תנא דבי אליהו ששת אלפים שנה הוי עלמא שני אלפים תוהו שני אלפים תורה שני אלפים ימות המשיח (סנהדרין דף צז.)
“They taught in the Academy of Elijah: Six thousand years is the world; two thousand chaos, two thousand Torah, two thousand years Messiah” (Sanhedrin 97a)
The core tenet of the Jews that the world had a beginning; a rallying cry that they proclaimed for millennia to the derision of the rest of humanity, has only recently been adopted by all as true via newfound and incontrovertible evidence. After thousands of years all now concede to the very first word of the Torah; there was indeed a beginning. This cryptic Talmudic statement teaches us there is an end as well. The world is a process leading up to an ultimate and unavoidable conclusion. What is this conclusion? What is the meaning of these three epochs? In this first class of a series on Jewish History we explore the philosophical roadmap of the subject, examine the various ways God intervenes in it and, beginning with Abraham up to the death of Moses, tell the story of history’s most unprecedented people and their journey.
The Nine Characteristics of God video referenced in the class can be found HERE.
This Jewish Life - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe