Comparative Jewish 21 • Chronology?
1) The Jewish system for counting the age of the world accordingtotheeraofcreation (~n~'·t1?)isabbreviatedby thelettersAM for AeraMundi (theeraoftheworld). Thecivil datewearefamiliarwithisbasedon a Christianlegend, and is used world-wide even among those who adhere to other religions or believe in no religion at all. We might say the secular way of reckoning time has lost its religious con notation. We call this the Common Era (CE), and the years before the Common Era are indicated by the letters BCE. The Jewish world era, according to which the present Jewishyear 5751 corresponds to the secularyear 1990-91 of
Selected Speeches. 255 the Common Era, isbased upon chronological dataprovided The year 2048 is tl)e year of the birth ofYitzchak (392 by the Tanach and by Rabbinic tradition. [The earliest years after the Flood). mention ofthis era (D?w~)is found in iT1T i'TTt:I3' 9b.] Accordingtothetradition(SederOlam R. III), theExodus from Egypt took place 400 years later; i.e. in the year 2448 2) The Biblical data up to the birth ofIsaac canbe easily after Creation. computed by anyone who can read the Chumash, by adding Accordingto Kings I 6:1 the buildingofthe FirstTemple together the years of all twenty generations from Adam to was begun 480 years after the Exodus i.e., 2928 years after Abraham (plus 100 years from Abraham's birth until Creation. Yitzchak's birth): The Talmud (Yoma 9a, Arachin 12b, Avodah Zarah 9b, . Jer. Megiliah I, basedonSederOlamXI; seealsoMidrashLev Adam 130 years R. 21:9 and Tossef. Korbanoth XIII) stipulates that the peri Sheth 105 years ods oftheFirstandSecondTempleslasted410 and420years _'. Enosh 90 years respectively, andwereseparatedby70yearsoftheBabylonian Kenan 70 years Exile. Mahalallel.... 65 years All this leads up to the simple computation as follows: Yered 162 years Henoch 65 years Exodus 2448 years after Creation Methuselah 187 years Rrst Temple begun 2928 years after Creation Lemech 182 years First Temple destroyed 3338 years after Creation Noah 600 years Second Temple consecrated 3408 years after Creation 1656 years after creation Second Temple destroyed 3828 years after Creation (The year 1656 is the year of the Flood) Arpachshad bom after the flood 2 years 3) TheacceptedtraditionalJewishcalendarwhichisused Arpachshad lived 35 years at the present time is based on a method of reckoning as Shelach lived 30 years follows: Eber lived 34 years The first Five Days ofCreation are called year 1. Peleg lived...... 30 years The Sixth Day of Creation (when Adam was created) R'oo lived 32 years initiates the year 2. S'rug lived 30 years TheflrstdayofTishrei, thesecondR08hHashanah(when Nahor lived 29 years Adam became one year old) opens theyear 3. Terah lived 70 years TheMabbul (Flood) occurred 1655years later; namelyin Abraham lived 100 years year 16ii8. Yitzchakwasborn 392yearsafterthe Flood; i.e. in2050. 2048 years after creation
256 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 257 Exodus from Egypt occured 400 years later in...... 2450. ~lar year 70 CE and since according to our Talmudic First Temple was begun 480 years after the Exodus in traditiontheSecondTemplestoodfor only420years,lwemust ...... ···· · 2930. of necessity assume reckoning backward in time that the First Temple was destroyed 410 years later in .....3340. SecondTemplewasconsecratedintheyear352-351BCEand Second Temple dedicated 70 years after the destruction that the Babylonian Captivity began immediately after the ofFirst Temple in 3410. destruction ofthe First Temple, in 422-421 BCE. SecondTempledestroyed420yearsafteritsconsecration We may be able to equate the Jewish and non-Jewish m 3830. data and arrive at the following conclusion:
4) However, these dates are at variance with the method AM BCE adoptedbytheauthorofthe&{erSederOlam,whichisfollowed Year of Creation 1 3760 bymostauthorities. SederOlam does notassignanynumberto Flood 1658 2103 the first year of-Creation including the first five days, and Birth of yitzchak 2050 1711 considersthesecondRoshHashanah, whenAdam becameone Exodus from Egypt 2450 1311 year old, the beginningofyear One (~~i"DV). (We also First Temple begun 2930 831 speakofa one-year-old child afterthis child has lived 12 full First Temple destroyed 3340 421 months andhasexperiencedhisfirstbirthday.)Accordingto Second Temple consecrated 3410 351 this system, all data given before have to be set back two Second Temple destroyed 3830 70 CE years; i.e. Creation-Year0; Adam 1 year old Year 1, and so Present Year 5751 1990-91 CE on. Thereisa discrepancyoftwoyearswhich we havetobear 6) The Torah-true historian is now confronted with a in mindwhen we attemptto engage in comparative chronol trulyvexingproblem. AncienthistoryoftheBabylonian and ogy. This may be the reason that we always add in our Persian Empirespresentsuswith completely differentdata. documents, after the words D'nviI ~ minyan she'anu These figures are the result of painstaking research by monim-according to our way ofcounting. hundredsofscholarsandareborneoutbyprofounderudition and by ever-increasing "authoritative" evidence. Here is a 5) Yet we follow the first method and assume that the short list ofcommonly accepted chronological data: widely accepted date for the destruction ofw~was in the BCE I The 420 years ofthe SecondTemple are calculated by our sages in Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem Auodah Zarah 98, lOb, basedon Seder Olam as follows: 34yearsfortheremainderofthePersianErawhichlastedalltogether and First Temple 587 only 52years. 180years for the Greek Era. 103years for the Hasmonian Cyrus conquers Babylonia 538 Era. 103years for the Herodian Era. For a total of420. Reign of Cyrus 539-530
258 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 259
