Pt7 The Messianic Era in the Talmud: Appendices Part B (Sanhedrin 96b-99a)
This is the seventh and final part of a seven-part series.1
[pt7] Appendix 4 - R’ Yehoshua b. Levi meets the Messiah: Elijah’s directions to find the Messiah among the sick poor in Rome, the Messiah’s promise to come ‘today,’ and the conditional nature of that promise (Sanhedrin 98a)
R’ Yehoshua b. Levi meets Elijah at the entrance of R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai’s cave and asks whether he will merit the World-to-Come; Elijah replies, “If this Master (אדון) wills it,” implying that the Shekhina is present, as R’ Yehoshua later infers that he heard the “voice of three [entities]”
רבי יהושע בן לוי אשכח לאליהו
דהוה קאי אפיתחא דמערתא דרבי שמעון בן יוחאי.
אמר ליה: אתינא לעלמא דאתי?
אמר ליה: אם ירצה אדון הזה.
אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי:
שנים ראיתי
וקול שלשה שמעתי.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi found Elijah the prophet,
who was standing at the entrance of the burial cave of R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi said to him: Will I be privileged to come to the World-to-Come?
Elijah said to him: If this Master2 will wish it so.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi says:
Two I saw, Elijah and me,
and the voice of three I heard,
as the Shekhina was also there, and it was in reference to Him that Elijah said: If this Master will wish it so.
When R’ Yehoshua b. Levi asks when the Messiah will arrive, Elijah tells him to ask the Messiah directly, saying he can be found “Rome’s gate”
אמר ליה: אימת אתי משיח?
אמר ליה: זיל שייליה לדידיה.
והיכא יתיב?
אפיתחא דרומי.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi said to Elijah: When will the Messiah come?
Elijah said to him: Go ask him.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi asked: And where is he sitting?
Elijah said to him: At the entrance of the city of Rome.
... sitting among the sick poor; the Messiah’s distinctive behavior is that, unlike the others who change all their bandages at once, he changes them one at a time—so as not to be delayed if called to bring redemption
ומאי סימניה?
יתיב ביני עניי סובלי חלאים,
וכולן שרו ואסירי בחד זימנא,
איהו שרי חד ואסיר חד.
אמר: דילמא מבעינא דלא איעכב.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi asked him: And what is his identifying sign by means of which I can recognize him?
Elijah answered:
He sits among the poor who suffer from illnesses.
And all of them untie their bandages and tie them all at once,
but the Messiah unties one bandage and ties one at a time.
He says: Perhaps I will be needed to serve to bring about the redemption.
Therefore, I will never tie more than one bandage, so that I will not be delayed.
R’ Yehoshua b. Levi greets the Messiah respectfully; the Messiah returns the greeting and calls him “bar Leva’i,” addressing him familiarly; When R’ Yehoshua b. Levi asks, “When will you come?” the Messiah answers, “Today”
אזל לגביה.
אמר ליה: שלום עליך רבי ומורי!
אמר ליה: שלום עליך בר ליואי.
אמר ליה: לאימת אתי מר?
אמר ליה: היום.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi went to the Messiah.
He said to the Messiah: Greetings3 to you, my Rabbi and my teacher!
The Messiah said to him: Greetings to you, bar Leva’i!
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi said to him: When will the Master come?
The Messiah said to him: Today.
Elijah subsequently explains that by greeting him with ‘shalom’, the Messiah guaranteed the World-to-Come to R’ Yehoshua b. Levi and his father
אתא לגבי אליהו.
אמר ליה: מאי אמר לך?
אמר ליה: שלום עליך בר ליואי.
אמר ליה: אבטחך לך ולאבוך לעלמא דאתי.
Sometime later, R’ Yehoshua ben Levi came to Elijah.
Elijah said to him: What did the Messiah say to you?
He said to Elijah that the Messiah said: Greetings [shalom] to you, bar Leva’i.
Elijah said to him: He thereby guaranteed that you and your father will enter the World-to-Come, as he greeted you with shalom.
R’ Yehoshua b. Levi then complains to Elijah that the Messiah deceived him, for he did not come; Elijah explains that the Messiah’s “today” meant “today, if you will listen to His voice” (Psalms 95:7) (i.e. Redemption is contingent: not temporally promised but ethically conditioned)
אמר ליה:
שקורי קא שקר בי!
דאמר לי ״היום אתינא״ ולא אתא.
אמר ליה: הכי אמר לך: ״היום אם בקלו תשמעו״.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi said to Elijah:
The Messiah lied to me!
as he said to me: I am coming today, and he did not come.
Elijah said to him that this is what he said to you: He said that he will come “today, if you will listen to his voice” (Psalms 95:7).
Appendix 5 - R’ Yosei b. Kisma’s prophecy: The sign of Rome’s gate falling three times before the Messiah comes, the Cave of Pamyas turning to blood, and his instructions for deep burial (Sanhedrin 98a-b)
R’ Yosei b. Kisma’s students ask him when the Messiah will come; He hesitates to answer, fearing they will demand a sign; They assure him they will not
שאלו תלמידיו את רבי יוסי בן קיסמא: אימתי בן דוד בא?
