of things, that Jews were constantly looking for countries where they could live in peace. That was part of this great exile, in which Jews began to spread to countries throughout the world. “It was an act of kindness,” in the words of the Gemara, “that Hakadosh Boruch Hu scattered them among the nations”—that the Jewish people were dispersed.

17:56 Speaker 1 among all the nations of the world. All of this happened because of those troubles, and Jews began looking for places that would accept them. So Jews came to Germany, to Ashkenaz, as it was called. Jews came to Spain, to France, to England, and later to Poland and Russia. That is how the Jewish people spread throughout the world. It all began in the period of the Geonim and continued afterward. After the Geonim came the period we call the Rishonim—the Rishonim, the Tosafists. We are already talking about the late 4800s. For us, that means, say, about a thousand years ago. Today we are in the year 5782. If we go back a thousand years—to around 5700, 5800—that was when the period of the Geonim ended and the period of the Rishonim began. What did I say? The 4000s, sorry. The 4000s, around 4700—that is approximately when the whole period of the Rishonim began. There were the Rif, Rabbeinu Chananel, the Rambam, Rashi, the Ramban, and so on. These are the Rishonim we study, both in the revealed parts of Torah and in Chassidus. Many of them are mentioned in Chassidus—the Ramban, the Rashba, and the Rambam are also mentioned in maamarim. They lived about nine hundred years ago, in the period of the Rishonim. In France there were the Tosafists, Rashi and his grandsons, who produced all the Tosafos we have. In any event, that brings us to the millennium we are in now. The Ramban, for example, lived around the beginning of the sixth millennium. He is one of the Rishonim who stands at the dividing line, so to speak. The Rambam, for example, came before the Ramban. The Rif came earlier, and Rashi came earlier. Yes, those Rishonim still lived before the sixth millennium. Among the Rishonim we know who were already

20:23 Speaker 1 living at the beginning of the sixth millennium, in the early 5000s, were the Ramban—with a nun—and the Rosh. Yes, he too lived at the beginning of the sixth millennium. Today we mentioned the Or Zarua; he lived at the beginning of the sixth millennium. These were great Torah scholars who lived at the start of the sixth millennium. Around that time, the Rosh’s son compiled the Tur, a work of halachah intended to organize the whole Torah in terms of halachah, to establish a systematic framework. The Tur lived at the beginning of the sixth millennium. So in the millennium we live in, we still have Rishonim. The Tur, the son of the Rosh, was at the end of the period of the Rishonim. Around the years 5100 or 5150, let’s say, the period of the Rishonim ended and the period of the Acharonim began. Among the Acharonim are all the great later Torah scholars, the most famous of whom is, of course, the Beis Yosef. Among those who lived in the time of the Beis Yosef were the Rayatz[?], the Arizal, and the Ramak. There were sages of Kabbalah, sages of halachah, great Torah scholars in those periods, down to the Maharsha and the Taz, around the years 5400 or 5450. That is, a few years before the Baal Shem Tov. This was the period of the Acharonim. On the one hand there were works of halachah, and on the other, works of Kabbalah that began spreading through the world. Then came the time of the Baal Shem Tov, which we are already familiar with—our history, as it were. Around the year 5458, roughly a hundred years after the Arizal, a hundred years after the Maharal of Prague, a hundred years after the Beis Yosef, the Baal Shem Tov was born. Then began the whole period of the Baal Shem Tov’s disciples, the Maggid and the Alter Rebbe, the Mitteler Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Rebbe Maharash, the Rebbe Rashab, the Frierdiker Rebbe, and on to the Rebbe, the leader of our generation. Those are the last three hundred