1" J I Cambyses 530-523 which know ofonly four Median-Persian kings nilingover a Darius I 522-486 period of not more than 52 years, of which only 34 years BCE belongtotheperiod subsequenttothebuildingoftheSecond Xerxes I 486-465 Temple. Artaxerxes I 465-425 Xerxes II 425 8) The gravity of the dilemma posed by such enormous Darius II 424-404 discrepancies must not be underestimated. The unsuspect Artaxerxes " : 404-359 ingstudents ofhistory are faced with a puzzle that appears Artaxerxes 11/ 358-338 insoluble. How could it have been that ourforebears had no Darius 11/ 336-331 knowledge ofa historic period, otherwise widely known and Alexander the Great conquers Persia 334 amply documented, which lasted over a span ofat least 165 Alexander the Great dies 323 years and which was less than 600 years before the days of the Sages who recorded our traditional chronology in Seder Since, according to Ezra 6:15, the Second Temple was Dlam? Is it really possible to assume that some form of completedinthesixthyearofDariusI, thedate,followingthe historical amnesia had taken possession of the collective secularchronology, must havebeen 517 BCE, i.e. exactly 70 memory of an entire people? This would be like assuming yearsafterthedate (agaIn establishedbysecularhistorians) that some group of recognized historians of today would of the destruction of the First Temple (587 BCE). Conse publish a textbook on medieval history, ignoring all the quently, the first year ofthe era ofthe Second Temple was recordsof, say, thethirteenthandfourteenth centuriesofthe 517 BCE and not 351 BCE. As long as we do not doubt the Common Era. Would this not seem inconceivable to those date given for the destruction of the Second Temple (on or who, unfortunately, do not possess the necessary emunas about 70 CE) we arecompelled to admitthatthe '2V~must Chachamim to accept the word ofour Sages? have existed for no less than 586 years instead of the 420 years given by tradition. This amounts to a discrepancy of 9) This enormous discrepancy between sacred tradition over 165 years when compared with our Jewish way of andseculardatawould, atfirstglance, appeartofrustrateall reckoning! hope that it might be possible to compile a comparative chronology acceptable to OrthodoxJewry and secular histo 7) Furthermore, there are at least nine Persian kings rians alike. To us, who are faithful believers in the veracity beginningwith Cyrus until the beginningofthe Greek Era, of our most sacred literature, both Biblical and Rabbinic, during a period ofwell over 200 years. (Seven ofthese kings there seems to be left only the following two alternatives reigned afterthe consecration ofthe Temple). Comparewith between which to choose: thesefigures the statementsofSeder Dlam andofTalmudic One: To put our trust in the superior wisdom of our Rabbinic literature (Seder Dlam XXX, Rosh Hashanah 3b), inspired teachers ofTorah who have arrived at the absolute
260 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 261 truth and, consequently, to reject categorically and abso whether they have dealt satisfactorily with the aforemen lutely the right ofany scholar, even themost objective in his tioned problems ofJewish chronology. field, to contradict our convictions. In this case, it would (a) Many ofthe editors ofSederHadoros, by RavYechiel mean that we would have to declare that those 165 or more Halperin of Minsk, have a list of fIfteen Persian-Median years which our Tradition has ignored are, in fact, non kings who are identical with those known through non existent, and have been conjectured by secular historians Jewish sources. At the same time, the author follows the through errors in computation. According to this mode of Seder Olam andTalmudby registering34years only for the reasoning, it would follow that all the historical events entire list ofrulers. (Due to the fact that the Seder Hadoros reported in connection with the timetable ofancient history has been edited and re-edited numerous times by unknown referring to that period are not history but fiction, and are revisors, we find ourselves compelled to eliminate Seder based on misinterpretation and misleading evidence ofar Hadoros entirely from our present deliberations until such. cheological findings. Or, time as the original text ofthe work has been clarified.) "',. Two: We mightaccept theopinionsofsecularhistorians as (b) Z. Javetz, in his Toldos Yisrael, conveniently omits comingasclosetotheobjectivetruthasispossible.However,we discussion of the discrepancy. He skips over most of the wouldthenmakeaningeniousattempttointerprettheBiblical PersiankingsandconsidersDariusIINothus(423-404BCE) dataandto treatthetraditional Rabbinic choronology asmere to be identicalwith"Daryavesh"ofMedia, who ismentioned figurativeAggadic homily, which maylend itselfto a symbolic in the Sefer Daniel before Cyrus. As a result, the author is orallegorical evaluation, as do manyother?"tn11l"'QN. forced to invent a second Daniel who, he alleges, lived more This dilemma is most unfortunate. For it would appear than one hundred years after the death ofthe fIrSt Daniel. that the only course to take would be either to "correct" Fortunately,thisincredibleGeschichtsklitterunghasnotbeen secular ancient history by some 165years, makingit appar taken seriously by anyone. ently ''fictitious"; or else to declare that our traditional i (c) Rabbi Philip Biberfeld, in his Universal Jewish His calendarisbasednotonhistoricalcalculationsbutonAggadic tory (NewYork, 1948,p. 30), makesthefollowingstatements: pronouncements. Even centuries ago, in his Me'or Einayim "... 480 years which, according to I Kings 6:1, elapsed (XXXV), Azariah de Rossi, a controversial figure in the between the Exodus and thebeginningofthebuildingofthe annalsofourpeople, criticizedthepuzzlingtextsofSederOlam FirstTemple in the fourth year ofKing Solomon. The tradi and of the Talmud, much to the righteous indignation of tional chronology of the Seder Olam follows the literal contemporary and, later, Rabbinic scholars (cf. R. David meaningofthisstatement.Asa result,only902yearsremain Gans in Tzemach David [No. 3448] and R. Yaakov Emdento for the entire time from the building of the Temple to its Seder Olam XXX). seconddestruction.Aftera furthersubtractionof70yearsfor theBabylonianexile,only832yearsareleftfor thetimeofthe 10) Let us now review briefly some excerpts from the FirstandSecondTemples.AccordingtoSederOlam,theyare worksofmore recentOrthodoxwritersandfmd for ourselves divided into 410 and 420 years, respectively. The very short