אמר: מתיירא אני שמא תבקשו ממני אות.
אמרו לו: אין אנו מבקשין ממך אות.
§ R’ Yosei ben Kisma’s students asked him: When will the son of David come?
R’ Yosei ben Kisma said: I am hesitant to answer you, lest you request from me a sign4 to corroborate my statement.
They said to him: We are not asking you for a sign.
R’ Yosei b. Kisma replies that the Messiah will come when Rome’s gate falls, is rebuilt, falls again, is rebuilt again, and falls a third time; Before it can be rebuilt a third time, Messiah will arrive
אמר להם:
לכשיפול השער הזה,
ויבנה,
ויפול
ויבנה,
ויפול,
ואין מספיקין לבנותו עד שבן דוד בא.
R’ Yosei ben Kisma said to them:
You will see when this existing gate of Rome falls
and will be rebuilt,
and will fall a second time
and will be rebuilt,
and will fall a third time.
And they will not manage to rebuild it until the son of David comes.
Although they promised otherwise, the students then ask for a sign; R’ Yosei b. Kisma reproaches them for contradicting themselves, but grants their request: “If it is so, the waters of the Cave of Pamyas will turn to blood”; indeed, they turned to blood
אמרו לו:
רבינו!
תן לנו אות!
אמר להם: ולא כך אמרתם לי שאין אתם מבקשין ממני אות?!
אמרו לו: ואף על פי כן.
אמר להם: אם כך, יהפכו מי מערת פמייס לדם.
ונהפכו לדם.
The students said to him:
Our Rabbi!
give us a sign.
R’ Yosei ben Kisma said to them: But didn’t you say to me that you are not asking me for a sign?!
They said to him: And nevertheless, provide us with a sign.
R’ Yosei ben Kisma said to them: If it is as I say, the water of the Cave of Pamyas (פמייס) will be transformed into blood.
The Talmud relates: And it was transformed into blood.
At his death, R’ Yosei b. Kisma instructs his students to bury his coffin deep, foreseeing future conquests: Persian horses will be tied to every palm tree in Babylonia, and Median horses will eat straw from coffins unearthed in Israel (reflecting anxiety about desecration in wartime)
בשעת פטירתו, אמר להן:
העמיקו לי ארוני,
שאין כל דקל ודקל שבבבל,
שאין סוס של פרסיים נקשר בו,
ואין לך כל ארון וארון שבארץ ישראל,
שאין סוס מדי אוכל בו תבן.
At the time of his death, R’ Yosei ben Kisma said to his students:
Place my coffin (ארוני) deep in the ground,
as there is no palm tree that is in Babylonia
to which a horse of the Persians will not be tethered5
And there is no coffin buried in Eretz Yisrael
from which a Median horse will not eat straw (תבן)
During wars, all the coffins will be removed from the ground and used as animal troughs. I do not want my coffin to be used for that purpose.
Appendix 6 - summary and reorganization of all the biblical verses referenced in the sugya
I. Torah (Pentateuch)
Leviticus 13:13 - “It is all turned white; he is pure.”
Context: Rava interprets this verse regarding the leper (metzora) to describe the state of total corruption preceding redemption.
Messianic reading: Just as a leper is pure only when fully afflicted, so too Israel will be redeemed when the world is wholly steeped in heresy—no partial impurity remains.
Deuteronomy 32:36 - “For YHWH shall judge His people... when He sees that their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left.”
Context: A baraita lists signs delaying Messiah’s arrival.
Messianic reading: Messiah comes only when Israel is utterly powerless—when all human aid and hope fail.
II. Nevi’im (Prophets)
Isaiah
Isaiah 1:25–27 - “And I will turn My hand upon you... and purge away your dross... And I will restore your judges as at the first... Zion shall be redeemed with justice.”
R. Simlai (in name of R. Elazar b. Shimon): Messiah will not come until all corrupt judges and officers are gone, after which righteous leadership will be restored.
Ulla: Jerusalem’s redemption depends on righteousness and justice, echoing verse 27.
Isaiah 2:11 - “And YHWH alone shall be exalted on that day.”
Rav Ketina: The world lasts 6,000 years, followed by 1,000 years of desolation, derived from this verse.
Baraita: connects this “day of YHWH” with the idea of a millennial Shabbat, echoing Psalms 92 and 90.
Isaiah 18:5–7 - “He shall cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks... At that time shall a present be brought to YHWH of Hosts.”
R. Ḥama b. Ḥanina: Messiah will not come until the contemptuous (Roman) kingdom is cut down. The subsequent “offering” symbolizes Israel’s restoration.
