Sanhedrin 98a (צח.) — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Yehoshua said to Rabbi Eliezer: But it is already stated: “So said the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to the despised soul, to the abhorred nation, to the servant of rulers

Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall bow down.”

This implies that even those who are despised and abhorred because of their sins will be redeemed, and kings will see them, etc.!

Rabbi Eliezer said to him: But it is already stated: “If you return, Israel, declares the Lord, you will return to Me.”

This implies that Israel will be redeemed only through repentance!

Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: But it is already stated: “And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward the heavens, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a period, periods, and half, and when the shattering of the power of the holy people is completed, all these things shall be completed, etc.” “A period, periods” implies that there will be a designated time and an end to the exile. “And when the shattering of the power, etc., is completed, all these things, etc., shall be completed” means that when their standing and the strength of their power—which had been dispersed in every direction, with might and the ability to extend themselves here and there—comes to an end, they will become exceedingly lowly; then all the troubles will end, and the Messiah will come.

And then, when Rabbi Yehoshua presented the proof from this verse,

Rabbi Eliezer fell silent,

and offered no further response.

And Rabbi Abba said: You have no clearer indication of the end

than

this, which is stated

in this verse:

“And you, mountains of Israel, shall give forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel, etc.” [The end of the verse is: “For they are soon to come.” All the verses that follow speak of redemption: “For I am with you, and I shall turn to you, etc.; the cities shall be inhabited, and the ruins shall be rebuilt, etc.,” and more.] Thus, we have a clear sign of the arrival of the redemption: when the Land of Israel yields its produce generously, the redemption will come!

Rabbi Elazar says: Also f

Rabbi Elazar says: Even f

rom

this

following verse the end is revealed to us.

As it is stated: “For before those days

[before the days of the Messiah]

there was no wage for man, nor any wage for beast; and for one who went out or came in there was no peace because of the adversary.”

That is, when a person will earn nothing, and even through agricultural labor performed with the aid of an animal he will be unable to earn anything, then the redemption will come [as we said above, that one of the signs of the days of the Messiah is that a coin will disappear from the purse].

What

is the meaning of that which is written:

“And for one who went out or came in there was no peace because of the adversary”?

Rav said: Even Torah scholars, of whom it is written that they possess peace, as it is written: “Great peace have those who love Your Torah,”

and this is the meaning of “for one who went out or came in”: by law, the scholars should have gone out and come in peaceably; nevertheless, in those days even they

will have no peace because of the adversary

[because of the abundance of troubles ].

And Shmuel said:

The son of David will not come

until all the prices are equal.

That is, the price of wine will be as low as the price of grain. As the Gemara said above, in the fifth year of that Sabbatical cycle in which the son of David will come, there will be great abundance .

Rabbi Ḥanina said: The son of David will not come until a fish is sought for a sick person —

and it cannot be found. As it is stated: “Then I shall sink their waters and lead their rivers like oil,”

and since the rivers will be congealed like oil, fish will not be available to catch with a hook.

And it is written: “On that day I shall cause a horn to grow for the House of Israel.”

Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina said: The son of David will not come—

until even

all

the contemptible kingdom

[the despised and impoverished one]

of Israel has come to an end,

so that no kingdom at all will remain in Israel .

As it is stated: “And He shall cut off the shoots with pruning hooks,” and it is written afterward

[afterward]:

“At that time a gift shall be brought to the Lord of Hosts from a people dragged out and plucked.”

That is, the redemption will come.

Ze’iri said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: The son of David will not come—

until the haughty among Israel have come to an end

. As it is stated: “For then I shall remove from your midst your joyous, arrogant ones,”

and it is written

in the following verse:

“And I shall leave in your midst a poor and impoverished people, and they shall take refuge in the name of the Lord.”

That is, the redemption will come, and Israel will take refuge in the shadow of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Rabbi Simlai said in the name of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon: The son of David will not come—

until all the judges and officers have come to an end in Israel

. As it is stated: “And I shall turn My hand against you, and purge away your dross, etc.