262 .RAVSHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 263
g timethusavailablefor theperiodoftheSecondTempleledto some ofthe Amoraim ofthe Talmud who had dealings with thereductionofthetimeofthePersiankingstoonly34years. the Sassanide Royal Courts.s "It was assumed that the kings Koresh, Daryavesh and "One ofthe most renowned authorities ofthe Diaspora, Artachshastawereidentical andthatEzrahadalreadycome soon after the Geonic era, Rabbi Zerachiah Halevi ofLunel, toPalestineoneyearafterthebuildingoftheSecondTemple. the Baal Hamaor, around 1100 CE, considers this assump "These consequences were rejected byRabbi Zerachia of tion ... the purely personal opinion of some scholars. He Lunel as incompatible with the word ofthe Bible." maintains thatthere were several kings namedArtaxerxes, To solve these difficulties, Biberfeld suggests (page 32) a etc."4 newinterpretationofa simpleverseinTanach. Whathesays isthattheperiodof480yearsmentionedintheBookofKings 11) Before we go any further, let us state our opinion as havingpassed from the time that "the Children ofIsrael emphaticallythatthesaintlyBaalHamaorneithercould nor had gone forth from thelandofEgypt"until thebeginningof ever would have "rejected" any statement by a Mishnaic the construction of the First Temple, begins not with the i authority, andcertainlynotonebyHndm'P'tn''1, who isthe Exodusbutwiththestartingofthe"Era"ofExodu8; namely, author ofSeder Dlam (cf. Yeb. 82b, Niddah 46b). A special with the death ofJoseph. significancewas attachedto the pronouncementofRavYosi: This interpretation disregards entirely the detailed fig 'iJ:n) wu::m ~The justness of his interpretation is self ures given in Seder Dlam in thatit allows only 215 years for evident" (}:rub. 51a, Gittin 67a, Aboth de R. Nathan 18).6 the period ofthe Elders and theJudges, and only 208years, instead of 370, for the Tabernacle in Shiloh, etc.2 This dis 12) Inourcase,therewerealsoMidrashic authoritieswho regard for the traditional chronology of Seder Dlam is at disagreedwithRavYosi. Forinstance, inPirkei de Eliezer tributed to Rabbi Zerachia ofLunel (theBaal Hamaor), who R. J (49) wefmd a statementbyRavYonasanthatArtaxerxeswas is said to have "rejected" a statement in Seder Dlam as "in the last of the Medio-Persian kings, a statement which in compatible"'with the words ofthe Bible. ~ tum is disputed there by R. Tanchum who considers (d) An even more drastic opinion is expressed by Aaron I Achashverosh to be the last in the list ofkings. Marcus (Barzilai I, Berlin, 1905, Page CCCXVID: However, our traditional chronology is based on Seder "The Sassanideshadforgotten ...history, identifyingin Dlam because ofthe authority of its author. It is therefore their own histories the kings Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes quite inconceivable that any post-Talmudic teacher could with one another, assumingthose names to be diverse titles ofoneandthesameperson. This assumption wasacceptedby 4 See also Banilai II, p. 22; Abron Marcus, "Judische Chronologie" i Frankfurt, 1925, Jahrbuch, Juedische Lit. Ges. 1900, p. 13. I ComparethiswithGittin 88aandSanhedrin 38a:"G-dwasgracious 5 Jerus. Talmud, end ofGittin VI: When one questioned a state with Israel to decree the exile 2 years before ED awr' (which has a nu cr. merical value of 852), i.e. the destruction ofthe Temple happened 850 mentbyR. Josi,Rabbiusedtosay,"Howcanwehumbledisciples question years afterIsrael had come into its own land. thewords ofR. Josisincethedifference betweenourgeneration andthat is S Italics mine. ofR, Josi comparable to the difference between the most holy and the 1 mostprofane?"
264 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected SpeeCMS • 265
+I 1. 1 possibly''reject''thosechronological calculationswhich have TheBaal Hamaordoes indeed follow the broad streamof been made the subject ofmany a Talmudic discussion. our Bibilical commentators who have persistently striven 13) What does the Baal Hamaor really say? notto neglect theplainliteral meaningofa passage, while at The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 3a), in a discussion on the same time interpreting the Midrashic orAggadic tradi chronologybasedonChapter30ofSederOlam,interpretsthe tions. words ofEzra (6:14) as referring to one and the same king Thepshat ofthis verse has been explained by our classic who borethreenames:namely, onewhowasknownasCyrus, commentaries inmanyways, and theBaalHamaor'sview is Darius and/or Artachshashta. only one ofthem. The following table may give us some idea TheBaalHamaor, inthebeginningofhiscommentaryon ofthe variety ofopinions on the subject ofthe chronological RoshHashanah, analyzesthisTalmudicdiscussion andthen order ofthe Persian Kings mentioned in Biblical literature: continues: "Cu'm Ii' I ~ U'm:l' -urm '!:b ~ i'1?nm r.m D':tm i1V?v 'Ul YTn:J ~ ::nn:JW m~ '!:b 1tni1 vn£IiI ~ R. Saadlah Rash! Alnham R. Mo8h. Balli Hamaor Gaon (quoting J088ph Ibn Ezra Haseflrdl V'))...'PM ThisisourunderstandingaccordingtotheMidrash J ben Gorlon) ofour Rabbis and their manner ofinterpretation. However, 1 Cyrus Cyrus Cyrus Cyrus Cyrus the proper explanation according to the simple meaning of 2. Ahashverosh Cambyses Ahashverosh. Ahashverosh Ahashverosh thetextisthatthesenamesbelongtothree different kings ..." caUed A soberreadingofthetextinBaalHamaormakesitclear AI1axerxes thatRabbiZerachiahdidnothingelsebutqualify theTalmu 3. AI1axerxes Ahashverosh AI1axerxes dicinterpretationofoneverse,inEzra6:4, asbelongingtothe 4. Darius, Darius Darius, Darius Darius category of midrash or drash, which should not, however, called Cyrus caUed the Great AI1axerxes exclude the simple meaning, or pshat. Nothing more and nothing less is contained in this remark. Baal Hamaor - 5. AI1axerxes AI1axerxes follows the accepted dictum ~'"T'D ta'P N1pD 'rN. that no ~ verse ofthe Scriptures ever loses its simple literal meaning, NoneoftheseCommentaries"rejected"theTalmud.They quite independently of any additional Midrashic interpre all attempted to rmd the simple pshat, which is the usual tation (ef. Shabb. 