Isaiah 30:18 - “And therefore will YHWH wait, that He may be gracious to you…”
R. Shmuel b. Naḥmani / R. Yonatan: God Himself “waits” for the right moment of redemption; divine mercy and judgment delay the end.
Isaiah 48:11; 59:16; 60:21 - “For My own sake I will act...” / “He saw there was no man...” / “Your people are all righteous…”
R. Yoḥanan: Messiah comes either when all are righteous (Isaiah 60:21) or when all are guilty (Isaiah 59:16, 48:11)—either full merit or full guilt necessitates redemption.
Isaiah 59:15 - “Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil is deemed insane.”
R. Yehuda: Describes the generation of Messiah—truth disappears, morality collapses.
Rav’s School: “Truth becomes flocks upon flocks” (wordplay ne’ederet / adarim).
R. Sheila’s School: Those who reject evil are mocked as insane.
Isaiah 59:19–20 - “When the enemy shall come like a river... and a redeemer shall come to Zion.”
R. Yoḥanan: When troubles overflow like a river, the redeemer is imminent.
Isaiah 60:22 - “In its time I will hasten it.”
R. Yehoshua b. Levi: Two modes—“in its time” if unworthy, or “hastened” if meritorious.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 16:13 - “For I will show you no favor.”
R. Ḥanina’s School: Takes “ḥanina” as the Messiah’s name—Ḥanina.
Jeremiah 30:6 - “Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in labor?”
R. Yoḥanan: Describes the “birthpangs of the Messiah” (ḥevlei Mashiaḥ).
Even God (“He whose might is His”) suffers anguish over Israel’s travail.
Jeremiah 30:9 - “And they shall serve YHWH their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”
Rav Yehuda in name of Rav: God will establish another “David” as Messiah.
Abaye: Interprets coexistence—David and Messiah will rule together like emperor and deputy.
Jeremiah 30:21 - “Their prince shall be of themselves, their ruler shall come from their midst.”
Rav Naḥman: If Messiah comes from the living, he is a leader already among them.
Ezekiel
Ezekiel 29:21; 32:14 - “In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for Israel...” / “Then I will make their waters clear, their rivers like oil.”
R. Ḥanina: Messiah comes when fish disappear from the rivers—a metaphor for extreme scarcity—after which the “horn of Israel” (Messiah) sprouts.
Ezekiel 36:8 - “But you, mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit... for they are near to come.”
R. Abba: Most explicit sign of the end—agricultural abundance in Eretz Yisrael marks the messianic onset.
Ezekiel 37:25 - “David My servant shall be their prince forever.”
Rav Pappa / Abaye: Interpreted as David’s ongoing role alongside the future Messiah.
Hosea 6:2 - “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up.”
Abaye: Interprets this as two thousand years of desolation, followed by divine renewal in the “third day”—the messianic age.
Amos 4:7; 5:19; 9:11 - “I caused it to rain upon one city…” / “As when a man fled from a lion and a bear met him…” / “In that day I will raise up the fallen sukkah of David.”
Amos 9:11 – Rav Naḥman: Messiah is Bar Niflei, “son of the fallen,” based on the “fallen sukkah of David.”
Amos 4:7 – The baraita’s first year of the messianic seven-year cycle.
Amos 5:19 – Reish Lakish compares Rome’s oppression to this verse’s sequence of lion, bear, and snake.
Micah 5:2 - “Therefore He will give them up until she who is in labor has borne.”
Rav: Messiah comes only after the wicked empire [=Rome] dominates Israel for nine months—a gestational metaphor for redemption.
Zephaniah 3:11–12, 15
“I will remove from your midst the proud... I will leave in your midst a humble and lowly people.” / “YHWH has removed your judgments; He has cast out your enemy.”
Ze’eiri citing R. Ḥanina: Messiah comes when the arrogant vanish from Israel.
Rav Pappa: Connects these verses to the cessation of Magi and royal oppressors once the corrupt elite disappear.
Zechariah 8:10; 9:9 - “Before these days there was no hire for man or beast...” / “Behold, your king comes… lowly and riding upon a donkey.”
Zechariah 8:10 – R. Eliezer: Economic breakdown precedes the end.
Zechariah 9:9 – R. Yehoshua b. Levi: If Israel is worthy, Messiah comes on clouds (Daniel 7); if unworthy, on a donkey.
Daniel
“One like a son of man came with the clouds of heaven...” / “For a time, times, and a half.”
Daniel 7:13–14 – Paired with Zech. 9:9 as two modes of messianic advent.
Daniel 7:25 – Rejected by R. Natan as part of futile attempts to calculate the end.
Habakkuk 2:3 - “For the vision is yet for the appointed time… though it tarry, wait for it.”
R. Natan; R. Shmuel b. Naḥmani: Central verse for faithful waiting; condemns those who calculate and despair when deadlines pass.
III. Ketuvim (Writings)
Psalms
Psalms 72:17 – Messiah called Yinnon (“may his name endure forever”).
Psalms 80:6 – R. Simlai’s rejected chronology based on “tears threefold.”
