Judaism teaches that the world will exist for 6,000 years, followed by a 1,000-year “Shabbat” — the Messianic era. This is based on the Talmud (Sanhedrin 97a) and reflected in Kabbalistic sources such as the Zohar and writings of the Ramchal and Vilna Gaon.
As of today, the Jewish year is 5785. That means: 6000 − 5785 = 215 years remain in the pre-Messianic era.
Kohelet Chapter 3: The 28 “Times”
In Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) Chapter 3, King Shlomo writes: “לַכֹּל זְמָן, וְעֵת לְכָל-חֵפֶץ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם” – “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
He then lists 28 distinct “times” (עֵת) — 14 contrasting pairs:
1.עֵת לָלֶדֶת – A time to be born/עֵת לָמוּת – A time to die 2. עֵת לָטַעַת – A time to plant/עֵת לַעֲקוֹר נָטוּעַ – A time to uproot what is planted 3. עֵת לַהֲרוֹג – A time to kill/עֵת לִרְפוֹא – A time to heal 4. עֵת לִפְרוֹץ – A time to break down/עֵת לִבְנוֹת – A time to build up 5. עֵת לִבְכּוֹת – A time to weep/עֵת לִשְׂחוֹק – A time to laugh 6. עֵת לִסְפּוֹד – A time to mourn/עֵת לִרְקוֹד – A time to dance 7. עֵת לְהַשְׁלִיךְ אֲבָנִים – A time to cast away stones/עֵת לִכְנוֹס אֲבָנִים – A time to gather stones 8. עֵת לַחֲבוֹק – A time to embrace/עֵת לִרְחוֹק מֵחַבֵּק – A time to refrain from embracing 9. עֵת לְבַקֵּשׁ – A time to seek/עֵת לְאַבֵּד – A time to lose 10. עֵת לִשְׁמוֹר – A time to keep/עֵת לְהַשְׁלִיךְ – A time to cast away 11. עֵת לִקְרוֹעַ – A time to tear/עֵת לִתְפּוֹר – A time to sew 12. עֵת לַחֲשׁוֹת – A time to be silent/עֵת לְדַבֵּר – A time to speak 13. עֵת לֶאֱהֹב – A time to love/עֵת לִשְׂנוֹא – A time to hate 14. עֵת מִלְחָמָה – A time for war/עֵת שָׁלוֹם – A time for peace.
The Calculation: 6,000 Years ÷ 28 Times
We divide the total span of Jewish history (6,000 years) by the 28 “times”: 6000 ÷ 28 = 214.28571428571428 \text{ years per time} Each Kohelet “time” spans exactly 214.28571428571428 years — or 214 years and about 104.57 days.
We’re currently in year 5785. To see which time we’re in: 5785 ÷ 214.28571428571428 = 27.000000000000004. This means we’ve just finished the 27th “time” and are entering the 28th and final one.
When Exactly Does the 28th Time Begin?
Multiply: 27 × 214.28571428571428 = 5785.714285714286. So the final Kohelet “time” begins 0.714285714286 into the year 5785.
Convert that to days (using the long-term average of 365.25 days per year): 0.714285714286 × 365.25 = 260.7142857143 \text{ days}.
That means the 28th time begins on: Day 261 of the year 5785.
But Isn’t the Jewish Calendar Lunar?
Yes. The Jewish calendar is primarily lunar, based on 29.5-day months. But it is also a lunar-solar calendar, because it adds leap months (Adar II) 7 times every 19 years to stay aligned with the seasons. Over long periods, this system brings the average Jewish year very close to 365.25 days — so our calculations remain accurate over millennia. And we’re not estimating here — we know the exact start of year 5785: Rosh Hashanah 5785 = October 2, 2024 (evening).
Add 260 days, and we arrive at: June 17, 2025.
Final Result: The Final Time Begins Tomorrow
According to this model: The 28th and final Kohelet “time” — “a time for peace” — begins on June 17, 2025. Buckle up.
Signed,
K.M.
The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.