63a et al). procedure for our i'1'1U"V1~. There is no doubt that the literal meaning of the verse underdiscussion isthattheerectionofthe SecondTemple is 14) Wheneverpshat and drash seem to disagree, one of credited to Cyrus, who gave permission to have it built; to .. the following three methods is employed by our classical Darius, who allowed ourpeople to continue the construction 1" writers to reconcile what appears to be in disagreement: work; andrmallytoArtaxerxes, who mayhavesponsoredthe (a) Theyre-interprettheapparentpshatinthelightofthe "1, completion of the sacred edifice ("TTtT.2 M-"W1 "nM':Q Mr.'1 'P Aggadic or Midrashic pronouncement, because the latter 'V'))'iliTiml'.,P"l3.D?lv). seems to contain the real meaning, or
266 .RAV SHIMON SCHWAB ,- Selected Speeches. 267 natedandsuppressedallrecordsandothermaterialpertain (b) They may accept thepshat as the proper explanation ing thereto. If so, what might have been their compelling and interpret the drash homiletically by searching for an reason for so unusual a procedure? Nothingshort ofa Divine allegorial or "hidden" meaning, or commandcouldhavepromptedourChazal,thosesaintly"men (c) Theymayeliminatethediscrepancybydemonstrating oftruth,"toleave outcompletely from ourannals a period of thatbothpshatanddrashareacceptablesimultaneouslyand at least 165 years and to correct all data and historic tables are not necessarily mutually exclusive.6 '. insucha fashionthatthesubsequentchronologicalgapcould The Baal Hamaor merely notes that regarding the pas escape notice for countless generations, and remain known sage quoted, there exists a discrepancy between the pshat onlyto a few initiateswho wereduty-boundtokeepthesecret anddrash ofthisverse. Hedoesnotsuggestanysolution. But to themselves. hemostcertainlydoesnot"reject"anyofthedataofSederOlam as a "mistake" adopted from ignorant Sassanides.7 16) Inthecourse ofourinquiry, we do indeed find a Divine . It seems that our post-Talmudic calendar-makers have commandconveyedbyanangel to Danielto"sealtheword and -, ~ considered thisdrash ofthe quoted passage as an authentic close the book" at the end ofa long prophecy which begins in basis for our chronology, which does not allow for any homi Chapter 11:1 and ends at Chapter 12:4 in Sefer Daniel. This letical treatment. strange vision predicting historical events concludes with a This bringsusbackto theconfusingproblem whichisthe stem wammg:. J1))"1)) '1:JDi1 DU'1TTl D""D-m DU"1D .....-"''''... I ~." subject matter ofthis discussion. "inVi' In writing his Divinely inspired book, Daniel obeyed theheavenlycommand, whichexplainsthedarkandobscure 15) There seems to be left, as yet unexplored, only one language ofSerer Daniel. It also gives us a perfect right to avenue ofapproach to the vexing problem confronting us. It assumethatcertainhistoricaleventsrevealedtoDanielwere seems possible that our Sages, for some unknown reason, - omittedbyhimonpurposeinfaithful obediencetotheDivine "covered up" a certain historic period and purposely elimi- command. It is equally safe to assume that our Sages, who :'i'I obviously had a thorough knowledge ofthe entire history of 6 For methods ofAggadic explanations: the Second Commonwealth, correspondingly eliminated in 'l":n'I'D' iT"T D'lrn"TTD D":::u:ni'I? i'1tTTJ'iI ')) all chronological lists and pertinent discussion the same D":JT1 1=1 Di'T'CM '-f1 nmHi1a,p "lDMD ')) period which Daniel had to "close and seal up." i'TOi1l i1'"T"T'D'l ~ 'i1 I un , IKCD ')) rdm1'I77:J1'Dfi' ')) To prove our point we offer the following: iT':)'h:2~;rnn i"miT~ ')) In Pesachim (62b) we learn of a Book of Genealogies ~ (:l~1'l' -m:m1))Yr.1IC~) ~ D"MilW'i1nmHi1a,p"lDMD ')) (~ "1Dt'), which, according to Rashi, was a Mishnaic com ...?''mY"Q"lt)•••'2Y1 m:1nu¥1 :T'i'lIQ::IJ'm1'" 't7.IT'D'H y:nv V'MTi1'M '))7 mentary on the Book of Chronicles. This book must have ~ , 'T1'l3'?1M J"ltK'1 n:x:ra "nOT'Ji"))V7TDii 'J'1\' 'D'M nn contained an enormous wealth ofchronological material up 'J •'l1"'))'t:n'D!II"InM ~ tothetime ofEzra, who is themain authorofD'tJ'ilY1:1'T (B.B. :
Selected Speeches. 269 268 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB
":' 15a), as well as mU'1 'tU'l', according to Rashi (ibid.). The today would be capable of calculating anything concerning Talmud informs us that this important book was hidden! M'VDi1~evenafterhehadbeenfurnished allthemissing No reasons are given. Rav is quoted to have observed that: facts-we still could not have the audacity to unveil a mys ~"lDDtmV~-Sincethe day the Book ofGenealogies tery which was so carefully hidden by our forebears, unless was hidden, the strength ofthe wise had been weakened and -, the mystery had become unveiled all by itself. This has the light oftheir eyes dimmed." occurred notthroughourowndoing, butthroughthe archeo Isit now too presumptuous to thinkthatthis secretbook logical discoveries made during the last century and a half. containedtherecordsofallgenerationsandincidentsduring Theearthhasindeedopeneditsmouthandyieldedcountless themissingyearswhichhadtobe