Psalms 89:52 – “They have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed”: emblem of mockery in the pre-messianic generation.
Psalms 90:4; 92:1 – Basis for “a day equals a thousand years” and the concept of a millennial Shabbat.
Psalms 119:165 – “Great peace to lovers of Your Torah” – Rav applies it to Torah scholars lacking peace in exile.
Psalms 40:5 / 119:166 – Echoed in Isaiah 30:18 to affirm reward for awaiting redemption.
Lamentations 1:16 - “For the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me.”
Some say: Messiah’s name is Menaḥem ben Ḥizkiyya—“Comforter”—a lament over delayed consolation.
Appendix 7 - Detailed Outline of the sugya
Based on my section headers. With traditional pagination and ed. Steinsaltz section numbers in parentheses at the end of each section header.
[pt1] The Character of the Messianic Generation; Moral and Social Collapse in the Messianic Era
Rav Naḥman - Messiah is called ‘bar niflei’ (son of the fallen) based on ‘I will raise the fallen sukkah of David’ - Amos 9:11 (96b, #15)
R. Yoḥanan - In the generation when ben David comes: Torah scholars decrease; public suffers grief; troubles and harsh decrees multiply, each before the previous has passed (97a, #1)
Baraita - Seven-year cycle of the coming: 1st—selective rain; 2nd—arrows of famine; 3rd—great famine and Torah forgotten; 4th—limited plenty; 5th—great plenty and Torah returns; 6th—heavenly voices; 7th—wars (eg, Gog and Magog); after seventh—ben David comes - Amos 4:7 (for year 1) (#2)
Rav Yosef - Many Sabbatical cycles seemed to match this pattern, yet Messiah did not come; Abaye - The required signs—voices in the 6th year, wars in the 7th year—and in the stated order, have not yet fully occurred (#3)
R. Yehuda - In Messiah’s generation: rabbinic assembly house becomes a den of immorality; Galilee destroyed; Gavlan desolate; border refugees shunned; scholars’ wisdom stinks; God-fearing despised; the generation’s ‘face’ is like a dog - Psalms 89:52 (#4)
Rav’s School - ‘Truth is lacking’ = truth becomes scattered like flocks - Isaiah 59:15 (#5)
R. Sheila’s School - ‘He who departs from evil is deemed insane’ - Isaiah 59:15
R. Nehorai - In Messiah’s generation: youths shame elders; elders stand for youths; daughter against mother; daughter-in-law against mother-in-law; face of the generation like a dog; son unashamed before father (#8)
R. Neḥemya - In Messiah’s generation: arrogance proliferates; cost of living corrupts; vine yields but wine costly; entire kingdom turns to heresy; no reproach accepted (#9)
R. Yitzḥak - Messiah will not come until the entire kingdom turns to heresy; Rava - Derives the above by analogy to leprosy: when all is turned white, it is pure - Leviticus 13:13
Baraita - Messiah will not come until informers proliferate; Torah students diminish; coin (peruta) ceases from the purse; people despair of redemption - Deuteronomy 32:36 (#10)
[Pt2] Calculations of world duration and messianic timing: Various rabbinic computations of six thousand year cycles, Jubilee periods, and cryptic scroll predictions about the world’s end; With voices also rejecting calculating the end times
R. Zeira - Do not calculate the end (#11)
Baraita - three things come only when not anticipated: Messiah, a lost object, and a scorpion
Rav Ketina - World lasts 6,000 years, then 1,000 years of desolation - Isaiah 2:11 (#12)
Abaye - World in ruins for 2,000 years (revival on the third) - Hosea 6:2
Baraita - World abrogates one millennium in every seven, like Shemitah (#13)
Prooftexts - ‘a day that is all Shabbat’; 1 day = 1,000 years - Isaiah 2:11; Psalms 92:1, 90:4
Eliyahu’s School - World: 2,000 years of chaos, 2,000 of Torah, 2,000 of messianic days; due to sins, the expected schedule was delayed (#14)
Anecdote - Elijah to R. Yehuda (brother of Rav Sala Ḥasida) - The world will exist at least 85 jubilees; in the final jubilee, Messiah comes Beginning/end of that jubilee unknown; from then on, anticipate (97b, #2)
Rav Ashi interpreting Elijah - Until that time--do not anticipate Messiah’s coming; from this point forward--anticipate his coming
Rav Ḥanan bar Taḥlifa (from Roman archive scroll) - After 4291 years from Creation, the world becomes ‘orphaned’; includes Leviathan, Wars of Gog and Magog, and the messianic years; God renews the world after 7,000 years (Alternative version: after 5,000 years) (#3)
R. Natan - ‘For the vision is for the appointed time… though it tarry, wait for it’—the end is unfathomable; not as other calculations - Habakkuk 2:3 (#4)
Rejects Rabbis’ interpretation of Daniel 7:25 (#5)
Rejects R’ Simlai’s interpretation of Psalms 80:6 (#6)
Rejects R’ Akiva’s interpretation of Haggai 2:6 (#7)
1st, great, Hasmonean monarchy ruled 70 years; The 2nd kingdom, of Herod and his descendants, ruled 52 years; and Bar-Kokheva, was 2.5 years (#8)