[The end of the verse is: “And I shall remove all your alloy.” “Your dross” means the mixtures within you. “Your alloy” means those who are separated as the leaders of the people. And then, after the judges and officers of Israel have come to an end]—

“I shall restore your judges

as at the first, etc., and the redemption will come .

Ulla said: Jerusalem

will be redeemed—

only through charity. As it is stated: “Zion shall be redeemed through justice

and those who return to her through charity.”

Rav Pappa said: If the arrogant disappear, then even

the magi will disappear

[if the arrogant, the haughty, disappear from Israel, the Persian sorcerers who torment Israel will also disappear ].

If the judges disappear

[if the judges of Israel disappear ]— then

the

also

gazirophti

[the gentile judges who beat Israel with sticks will also disappear ].

Rav Pappa now explains the source for these statements:

If the arrogant disappear, the magi disappear, as it is written: “And I shall purge away your dross, and I shall remove all your alloy.”

That is, when “your dross,” the great and haughty ones, disappear and are removed from you , then I shall remove all “your alloy,” namely those magi who are alienated from fear of God.

And if the judges disappear, the gazirophti disappear, as it is written: “The Lord has removed your judgments; He has cleared away your enemy.”

That is, when the Lord removes your judges, He will turn the anger of your enemy, the gazirophti, backward.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If you see a generation becoming steadily smaller—

wait for him. As it is stated: “And You shall save an impoverished people, etc.”

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If you see a generation upon which many troubles are coming like a river—

wait for him. As it is stated: “For he shall come like a river of distress; the spirit of the Lord drives it on” [“

The spirit drives it on” is an expression of piercing and consuming . For the spirit of the Omnipresent destroys them through the troubles that come upon them],

and immediately afterward it states: “And a redeemer shall come to Zion.”

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The son of David will come only

either

in a generation that is entirely meritorious, or

in a generation that is

entirely guilty .

And from where do we know this?

In a generation that is entirely meritorious—

as it is written: “And all your people shall be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever.”

“They shall inherit the land” means redemption.

In a generation that is entirely guilty—

as it is written: “He saw that there was no man, and He was astonished that there was no intercessor,” and it is written: “For My own sake I shall act.”

Rabbi Alexandri said: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi raised a contradiction: It is written

concerning the arrival of the redemption: “I am the Lord, in its time I shall hasten it.” At first glance, this is an internal contradiction! For

“in its time”

implies at its appointed time,

while it is written: “I shall hasten it,”

which implies that the Holy One, blessed be He, will hurry and hasten the redemption and bring it before its appointed time!

Rather, this is how the verse is to be explained:

If

Israel is meritorious

then

I shall hasten it

and bring it before its appointed time.

But if

they are not meritorious—

then the redemption will come

in its time

[at the time appointed for it] .

Rabbi Alexandri said: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi raised a contradiction: It is written

concerning the arrival of the Messiah:

“And behold, with the clouds of heaven came one like a human being,”

which implies that he will come swiftly, like the clouds of heaven.

On the other hand,

it is written: “Poor and riding upon a donkey,”

which implies that he will come slowly, like a poor man lazily riding his donkey!

Rather, if

Israel is meritorious

then the Messiah will come

with the clouds of heaven.

And if

they are not meritorious—

he will come as

a poor man riding upon a donkey .

the Messiah will come upon a donkey

King Shapur said to Shmuel: You say

[you say],

“The Messiah will come upon a donkey”

[that the Messiah will come upon a donkey], and this is disgraceful!

I shall send him a swift horse

that I have

[I shall send him a fine horse that I own]! He intended this as mockery.

He said to him

Shmuel:

Do you have a white horse of

a hundred colors

[do you have a horse of a hundred colors]? For this is what the Messiah’s donkey is like!

It is not that the Messiah’s donkey will actually be like this; rather, he said this merely to dismiss him.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi encountered Elijah

[he found Elijah],

who was standing

[who was standing]

at the entrance to the cave of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai

[at the entrance to the cave in which Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai had hidden from the Romans].

He said to him

to Elijah:

“Will I merit entering the World-to-Come

[will I merit entering the World-to-Come]?