suppressedindeference to bits of material in the form of decoded and readable clay Daniel's strict instruction? Itwould then become quite obvi tablets, inscriptions on rocks and temple ruins, and other ouswhythe all-embracingknowledge andthebroadvision of discoveriespertainingtotheBabylonianandthePersianera. our Talmudic Sages were so~ewhat restricted by such a This host of historic information has become commoii' prohibition, which resulted in the lack ofan important link -'! knowledge. Thereisnothingleftfor ustouncover. We might, in our chronological tradition. however, attempttoinvestigatehowtotakeadvantageofthe ~ already available archaeological fmdings which could serve 17) We are now faced with two questions: as a guide for the perplexed, in orderto avoid an intellectual (a) Suppose such a holy "conspiracy" had been Divinely dilemma. commanded, what would have been its reason? Therefore, the working thesis suggested here deserves (b) Whyshouldwe todaybe allowedto rend aparttheveil to be presented to the scrutinizing evaluation of serious of obscurity which was drawn in ancient days, hiding the scholars, unless it were to become disqualified by the clear chronological truth from our people? ~. verdict of an authentic Torah authority. Its positive ac We propose the following explanation: ceptancewouldmeanthatourpresentyear 5751 is literally In Sanhedrin 97b we fmd a stern condemnation of all , only "l'm~rm-our own way of counting," but not the thosewhoconjecturetheMessianicdatefrom thelastchapter real date. We would be much closer to the end of the 6th ofDaniel. These mysteries are to remain 1)) C'D'd JIlt C'DlJ"1O millennium than we had surmised. ''l'P J'U' closed and sealeduntilthe time ofthe End." (Surpris ingly, many ofourgreat commentators did make such fruit 18) Inthespiritoftheaforesaid, a newlightisshedonthe less attempts.) Had it not been for the fact that important strange fact that a new method of counting the years was partsofthose prophecies hadbeen leftoutorwerepurposely introduced by our Sages, a method which was retained for obscured, the clues for the Messianic date found in Daniel wellover1200yearsbyourpeople. We arereferringtotheso might have yielded the desired results. This was rendered called Greek Era. In Seder Olam 30 we are told that "in the impossiblethroughthehidingofcertaindataandchronologi exile" we are to write into our documents the date according cal material. Althoughwe do notpresumethatanyone living to ~'J'2D. The term minyan shtaros means the "Era of
270 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 271
~ ..
Contracts," which is also called the Seleucid Era. This era andthe so-called ElephantinePapirusprovide a few meager began on Rosh Hashanah 312-311 BCE after the Battle of clues. GazaandtheconquestoftheHolyLandbySeleucusNikator, The main issue at thisjuncture is to clarify that once we oneofthegeneralsofAlexanderthe Great. TheSeleucidEra have established that a historical gap does exist, the stum wasinuseuntiltheMiddleAges, whenthetermD?'nm~ .: bling block is removed and a comparative chronology can be wasre-introducedby thelatterGeonim, such as RavSherira outlined, makinguseofdata deduced from secularhistorians. (cf. Rambam, H. Gerushin 1:27). We can very well under stand the bewilderment of a 'm"D wondering why a non 20) In 3386 AM (540-39 BCE), Cyrus conquered the Jewishdatewasadmittedintoreligiousdocuments(Yaddaim former Babylonian Empire. He appointed the Governor of 4:8). For indeed nnl'V1'»:3 was not a Jewish accounting. It Guteum in Media, a certain Gobrias or Gubarru, to rule as . was employed by a majority ofnations in the Near East and acting king for less than one full year over the conquered theMediterraneanareaforcountlessgenerationsandstillis realm of the Chaldeans. The Persian name of this acting used by some Eastern groups. king, by which the Jewish people came to know him, was TherewereseveralcalendarsystemsbasedontheSeleucid "Daryavesh, son ofAchashverosh, the Median" (JJaniel 6). era: Duringhisbriefreign,whileCyrusstormedontoconquerhis (a) The Syrians started counting in the autumn of 312 ever-wideningempire,Danielinquiredastotheexactmeaning BCE. ofthe 70yearswhichhadbeenpredictedbyJeremiahfor the (b) The Babylonians began in the spring of 311 BCE. Exile.Almost49yearshadpassedsincethedestructionofthe (c) The Persians began in the autumn of311 BCE. First Temple (JJaniel 9). Daniel received the heavenly mes TheTalmud(AvodahZarah lOa)mentionsthe"pendantic sage thatthegalu8 wasfar from over, because the"70years" scribes" who start 6 years earlier, meaning 317 BCE. - were notjust ordinaryyears (Verse 24). WhydidChazal adoptthenon-Jewishcalendarfor allour Though Cyrus did permit the building ofthe Temple, he documents instead of a Jewish system? There seems to be revoked his permission a year or two later. Eventually only one satisfactory answer: because it was part of the DariustheGreatpermittedtheconstructiontobecontinued. scheme to "close up the words and seal the book"! (He is sometimes called Darius ben Esther by our people, The reason given nc'mn-n::c mvD could not apply after most probably in the same sense thatJoseph was called the theabolition of~rn::bD.Butsincea certainperiodoftimehad "FatherofPharaoh"(JJereishis 45:8).) Darius' friendship for to be hidden, this was accomplished effectively indeed by a the Jews was the direct result ofthe inspirational influence switch to the Greek date. ofQueenEsther,whosurvivedAchashverosh-Cambyses,the adopted son ofCyrus and father ofDarius I. 19) What happened to the Jewish people during those The Temple buildingwas completed in the 6thyear ofhis hiddenyears? The Books ofEzra and Nehemiah fill in some reign-in517BCE, whichisexactly70yearsafterthedestruc ofthe missing parts. Secular sources ~ ,rl) like Josephus tion ofthe FirstTemple, which had taken place in 587 BCE.