R. Shmuel bar Naḥmani in name of R. Yonatan - Cursed be those who calculate the end; nevertheless, wait for it - Habakkuk 2:3 (#9)
God too waits to be gracious - Isaiah 30:18
The attribute of judgment delays redemption; awaiting it earns reward - Isaiah 30:18; Psalms 40:5 / 119:166 (theme); Isaiah 30:18 (#10)
Rav - All calculated deadlines have passed; redemption depends only on repentance and good deeds; Shmuel - It is enough for the mourner to endure his mourning (i.e. redemption may come due to suffering even without repentance) (#14)
[pt3] Signs Immediately Preceding the Messiah’s Arrival
R. Abba - Most revealed sign of the end: Eretz Yisrael yields abundant fruit - Ezekiel 36:8 (98a, #3)
R. Eliezer - Another sign: no wages/rent and no peace to him who goes/comes - Zechariah 8:10
Rav - Even Torah scholars (who are promised peace) will lack peace from the oppressor; Shmuel - The Messiah will not come until prices are all equalized - Psalms 119:165; Zechariah 8:10 (#4)
R. Ḥanina - Messiah will not come until a small fish for the sick is sought and not found (waters calm to oil); then ‘I will cause a horn to sprout for Israel’ - Ezekiel 32:14, 29:21 (#5)
R. Ḥama bar Ḥanina - Messiah will not come until the contemptuous (=Roman) kingdom ends for Israel - Isaiah 18:5; Isaiah 18:7 (#6)
Ze’eiri citing R. Ḥanina - Messiah will not come until the arrogant are removed from Israel - Zephaniah 3:11–12 (#7)
R. Simlai citing R. Elazar b. Shimon - Messiah will not come until all judges and officers cease from Israel; afterward judges will be restored - Isaiah 1:25–26 (#8)
Ulla - Jerusalem is redeemed only with justice and righteousness - Isaiah 1:27 (#9)
Rav Pappa - If the arrogant cease, Persian sorcerers cease; if corrupt judges cease, royal officers cease - Isaiah 1:25; Zephaniah 3:15
R. Yoḥanan - If a generation steadily diminishes, Messiah is imminent - II Samuel 22:28 (#10)
R. Yoḥanan - If a generation’s troubles flood like a river, Messiah is imminent - Isaiah 59:19–20
R. Yoḥanan - Messiah comes only in a generation entirely righteous or entirely guilty (#11)
Prooftexts - Isaiah 60:21; Isaiah 59:16, 48:11
Resolving contradictory verses about the Messiah: Whether he comes ‘in its time’ or hastened, riding clouds or a donkey, depending on Israel’s merit
R. Alexandri citing R. Yehoshua b. Levi - ‘In its time I will hasten it’—if they merit, hastened; if not, in its time - Isaiah 60:22 (#12)
R. Alexandri citing R. Yehoshua b. Levi - Two modes: with clouds of heaven (if meritorious) or lowly on a donkey (if not) - Daniel 7:13–14; Zechariah 9:9 (#13)
Anecdote of Shmuel to King Shapur - Messiah’s donkey will be miraculous—like a beast of a thousand hues (#14)
[pt4] Rabbinic Ambivalence: Fear of the “Birthpangs of Messiah”
Rav - Messiah will not come until Roman empire spreads over Israel for nine months (like pregnancy) - Micah 5:2 (98b, #2)
Ulla / Rabba - ‘Let him come, but may I not see him’ (due to fear of “birthpangs of Messiah”) (#3)
Rav Yosef - ‘Let him come—I’ll sit in the shadow of his donkey’s dung’ (accepting suffering)
R. Yoḥanan -‘Let him come, but may I not see him’; Reish Lakish - Our present oppressions (by Rome) mirror those described in the Bible (‘lion, bear, snake’) - Amos 5:19 (#8)
R. Yoḥanan explains—due to the travail depicted - Jeremiah 30:6 (#9)
Rava bar Yitzḥak citing Rav - ‘Kol gever’ refers to “He Whom all strength is His”; even the heavenly and earthly hosts turn pale over the decree - Jeremiah 30:6 (#10)
R’ Yoḥanan - God won’t distinguish between the Jewish people and the non-Jews during the birthpangs of the Messiah (all will equally suffer) - Jeremiah 30:6
Rav Pappa - proverb illustrating-- When the ox falls, a horse replaces it (parable for Israel’s sins transferring prominence to nations) (#11)
Rav Giddel citing Rav - Israel will enjoy (‘eat’) the years of the Messiah (#12)
Rav Yosef - this is contra R’ Hillel, who denied a future Messiah, as all the prophecies relating to the Messiah were already fulfilled during the days of the biblical King Hezekiah
Rav; Shmuel; R. Yoḥanan - World created for the sake of David (Rav), for Moses (Shmuel), or for the Messiah (R Yoḥanan) (#13)
Who Is the Messiah? Names, Candidates, and David’s Future Role
Five opinions on Messiah’s name: R. Sheila’s School - “Shiloh” - Genesis 49:10; R. Yannai’s School - “Yinnon” - Psalms 72:17; R. Ḥanina’s School - “Ḥanina” - Jeremiah 16:13; “Some say” - “Menaḥem ben Ḥizkiyya” - Lamentations 1:16; “The Rabbis” - Messiah is the leper scholar (‘metzora’) of R. Yehuda HaNasi’s School - Isaiah 53:4 (#14)
Rav Naḥman - If Messiah is from the living in our time—like me (‘their governor from their midst’) - Jeremiah 30:21 (#15)
Rav - If from the living—like R’ Yehuda HaNasi; if from the dead—like the biblical Daniel