22:37 Speaker 1 years, the years of “your wellsprings will spread outward” [unclear] until the days of Moshiach. So that is the overall picture, to help us understand the division the Gemara gives: two thousand years of chaos, until Avraham Avinu; two thousand years of Torah, from Avraham Avinu until the end of the period of the Tannaim, the period of the Mishnah; and two thousand years of the days of Moshiach, from the time of the Gemara until the time we are in right now, waiting at every moment for the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. That is one division. Another, more detailed division is also very interesting: the division into thousand-year periods. This division is based on the Ramban. There is a brief discussion by the Ramban in Parshas Bereishis, and a longer one elsewhere in his writings. There are other places that discuss it in even greater detail. How do we divide the six thousand years into millennia? The Ramban’s understanding is as follows. He says that everything the Torah tells us in Parshas Bereishis—the Torah tells us about seven days. On the first day there was light; on the second day, the firmament; on the third day, plants; on the fourth day, the luminaries; on the fifth day, animals and beasts—or creatures, I don’t remember. On the sixth day, in the first half there were animals, and in the second half, Adam Harishon. Then Shabbos began. The Ramban says that the Torah is not telling us this only to describe the creation of the world, what happened during the seven days of creation. The Torah is also hinting to us about the seven millennia of creation. In other words, the account of creation also gives us a picture of what happened in each millennium of the six thousand years of our history. It is very interesting. He writes about it briefly, and you can build on what he says and understand many things. Interestingly, as an aside, since we are right now

24:47 Speaker 1 in Parshas Mishpatim, the Ramban says something very beautiful about this in our parsha too: why does Parshas Mishpatim begin with the Hebrew servant? Why—that is the question all the commentators ask. The Rebbe discusses it in Likkutei Sichos. Why does Parshas Mishpatim begin with the Hebrew servant? Are there no other mitzvos? We have just had the giving of the Torah. Why begin with such an unusual mitzvah, one that is almost never applicable? There has to be a thief who has nothing with which to repay what he stole, and the court sells him, and so on. Yet that is the first mitzvah. So the Ramban says that the mitzvah of the Hebrew servant symbolizes the whole of creation. That is one of the explanations. The Hebrew servant serves for six years, and “in the seventh he shall go free, without payment.” This relates to the creation of the world; it relates to the six thousand years. It is a general theme connected with the entire revelation at the giving of the Torah. [unclear] So he says the following. The Ramban explains how we divide everything into millennia. The first millennium is connected with the first day of creation. On the first day of creation, light was created. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the light. From Chassidus we know that this is connected with the attribute of chesed—light, revelation—and that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created a world full of chesed. “The world is built through chesed.” It was a world of great abundance. During the first thousand years there were no troubles and no suffering. People lived with the greatest sense of spaciousness and in the best of health. This was the whole period of Adam Harishon and the ten generations from Adam Harishon until Noach, who was born at the beginning of the second millennium. But throughout the first millennium, those generations enjoyed great abundance, great material prosperity, and great expansiveness.

26:42 Speaker 1 So everything was light, everything was kindness. Of course, it was not all light; it also led people to begin worshipping idols and so on. But Hashem’s way of dealing with the world was one of light and kindness. That was the first millennium. In the second millennium, Noach was born. What began in the second millennium? A firmament that separates came into being; there was a division. Then came the generation of the Flood. Hashem was angry, and there was severity. Hashem distanced Himself from the world and began to strike it. The world was no longer going along as it had; Hashem regretted having created man. In that second millennium there was the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion. Hashem wiped out a large part of the world because of people’s wrongdoing. In other words, the second millennium was a millennium of severity. That is the firmament separating the waters, and that is why “that it was good” is not written about the second day: it was a millennium with a great deal of severity, when Hashem dealt with the world through the attribute of severity. Then came the third millennium. On the third day, “that it was good” was said twice. It was the day of “Let the dry land appear.” What happened in the third millennium? That was when the Jewish people came into being and the Torah was given. Hashem made dry land, a place where a person could serve Him. Torah and mitzvos became possible, so that a Jew could fulfill Torah and mitzvos in the world. This is reflected in the plants: on the third day, plants grew—“Let the earth bring forth vegetation, plants yielding seed.”