272.RAVSHIMONSCHWAB Selected Speeches. 273
4 True,theSecondTemplehadbeenconsecrated;yetitwas These 6 years ofthe Greek rule over Elam are identical with only a sanctuary with limited dimensions which were not in thefirst6yearsofXerxes, duringwhichthe Greekrevoltwas accordance with the prescribed measurements (cf. Ezra 6:3: brewing. Maybe the word "Elam," which is the name of a only 60 cubits, compared to theheightof100 cubitsrequired geographical area, does assume, in the language ofChazal, byhalachah).Also, thewallswereinferior(cf. RoshHashanah an additional meaning. It derives from the word C'l?)), which 4a). Furthermore, permissionhadnotbeengrantedfor addi means ''to hide," because one thousandyears after the Exo tional immigration into Eretz Yisrael. dus, the period ofthe ''hidden years" had begun. The Greek Duringthe fIrst period ofhis reign, Darius I built up his domain was D?)n (hidden) on earth, until the advent of empire. Fighting against the Greek city-states, he was de Alexanderthe Great, 168yearslater, aroundwhich timethe feated at Marathon in 491 BCE. He died exactly 52 years secularn'l"1l.'V1'3DWasinstitutedinallJewishdocuments. Since afterthebeginningofthe Persiandomination, beingthelast the 168 years which had passed after the end of the first ofthefour BiblicalMedio-Persian rulers, andsuccumbing34 millennium after the Exodus had been "hidden," i.e., they are wemayverywellsaythatTP~' years after the construction ofthe Second Temple had been treatedasiftheyneverexisted, resumed (Avodah Zarah 9a). In the eyes ofChazal, who fol started 1000years after~~. low thevisionaryguidance ofDaniel, thetrlQrn:br.3 had come ~ Ifall the above is not merely a wishful dream, and there to an end. is a kernel of truth in our deliberations, the road has now Although Xerxes had become king of Persia in 487-86 become clear for the outline of a comparative chronological BCE, he wasutterly defeated in Europe by Greece in 479-78 table, incorporating the sacred text of Tanach and the au BCE. Thisyear happened to be exactly 1000 years after the thoritative pronouncements ofour Sages, while at the same Exodus from Egypt. Soon after Xerxes became king, the time not contradictingthe accepted dates ofgeneral history. Greeks revolted and, following a decisive victory, finally managed to throw off the Persian yoke. - AM BeE Inthevisionarylanguageoftheseer, the ~rn:br.3hadnow 3304 626-25 Jubilee. Torah scroll found by Hilkiah. begun. Not on earth-not until Alexander the Great would 3318 612-11 Josiah killed by Pharaoh Necho. actually conquer Persia in 334 BCE, a century and a half Yahoyachaz king for 3 months. later-but in Heaven. (cf. Daniel 8: Daniel had learned that 3319 611-10 Yehoyakim king the ''Prince of Yavan" had come to replace the "Prince of 3322 608-07 ThefirstyearoftheBabylonianEmpire.After Persia.'') the Battle of Carcemish which finally liqui Indeed, culturally, the world dominion ofGreek civiliza datedthe lastremnantof"Ninveh." Elul1st tion had started. In the world ofscience, art and literature, Nebuchadnezzar becomes Emperor of Greece had now entered its heroic age. Babylonia. (TheBabylonians oount thisyear In Avodah Zarah (ibid.), we learn of 6 years when the asthe''Acooa:IionYear' frislwnith") andthe Greeks ruled in Elam before it"ruledover the whole world." nextyearasYear One.)AanrdingtoJewish
274 -RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches - 275 reckoning, this year is Year One of Nebuchadnezzar.YehoyakimkillsUriahand 3336 594-93 Pharaoh Hophra captures Gaza while re threatensYeremiyahu'slife. turning from an attempt to help Judah 3323 607-05 Inthe secondyearofNebuchadnezzarhe againsttheBabylonianarmyonthemarch. invades Judah. Yehoyakim becomes his 3339 591-90 SiegeofJerusalem(Teves 10th)for 1year vassal for 3 years. and 5 months. This is year 410 of First 3326 604-03 Yehoyakim rebels. Firstyear ofindepen Temple. dence. 3340 590-89 On Tammuz 9th, Jerusalem is captured. 3328 602-01 In Adar (3rd year of independence) Zedekiah brought to Nebuchadnezzar in Nebuchadnezzar's troops capture Kiblah and blinded. Yehoyakim and othernobles. Daniel and Av 7th-10th, Temple is destroyed. Thisis his three friends are among the captives Year 1 of "Galus Bavel." Gedaliah ap brought to Babylonia. Yehoyakim dies in pointed governor. hischainswhiledraggedoutofJerusalem. 3341 589-88 Tishrei 2nd, Gedaliah assassinated. No king in Judah for approximately 8 Yirmiyahu goes to Egypt with refugees. months. 3343 587-86 Daniel interprets dreams of 3329 601-00 Yehoyachin (orYechoniah) becomesking Nebuchadnezzar. for 3 months and 10 days. Babylonian 3345 585-84 ConquestofTyre. ManyJewish refugees troops lay siege to Jerusalem to capture in surrounding countries. Astayages be king. In Adar, Nebuchadnezzar arrives, comes king ofMedia.