Rav Yehuda citing Rav - God will establish another ‘David’ (as Messiah) in the future - Jeremiah 30:9 (#16)
Abaye (answer to Rav Pappa) - David and the Messiah will rule together like “Caesar” (=emperor) and “Half-Caesar” (=viceroy) - Ezekiel 37:25
Parable of the rooster and bat: Warning against improper desire for the day of YHWH, with R’ Abbahu’s response to a heretic about when the Messiah will come
R. Simlai - ‘Woe to those who desire the day of YHWH’—parable of rooster/bat: light suits the worthy, not the wicked - Amos 5:18 (#17)
R. Abbahu - Messiah comes when darkness covers the non-Jewish nations and light shines on Israel - Isaiah 60:2 (99a, #1)
[pt5] Duration of the messianic era: Tannaitic dispute over whether it will last 40 years, 70 years, three generations, 365 years, 7000 years, or from Creation until now, with various scriptural proofs
R. Eliezer - Messianic era will last 40 years - Psalms 95:10 (#2)
R. Elazar ben Azarya - Messianic era will last 70 years - Isaiah 23:15
R. Yehuda HaNasi - Messianic era will last 3 generations - Psalms 72:5 (#3)
R. Hillel - No Messiah for Israel; prophecies fulfilled in Hezekiah
Rav Yosef (refutation of R. Hillel) - Prophecy of a future Messiah riding a donkey postdates the biblical Hezekiah - Zechariah 9:9 (#4)
R. Eliezer - Messianic era will last 40 years, paralleling the 40 years of affliction - Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalms 90:15 (#5)
R. Dosa - Messianic era will last 400 years, paralleling the 400 years of servitude - Genesis 15:13; Psalms 90:15 (#6)
R. Yehuda HaNasi - Messianic era will last 365 years (like days of the solar year) - Isaiah 63:4 (#7)
‘Day of vengeance in My heart’ (Isaiah 63:4); R. Yoḥanan - known only to God’s ‘heart’, not even to His ‘limbs’; Reish Lakish - ‘In My heart’—revealed to God’s ‘heart’, not to ministering angels (#8)
Avimi bar Abbahu - Messianic era will last 7,000 years (as bridegroom rejoices seven days; day = 1000 years) - Isaiah 62:5; cf. Psalms 90:4 (#9)
Rav Yehuda citing Shmuel - Messianic era will last the duration of the period from the day the world was created until now (i.e., the day when the Messiah will come) - Deuteronomy 11:21 (#10)
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak - Duration like the days from Noah until now - Isaiah 54:9 (#11)
Prophetic visions and rewards: Distinction between messianic era and World-to-Come, debate over penitents versus completely righteous, and rewards for supporters of Torah scholars, with interpretation of ‘no eye has seen’ in Isaiah 64:3
R. Ḥiyya bar Abba citing R. Yoḥanan - All prophets prophesied only about the messianic era; the World-to-Come is unknown - Isaiah 64:3 (#12)
Shmuel - No difference between this world and messianic era except subjugation to kingdoms
R. Ḥiyya bar Abba citing R. Yoḥanan - All prophets spoke concerning penitents; the reward of the wholly righteous is beyond sight - Isaiah 64:3 (#13)
R. Abbahu citing Rav - Penitents stand in a place where the wholly righteous do not
Prooftext - Isaiah 57:19
R. Ḥiyya bar Abba citing R. Yoḥanan - Prophetic rewards apply to those who honor Torah scholars (marry daughter to a scholar, do business for him, support him); the scholars’ own reward is beyond sight - Isaiah 64:3 (#15)
R. Yehoshua b. Levi - ‘No eye has seen’ = wine preserved in its grapes since Creation - Isaiah 64:3 (#16)
Reish Lakish - ‘No eye has seen’ = Eden - Isaiah 64:3
‘Eden’ is distinct from “the Garden” (‘Gan’) - Genesis 2:10
[pt6] Appendices
Appendix 1 - The Story of Rav Tavut and the City Named “Truth” where even minor lies caused death (Sanhedrin 97a)
Rava states that he formerly believed that truth no longer existed in the world, until meeting Rav Tavut / Tavyomei, who told him that he would never lie even “if they were to give him the entire world”
This Rav Tavut / Tavyomei told him of a place literally called Kushta (“Truth”), whose residents never lied and no one died prematurely; Rav Tavut married a woman from there and had two children
Once, while his wife was washing her hair, a neighbor knocked; Thinking it improper to say that his wife was bathing, Rav Tavut told her she was not home; As soon as he deviated from the truth, his two children died
The townspeople confronted him; after he confessed what had happened, they asked him to leave so that he would not bring premature death upon others
Appendix 2 - The hierarchy of righteous people who perceive the Shekhina: row of the righteous before God extends 18,000 parasangs; 36 righteous people; 1,000 righteous people, or 100, or only 2 (Sanhedrin 97b)
Abaye - Every generation has at least 36 righteous who greet the Shekhina - Isaiah 30:18
Rav - The row of the righteous before God extends 18,000 parasangs
R’ Shimon b. Yoḥai - “I have seen members of the group of the spiritually prominent, who are truly righteous, and they are few” - 1,000, or 100, or only 2