28:44 Speaker 1 That is the giving of the Torah: every mitzvah is a growth from which more growth comes. In the third millennium, the Jewish people grew, and Hashem gave us the Torah and mitzvos. Among the sefiros, this is also the sefirah of tiferes. Tiferes is the splendor of Israel—the beauty of the Jewish people that emerged in the third millennium, with the Exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Torah, and so on. What happened in the fourth millennium? The fourth day was the time of the luminaries. That was when the Beis Hamikdash stood, beginning with the First Beis Hamikdash. It was built in the year—almost the year 3000. Yes, toward the end of the third millennium. Let’s work it out, yes? The Exodus from Egypt was in the year 2448. It says in Melachim that the Beis Hamikdash was built 480 years after the Exodus from Egypt. So let’s calculate: take 448 and add another 480. Who can do the arithmetic? Four hundred forty-eight plus four hundred eighty. It shouldn’t be that hard. Huh?

30:21 Speaker 2 Nine hundred twenty-eight.

30:22 Speaker 1 Nine hundred twenty-eight. Very good. So it was in the year 2928, almost at the end of the third millennium, that the Beis Hamikdash was built. Broadly speaking, then, most of the time of the First and Second Beis Hamikdash fell in the fourth millennium. The fourth millennium is the luminaries—the Beis Hamikdash. There was the menorah, from which light shone to the entire world. There were luminaries. On the other hand, there was also the diminishing of the luminaries. Two things happened on the fourth day: there were luminaries, but there was also a diminishment—the lesser luminary. That also corresponds to the destruction. On the one hand, the Beis Hamikdash was built; on the other, it was destroyed. [unclear], as the well-known saying goes. That was in the fourth millennium, corresponding to the day of the luminaries. The fifth millennium came after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. That is what we mentioned earlier. In that millennium, as we said, all the troubles of the Jewish people began: the Christians on one side, the Muslims on the other, while the Jewish people went into exile and suffered. It corresponds to the day on which Hashem created all the living creatures. Those creatures allude to exile, to the nations among whom the Jewish people live and from whom they suffer all kinds of troubles. Among the sefiros, this is connected with the attribute of hod. Hod is the attribute associated with exile. It says in Eichah, “My splendor was turned to ruin for me.” Hod has the same letters as davah, a woman in a state of niddah, alluding to the Jewish people in exile. In any event, that is the fifth millennium. Then comes the sixth millennium,

32:32 Speaker 1 the one we are in now. The sixth millennium has two parts. In its first half, more living creatures were created; Hashem created another kind of living creature. Correspondingly, at the beginning of the sixth millennium the Jewish people still faced all kinds of troubles: the Inquisition, as it is called, the expulsion from Spain, and other troubles they went through during those years. But it was also the day on which man was created. The Ramban says this refers to the soul of Moshiach. In the sixth millennium, and especially in its second half, it is the time of Erev Shabbos, when the Jewish people are preparing to enter Shabbos. Man was created then—man, who is the purpose of creation—and he must prepare for the holy Shabbos. That is the time we are in now. Accordingly, it is associated with the sefirah of yesod. On the one hand, yesod is about connection. As Chassidus explains, the attribute of yesod connects this world with the World to Come, exile with Geulah. This is the time of yesod. It is also associated with birth. As is known in Chassidus, yesod is the bris, where the power of procreation lies. And birth involves birth pangs. The troubles we are experiencing now, in the era of Moshiach, are birth pangs. Through those pangs we will reach the birth—the birth of the Geulah. We are now in the midst of the process of Moshiach’s arrival, may it be speedily in our days. So according to the Ramban, we can see how each millennium corresponds closely to the days of Creation and their unfolding through history. According to Chassidus, they also correspond to the sefiros: chesed,

34:40 Speaker 1 gevurah, tiferes, netzach. Netzach is the Beis Hamikdash and Jerusalem, as the Gemara says in Berachos. Hod is the time of exile; yesod is our present time, as we prepare for Geulah. Then comes the seventh millennium, corresponding to malchus—the kingship of the House of David and King Moshiach. It will be “Shabbos and rest for everlasting life,” which we should merit very soon. So, in broad terms, we have a picture of the whole history of the world: how it fits into the three periods, and how it fits into the six millennia—“the world will exist for six thousand years.” With Hashem’s help, in the next class we will take one group from among all these periods and focus on it.