Jerusalem capitulates, and Yechoniah ",.. 3349 581-80 Nebuchadnezzar conquers Egypt. goes into Exile together with almost all Yermiyahu is in Babylonia. learned and wealthy citizens. 3366 564-63 Adar 25th, Nebuchadnezzar dies. Exiled (Daryavesh, son of Achashverosh, also kingYechoniahreleasedfrom prison, also called Gubarru (or Gobrias) is born in Zedekiah, who dies upon regaining his Media.) Nebuchadnezzar appoints freedom and is buried with regal honors Zedekiah king, who swears allegiance to by Evil-Merodach. him. 3367 563-42 TheeraofEvil-Merodach(Amil-Marduch) 3332 598-97 Zedekiah travels to Babylonia to pay lasts 22 years. Jews are honored and homage to Nebuchadnezzarandreturns. favored. Evil-Merodach is succeeded by 3334 596-95 Zedekiah conspires with Egypt against two rulers. Babylonia. Vision of Yechezkel (in the a) Nirgal Sharezer (Neriglassar), son-in 30thyear after the Jubilee). law ofNebuchadnezzer. b) Nabanaid,anotherson-in-law(alsocalls
276 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 277 himself Nebuchadnezzar) who adopts and rules from India to Ethiopia. Esther Nebuchadnezzar's grandson Belshazzar becomes queen. and grants him royal honors. Nabanaid 3406 524-23 Haman's fall. kills king of Edom, captures Gaza and 3407 523-22 Purim. livesfor some 7yearsinTema(Arabia) in 3408 522-21 Cambyses-Achashverosh dies. Persian seclusion.... -(The reign of both Nirgal Empire revolts. Sharezer and Nabanaid are included in 3409 521-20 Darius I (the Great) under influence of the twenty-two-year era of Evil Queen Esther. Chaggai and Zechariah Merodach.) prophesy. Nachemia Hatirshata. 3389 541-40 Period ofBelshazzar lasts 3 years. Jews 3410 520-19 Temple-buildingresumes.Endof70years are humiliated and disgraced. ofGalus Bavel. 3391 539-38 Belshazzar killed; Nabanaid captured. 3414 516-15 Temple dedication. EndBabylonian Empire. Cyrus appoints 3415 515-14 Ezra arrives. First (prophetic) period of Gubarru (Daryavesh the Mede) to be Anshei Knesses Hagedolah begins. actingkingofBabylonia, andherulesfor 3443 487-86 Dariusdies. EndofPersianEra, 34years less than a year. Daniel in the lion's den. after resumption of Second Temple 3392 538-37 Cyrusfrom hiscapitalinAchmataissues building. proclamation of return. Daniel 3444 486-85 Persia loses control over Greek Isles. Sheshbazzar, Zerubabel, Mordechai Greek rule in"Elam."Xerxes Emperor of Bilshonandapproximatelyfiftythousand Persia. He is the Arthachshasta ofEzra. people go to Jerusalem. Ezra travels to Babylonia to organize 3393 537-36 Temple rebuilding begins. ingatheringofExiles. Inhisabsencefrom 3394 536-35 Samaritansandother"enemiesofJudah" Judah, mixed marriages and other evils active. occur. 3395 535-34 Cambyses-Achashverosh,whoisadopted 3448 One thousand years after Exodus. son ofCyrus, appoints himselfco-regent. 188 hidden years begin. Temple building stopped. Cyrus (now We stop countingD?wnM:l? called Artashashta or Emperor) revokes 481-480 Xerxes appoints Ezra as Pashaor Gover his proclamation. Mordechai comes from norofJudah,andencouragesimmigration Jerusalemtoberepresentative ofJewish of all Jews to Eretz Yisrael. Festive cel people in Shushan. ebration of Pesach in Jerusalem in an 3401 529-28 Cyrus dies. Cambyses-Achashverosh be ticipationoffmalredemption(Ezra 6:19). comesEmperor.In525,heconquersEgypt 480-79 Second coming of Ezra with only about
278 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 279 1500 immigrants; refusal of majority to 360-59 Artaxerxes ITI Dchus. leave exile. 351-50 Final Temple restoration completed by 479-78 Mixed marriages dissolved. Malachi Shimon Hatzaddik.. Temple stands for (Ezra) prophesies. 420 years. 466-65 Xerxes dies. Artaxerxes I Longimanous 339-38 Darius ITI Codemanus. (the Artachashta of Nechemiah). Due to 334-33 Alexander-Battle ofISSU8. change of government, Ezra loses his 332-31 Alexander welcomed in Jerusalem by poweranddeterioration setsin. Persecu Shimon Hatzaddik.. tion ofJews under new Governor. Emer 334-23 Alexander dies. gence ofSamballatin Samaria, Tobia the 320-19 Ptolemy (king of the south) conquers Ammonite and GeshemtheArab asmain Jerusalem. antagonists. Enemies bum walls of 318-17 BeginningofGreek Era for 180 years. Jerusalem. Many Jews flee the country. 316-15 Antigonus (king of the north) conquers Poverty and corruption reign. Jerusalem. 446-45 Nechemiah arrives, is appointed Gover 313-312 Jerusalem reconquered by Ptolemy. nor by Artaxerxes. Walls of Jerusalem End ofhidden years; resume countingAM. are repaired. 3449 312-11 BattleofGaza. ConquestofEretzYisrael 445-44 Spiritual restoration of Jewish commu by Selocus Nikator. nity. Festive celebration of Rosh The Seleucid Era begins, also called Hashanah and Sukkos. "Covenant ofthe Minyan Shtaros. (If we disregard the faith." hidden years, the Seleucid Era begins in 435-34 Nechemiah leaves for Shushan. Deterio thefIrStyearaftertheonethousandafter ration sets in again. the Exodus.) 433-32 Nechemiah returns. Dedication of 3594 168-67 Miracle ofChanukah. Jerusalem wall. Ezra dies. Nechemiah 3624 138-37 Commencement ofHasmonean Era (103 dies. Biblical Canon closes. End of years). prophecy. SecondperiodofAnsheiKnesBes 3727 35-34 Commencement of Herodian Era (103 Hagedolah (Soferim) begins. years). 410 Jeb Temple in Egypt destroyed. 3830 70 CE Destruction ofSecond Temple. 406 BagoasGovemorofJudea.Yochananhigh 5751 1990-91 Presentyear. priest. Deliah, son of Samballat, in Samaria. Epilogue 405-04 Ataxerxes IT Mnemnon. 1) All the aforegoing is based on an essay which was