Appendix 3 - Conditional vs. Unconditional Redemption: A Major Tannaitic Dispute Between R’ Eliezer and R’ Yehoshua (Sanhedrin 97b-98a)
R. Eliezer - Only if Israel repents will they be redeemed
R. Yehoshua - Redemption is ultimately unconditional; if needed, a harsh king will force repentance
Scriptural Exchange #1 - Jeremiah 3:22; Isaiah 52:3
R’ Eliezer supports his opinion with Jeremiah 3:22: “Return, wayward children, I will heal your iniquities” (reading redemption as dependent on repentance)
R’ Yehoshua counters with Isaiah 52:3: “You were sold for naught, and without money you shall be redeemed”, interpreting “without money” as “without repentance and good deeds”
Scriptural Exchange #2 - Malachi 3:7; Jeremiah 3:14
R’ Eliezer cites Malachi 3:7: “Return to Me and I will return to you” (showing that redemption is reciprocal and contingent)
R’ Yehoshua replies with Jeremiah 3:14: “I will take you one from a city and two from a family and bring you to Zion” (which implies a divine initiative independent of human repentance)
Scriptural Exchange #3 - Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 49:7
R’ Eliezer quotes Isaiah 30:15: “In returning and rest shall you be saved” (which reinforces the link between repentance and salvation)
R’ Yehoshua responds with Isaiah 49:7 (where Israel’s redemption comes despite its degradation—proof that divine choice, not merit, determines redemption)
Scriptural Exchange #4 - Final Exchange and Resolution - Jeremiah 4:1; Daniel 12:7
R’ Eliezer appeals again to Jeremiah 4:1: “If you will return, Israel, return to Me” (to maintain his conditional view)
R’ Yehoshua concludes with Daniel 12:7, which describes a fixed eschatological timeline, indicating that repentance is irrelevant to the timing of redemption; R’ Eliezer falls silent (conceding that scriptural evidence supports R’ Yehoshua’s position of inevitable, divinely timed redemption)
[pt7] Appendix 4 - Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi meets the Messiah: Elijah’s directions to find the Messiah among the sick poor in Rome, the Messiah’s promise to come ‘today,’ and the conditional nature of that promise (Sanhedrin 98a)
R’ Yehoshua b. Levi meets Elijah at the entrance of R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai’s cave and asks whether he will merit the World-to-Come; Elijah replies, “If this Master (אדון) wills it,” implying that the Shekhina is present, as R’ Yehoshua b. Levi later infers that he heard the “voice of three [entities]”
When R’ Yehoshua b. Levi asks when the Messiah will arrive, Elijah tells him to ask the Messiah directly, saying he can be found “Rome’s gate”
... sitting among the sick poor; the Messiah’s distinctive behavior is that, unlike the others who change all their bandages at once, he changes them one at a time—so as not to be delayed if called to bring redemption
R’ Yehoshua b. Levi greets the Messiah respectfully; the Messiah returns the greeting and calls him “bar Leva’i,” addressing him familiarly; When R’ Yehoshua b. Levi asks, “When will you come?” the Messiah answers, “Today”
Elijah subsequently explains that by greeting him with ‘shalom’, the Messiah guaranteed the World-to-Come to R’ Yehoshua b. Levi and his father
R’ Yehoshua b. Levi then complains to Elijah that the Messiah deceived him, for he did not come. Elijah explains that the Messiah’s “today” meant “today, if you will listen to His voice” (Psalms 95:7) (i.e. Redemption is contingent—not temporally promised but ethically conditioned)
Appendix 5 - Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma’s prophecy: The sign of Rome’s gate falling three times before the Messiah comes, the Cave of Pamyas turning to blood, and his instructions for deep burial (Sanhedrin 98a-b)
R’ Yosei ben Kisma’s students ask him when the Messiah will come; He hesitates to answer, fearing they will demand a sign; They assure him they will not
R’ Yosei ben Kisma replies that the Messiah will come when Rome’s gate falls, is rebuilt, falls again, is rebuilt again, and falls a third time; Before it can be rebuilt a third time, Messiah will arrive
Although they promised otherwise, the students then ask for a sign; R’ Yosei ben Kisma reproaches them for contradicting themselves, but grants their request: “If it is so, the waters of the Cave of Pamyas will turn to blood”; indeed, they turned to blood
At his death, R’ Yosei ben Kisma instructs his students to bury his coffin deep, foreseeing future conquests: Persian horses will be tied to every palm tree in Babylonia, and Median horses will eat straw from coffins unearthed in Israel (reflecting anxiety about desecration in wartime)
Appendix 6 - summary and reorganization of all the biblical verses referenced in the sugya
I. Torah (Pentateuch)
Leviticus 13:13 - “It is all turned white; he is pure.”