He said to him: “If this master desires it”

[the Divine Presence. He used the expression “this master,” which implies the master who is before us, since the Divine Presence was there with them].

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: “I saw two there,”

namely, Elijah and myself.

“And the voice

of

three I heard.”

For I also heard the voice of the Divine Presence , but I did not see it.

He said to him

to Elijah:

“When will he come

[when will he come]

—the Messiah?”

He said to him: “Go ask him himself”

[go ask him himself].

Joshua ben Levi asked him:

“And where does he sit

[and where does he sit]—the Messiah?”

Elijah said to him: He sits

at the entrance to Rome

[at the gate of the city of Rome ].

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked:

“And what are his signs

[what are the Messiah’s signs, and how will I recognize that he is indeed the one]?”

Elijah said to him:

He sits

[he is sitting]

among the poor who suffer from afflictions

[those afflicted with leprosy], and he too is afflicted .

And all of them untied their bandages at one time

[all the other poor people removed all their bandages at once in order to clean their afflictions, and afterward they tied them all at the same time].

But

he

the Messiah,

loosens one and ties one [he loosens one bandage at a time, cleans the wound, and ties it. He does this until he has finished treating all his afflictions]. Because

[He loosens one bandage at a time, cleans the wound, and binds it again. He does this until he finishes treating all his sores.] Because

he said: Perhaps I will be needed [perhaps they will call me to come and redeem Israel],

[Perhaps they will call me to come and redeem Israel],

so that I will not be delayed [so that I will not be delayed].

[so that I will not be delayed]. If I were to loosen all the bandages at once, perhaps I would be called precisely then to redeem Israel, and I would have to delay until I finished tying them all. .

For if I were to loosen all the bandages at once, perhaps precisely then I would be called to redeem Israel, and I would have to delay until I finished tying them all .

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi went

to

him [to the Messiah],

to the gate of Rome.

He said to him: Peace be upon you, my rabbi and my teacher!

The Messiah said to him

:

Peace be upon you, son of Levi [son of Levi].

[son of Levi].

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to him:

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi

When will my master come [when will you come to redeem Israel]?

[When will you come to redeem Israel]?

He said to him: Today .

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi returned and

came to Elijah.

Elijah said to him:

Elijah

What did he say to you

the Messiah?

He said to him:

The Messiah said to me:

Peace be upon you, son of Levi.

He said to him:

If he said this to you,

I assure you and your father of a share in the World to Come [he assured you and your father that you will come to the World to Come]. For if you were not completely righteous, he would not have greeted you, nor would he have mentioned your father’s name.

[he assured you and your father that you will come to the World to Come]. For if you were not completely righteous, he would not have greeted you, nor would he have mentioned your father’s name.

He said to him: He deceived me [he lied to me],

the Messiah

for

he

said to me: I am coming today [I will come today],

[I will come today],

and

in the end

he did not come [he did not come]!

[he did not come].

He said to him: This is what he meant to say to you [this is what he intended to tell you]:

[this is what he intended to say to you]:

“Today—

if you will hear His voice .

[the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He]

—’”

Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma’s students asked him

When will the son of David come?

He said: I am afraid that you will ask me for a sign

and a wonder that he will indeed come at the time I tell you.

They said to him: We are not asking you for a sign.

He said to them: When this gate falls [the gate of the city of Rome ]—

[the gate of the city of Rome ]

and it is rebuilt, and it falls

again—

and it is rebuilt, and it falls

again,

and they will not have enough time to rebuild it

a third time—

until the son of David comes.

They said to him: Our teacher, give us

now

a sign,

that this is indeed so!

He said to them: Did you not say this to me—that you are not asking me for a sign?!

They said to him:

Indeed, that is what we said.

Nevertheless,

give us a sign!

He said to them: If so,

let it be as I have said—

let

the

waters of the Pamias Cave turn into blood now!

And

so it was:

the waters

of the Pamias Cave

turned into blood.

At the time of his death

of Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma,

he said to them

his students:

Bury my coffin deeply [bury my burial coffin deep in the earth].

[bury my coffin deep in the ground].