930 BC to 50 AD: First Watch of the night
This site was first built in French (see www.147thgeneration.net). The English translation was mainly done using « google translation ». We have tried to correct the result of this translation to avoid interpretation errors. However, it is likely that there are unsatisfactory translations, do not hesitate to communicate them to us for correction.
(for that click on this paragraph)
As already explained in the « Shavuot » page, the Jewish people have sinned three times in the desert. Each of these mistakes would have led to the extermination of the Jewish people by God. These mistakes are not the sole responsibility of the Jewish people (this will not be explained on this website), so Moses was able to obtain for each of them that the extermination of the Jewish people is not effective.
On the other hand, he could not prevent the Jewish people from 147 curses, 49 of them are enacted in the book of Leviticus (part of the Pentateuch), the other 98 are evoked by Moses himself in Deuteronomy ( fifth and last book of the Pentateuch). Each curse is associated with a generation of twenty years. The 147 curses thus correspond to a duration of about 3 millennia, ie about a millennium for each series of 49 curses. This period of 3 millennia is the night of the Jewish people which includes 3 watches: one watch per series of 49 curses.
The 98 curses of Deuteronomy correspond to two of the faults of the people of Israel in the desert: that of the Rephidim and that of the explorers. The curses associated with these two faults by their significance will affect the Jewish people as soon as they begin their exile in the nations. These curses begin to the destruction of the second Temple. This destruction is associated with the period 50-70 of our era, which corresponds to the generation 50, the first generation of the second watch of the night.
The 49 curses of Leviticus correspond to the fault of the golden calf, it sanctions the attraction of the people of Israel for paganism.
These curses will punish the people of Israel throughout the life of the two temples of Jerusalem. All the while, service to the temple is still effective and the association with Leviticus is not fortuitous since this Pentateuch book mainly describes the obligations of the Jewish people, these priests and its kings to service in the Temple.
This period begins with the death of King Solomon in 930 BC and until 50 CE. Indeed the generation from the year 50 AD to the year 70 AD is already associated with the destruction of the Second Temple and thus is the generation of the initialization of the exile of the Jewish people.
The paganistic ways of the Jewish people during these first 49 generations of the night are effective. These are the cause of the end of the kingdom of Israel and the destruction of the first Temple by Nebuchadnezzar provoking the exile of the people of the kingdom of Judea for 70 years in Babylon. But at least for the people of Judea, these 49 generations will result in their outcome a people faithful to his God who is no longer attracted to the pagan gods.
The first two Temples were needed during the first watch of the night in order to attach the Jewish people to his God. on the eve of the destruction of the second Temple, the presence of a Temple is no longer indispensable and the Jews will soon be able to replace the sacrifices at the Temples with prayers.
According to Jewish tradition, one day is broken down into six « watches » of four hours. Three watches for the day, three watches for the night:
- Rabbi [1] Eliezer says: The night consists of three watches, and over each and every watch, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits and roars like a lion in pain over the destruction of the Temple. This imagery is derived from a reference in the Bible, as it is stated: “The Lord roars [yishag] from on high, from His holy dwelling He makes His voice heard. He roars mightily [shaog yishag] over His dwelling place, He cries out like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth” (Jeremiah 25:30). The three instances of the root shin-alef-gimmel in this verse correspond to the three watches of the night.
The first millennium corresponding to the 49 curses of Leviticus symbolizes the first watch of the night. This one is marked by Nebuchadnezzar then the Persian dynasties. The first lion to roar is therefore the lion of Mesopotamia that attacks the Temple of Jerusalem and helps rebuild it.
[1] TALMUD, BERAKHOT 1, 3a (included a quote of Jeremiah 25:30). Translation got form website: https://www.sefaria.org/