280 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 281 printed aboutthirtyyears ago in '=Dr J1"R')) (Rabbi Dr. Joseph 6: 13 and those of J1rTt2 rct7D. It would also explain why the Breuer Jubilee Volume, New York: Feldheim, 1962) and ,01 J~ nt72:J 'VlH speak in the Mishnah (i.e. Zevachim, perek which was revised a few times. The purpose ofthis attempt 5:1) ofD¢im1D 'a"1lb instead ofusingthe word i'T"It)) as in all was to assist the bewildered Torah-true students ofJewish other places. There were no D')hp(hangingcurtains) except history sittingon thehoms ofa dilemma, and to strengthen inthe-pwwhichwasbuiltinthedesert. Buttheremayhave their emunah. Time and again, I was urged to publish this been D')hp during the very long construction period of the revised edition in order to serve a larger readership. But in SecondTemple,whichwasnotcompletedandupgradedtoits the meantime many great doubts have bothered my mind proper size until the time ofShimon Hatzaddik, exactly 420 and have made it mandatory for me to share my pangs of years before its destruction by.the Romans. True, there's a conscience with my readers. reference to this in the bookBen Biro, but no clearevidence. Therefore, the assumption of such a minor 'N1 %1':1, for 186 a) "History" is either true or false. There is no middle ,., 'ground. The events described in a history book have either years, is totally unproven. happenedortheyhaven't.Themostingenioustheorieswhich d) Josephus, who was not a faithful TorahJew, andwho mayhave theirplace in philosophy or as a workingthesis in lived only about400years afterAlexander the Great, makes the exact sciences have no meaningin the pursuitofhistori no mention ofa large interval between Ezra and the Greek calevidence, which is a searchfor facts andwhich accepts no period. He would not have kept quiet had he known about conjectures. Achronologicaltimetableisthebackboneofany that from the gentiles. bookonhistorywhichexpectstobeacceptedbyintellectually e) One letter-writer suggested to me that most ancient honest students. documents are so unclear, confusing and self-contradicting b) Ifourforefatherswantedtohidea certainperiodinour thatwe do nothave to take the conclusion ofmodem histori history; because of a Divine mandate, who has the right to - ans seriously. In this, case no real conflict exists. uncover the carefully concealed secret? Even with our best Another correspondent called my attention to the writ intentions to strengthen the faith of those who doubt the ingsofRavSaadiahGaoninnumm2lDH, Chapter9, wherehe accuracy of our traditional method of counting the years statesthat a certain"nation" has inserted overone hundred D?'om~,we still were not given the right to remove the years and 17 additional kings intheirhistorybooks, inorder veil for any reason. Therefore, I feel like the legendary king to place the founder of Christianity into a fitting historical oftheKhazarswhowastolda few timesina dream,"T1"en1f'D'O context. cwon D2'H 1'Wt2 ~ -Your intentions are acceptable, but f) Averyknowledgeablefriend hascalledmyattentionto your deeds are not." thenll"iDI1lt11'M, theexactreckoningofthenewmoon,which c) The "hidden years theory" necessitates the assump we follow today, which could not be reconciled with the tion that the construction ofthe Second Temple lasted for a additionof168"missing"years.Thecomputershowsthatthe century and a half which, by the way, would explain the "1?1D would be off by 1 1/2 days, by which time the moon is discrepancybetweenthemeasurementsofthe'N1%1':l inEzro already visible.
282.RAVSHIMONSCHWAB Selected Speeches. 283 The 'nn~which deal with the molad at the time of to be honest to themselves than to be "right." I would rather creation,theso-called'rnJ'1-me, would nottallyifanadditional leave a good question open than riskgivinga wronganswer. 168 years are added. (Concerning the various methods of AndI follow theteachingsofRavShimon(pesachim 52b)who ca.lcu1atingthemolad,seeRambam,KiddushHcu;hodesh6:8and said, '71V'1DiI?))"t:JV?:11'N 'P i1V'TTil ?:P "t:JV 'J'1?:1j7V mo commentaries;ibid; Torah SheleimahVol. 11,chap.8, par. 110, Justas I was awardedfor theresearch, so shallI be awarded also lm'!2~"'WDV:l~i1D "p-or~ri"1H ,i"D'lVn'l'V1D). for the retraction." The counter-argumentis that our system offiguring out The historic material which I have assembled may still be the molad dates back only to the time after Daniel, and our somehow useful, even for those who will doubt whether there Sages went to great lengths to hide the true yavn by con can everbe a Jewish chronology which would satisfy the non structinga methodwhichwefollow today. Subsequently, the believerinthewisdomofourSages. SoI fallbackintotheranks vnn -me is figured out retroactively. ofall ~'2'IT.JN'D'l?v.Andto me'~~meanswhatit g) We are now countingtheyear 5751, and ifwe add 168 meanttoourfathers. Itisas simpleasthat. Andwhilewe may years,therealdatefor thisyearwouldbe 5919, whichleaves keep on aearchingfor the answers, wepraythat Hashem may only 81 years till the end ofthe 6th millennium. This is most enlighten oureyes, frightening, especially for all those born'not so long ago, or ~~i'1T1r.Di'tmi'~D»:Jrm7,:)'W~'in. those to be born in the near future, who would become the livingwitnessesofthe"endofdays."Theywill seewith their owneyeswhetherthestatement(JloshHashanah31a,Avodah Zarah 9a,Sanhedrin 97) that''theworldwillexistonlyfor six thousandyears and then be destroyed" is meant to be taken literally,orhasa differentinterpretation,asdomanyAggadic - pronouncements. I am writing all this with awe and trepidation. On the other hand, ifthe "hiddenyears" never were, then mankind still has 250 years before the coming ofthe "end." h) It is because of all these gnawing doubts that I have decided to put a big question mark after the words "Jewish Chronology." Let somebody withgreaterknowledge come and pickupthethreadswhereI leftoff. Ourtraditional,universally acceptedJewish way ofcountingtheyears mum J"'1IIM:l? is sa cred territory which only fools do notfear to tread upon. This may be a disappointment to some, but on the other handI musterthecourageto belongto thosewhoratherwish
284 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB Selected Speeches. 285