Deuteronomy 32:36 - “For YHWH shall judge His people... when He sees that their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left.”
II. Nevi’im (Prophets)
Isaiah
Isaiah 1:25–27 - “And I will turn My hand upon you... and purge away your dross... And I will restore your judges as at the first... Zion shall be redeemed with justice.”
Isaiah 2:11 - “And YHWH alone shall be exalted on that day.”
Isaiah 18:5–7 - “He shall cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks... At that time shall a present be brought to YHWH of Hosts.”
Isaiah 30:18 - “And therefore will YHWH wait, that He may be gracious to you…”
Isaiah 48:11; 59:16; 60:21 - “For My own sake I will act...” / “He saw there was no man...” / “Your people are all righteous…”
Isaiah 59:15 - “Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil is deemed insane.”
Isaiah 59:19–20 - “When the enemy shall come like a river... and a redeemer shall come to Zion.”
Isaiah 60:22 - “In its time I will hasten it.”
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 16:13 - “For I will show you no favor.”
Jeremiah 30:6 - “Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in labor?”
Jeremiah 30:9 - “And they shall serve YHWH their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”
Jeremiah 30:21 - “Their prince shall be of themselves, their ruler shall come from their midst.”
Ezekiel
Ezekiel 29:21; 32:14 - “In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for Israel...” / “Then I will make their waters clear, their rivers like oil.”
Ezekiel 36:8 - “But you, mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit... for they are near to come.”
Ezekiel 37:25 - “David My servant shall be their prince forever.”
Hosea 6:2 - “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up.”
Amos 4:7; 5:19; 9:11 - “I caused it to rain upon one city…” / “As when a man fled from a lion and a bear met him…” / “In that day I will raise up the fallen sukkah of David.”
Micah 5:2 - “Therefore He will give them up until she who is in labor has borne.”
Zephaniah 3:11–12, 15
Zechariah 8:10; 9:9 - “Before these days there was no hire for man or beast...” / “Behold, your king comes… lowly and riding upon a donkey.”
Daniel
Daniel 7:13–14 – Paired with Zech. 9:9 as two modes of messianic advent.
Daniel 7:25 – Rejected by R. Natan as part of futile attempts to calculate the end.
Habakkuk 2:3 - “For the vision is yet for the appointed time… though it tarry, wait for it.”
III. Ketuvim (Writings)
Psalms
Psalms 72:17 – Messiah called Yinnon (“may his name endure forever”).
Psalms 80:6 – R. Simlai’s rejected chronology based on “tears threefold.”
Psalms 89:52 – “They have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed”: emblem of mockery in the pre-messianic generation.
Psalms 90:4; 92:1 – Basis for “a day equals a thousand years” and the concept of a millennial Shabbat.
Psalms 119:165 – “Great peace to lovers of Your Torah” – Rav applies it to Torah scholars lacking peace in exile.
Psalms 40:5 / 119:166 – Echoed in Isaiah 30:18 to affirm reward for awaiting redemption.
Lamentations 1:16 - “For the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me.”
The outline of the series can be found at Part 1.
These are the previous parts:
אדון - i.e. God.
שלום - shalom - “peace!”.
See the continuation of the story, where this greeting by the Messiah is later interpreted by Elijah as significant.
אות.
The usage of this biblical Hebrew word is notable. The typical word for “sign” in Mishnaic/Talmudic Hebrew is siman. The word ot in the Bible has the connotation of a “miraculous sign”. A miraculous sign is indeed later provided, at the conclusion of the story.
Ed. Steinsaltz:
when the Persians and Medes go to conquer other lands.
Presumably, this is referring specifically to Eretz Yisrael. Meaning, R’ Yosei b. Kisma was foreseeing the Persians (at the time, the Sasanid Empire) as eventually conquering Eretz Yisrael.