Whenever the Jewish people suffer particularly severely, expectations regarding the coming Messiah intensify to the same degree. We have not suffered as we have in the past two years for a very long time. Accordingly, our hope for an age of peace has grown.

In addition, we are approaching the Jewish year 6000, which is meant to mark the end of history. Since we are currently in the year 5786, only 214 years remain until everything is to change. The messianic age, however, may also begin earlier—if humanity is already sufficiently healed beforehand, or if the accumulated suffering of the people of Israel moves God to say, “enough is enough.”

Below we briefly present two of the many messianic calculations currently circulating in the country.

THE HOSTAGES

The fact that the attack of October 7 took place on the holiday of Simchat Torah, the last day of Sukkot, carries great symbolic weight. The final 20 surviving hostages were freed after 738 days—on the same holiday. The number 738, as a numerical value (with 1 representing the letter Aleph, 2 Bet,...

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