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19 Responses
And 1941 was exactly 3 cycles (84 years) ago, עת לאהוב, lines up with ….the holocaust. If somehow עת לאהוב , a time to love, refers to the holocaust (whatever the twist)… I’m not sure I’m eager for עת שלום.
JUST SAYING.
-R
My bad, I confused the structure. Not 214 cycles of 28 years, rather 28 cycles of 214 years. That means עת מלחמה started sometime around the Napoleonic wars…my bad.
-R
@Rub123 I think you misread the calculation. There are 28 cycles and each one is about 214 years. So WWI and WWII (and Holocaust) along with vietnam, cold war, persian gulf, etc would all be in עת מלחמה which kind of lines up.
As to the whole thing to begin with – I haven’t looked into this Gra so dont know about the accuracy as a whole.
I saw this calculation somewhere else attributed to the Gra. Not sure where that source is.
Rub123 you completely misunderstood this. Each cycle is not 27 years. Each cycle is 214 years. Read it again.
After all that and can’t even sign your name?? Must not even believe what you wrote.
Don’t tell me Trump will make peace with Iran tomorrow…
A lot of assumptions….. but whatever floats your boat. I used to very into this stuff until I realized it’s all shtusim
The simple understanding of the pesukim is that there are 28 different “times” but necessarily in sequence one after the other. If you are suggesting that they are indeed in sequence, then proofs from earlier changes from one eis to another and correlation to that particular eis would be needed in order to prove this theory.
um just saying this whole calculation thing has no proof! also it could very well be that mashiach will come tommorrow- hopefully! But he definitely wont come from this whole calculation some bored man made up and didn’t source or get rabanim’s signatures! this is a very nice thing some mathematician made up but i would like some proof. also in the meantime if people really want to help this war, lets say tehillim which will actually have impacts!
Ani maamin beemunah shelaima bevias hamashiach ani maamin- may we all meet in eretz yisroel soon!
Yes, it could be tomorrow! I we take out Kakameni, and Trump takes out the nuke, and tomorrow is the first day of שלומ עת !! Shavuah Tov, and best wishes!
I’m usually not into these things. Yet RM did a great job concisely explaining this and it does sound pretty cool. Would be interesting if the other parts could be extrapolated to match up the ‘עת’ with the period.
This is assuming the world 5785… What are we doing with the missing years?
Interesting.
Tally of the 28 slices
Strong matches (✓) : 12
Partial matches (≈) : 12
Weak / no match (✗) : 3
Not rated yet : 1 (the future “time for peace,” 2025-2239 CE)
So for the 27 past slices, that’s ≈ 44 % strong, 44 % partial, 11 % weak.
Kohelet’s 28 “times” (214-year blocks) • Biblical events first, later world history
Jewish years = “Anno Mundi” (AM). Gregorian ≈ AM – 3761.
Key: ✓ clear echo · ≈ some echo · ✗ little / none · — future
1. Born AM 1-214 – Creation, Adam & Chavah; first children → humanity “born”. ✓
2. Die AM 215-428 – Cain-Abel murder; early generations pass away; no mass catastrophe. ✗
3. Plant AM 429-642 – Gen 4 “men began …” (sowed idolatry); Mesopotamian field culture spreads. ≈
4. Uproot AM 643-857 – Moral decline foretells Flood, but no great upheaval yet. ✗
5. Kill AM 858-1071 – “Earth filled with violence” (Gen 6:11); endemic city-state wars in Sumer. ≈
6. Heal AM 1072-1285 – No major biblical event; Old-Kingdom stability, early medicine in Egypt. ✗
7. Break-down AM 1286-1500 – Flood year 1656 destroys world order; start of 4.2 k-yr climate shock. ✓
8. Build-up AM 1501-1714 – Post-Flood repopulation; Tower of Bavel 1996; Avraham 1948; cities rebound. ✓
9. Weep AM 1715-1928 – Destruction of Sodom (≈ 2048); regional famines; Bronze-Age distress. ≈
10. Laugh AM 1929-2142 – Birth of Yitzchak 2048 (“laughter”); Middle-Bronze prosperity on Crete. ≈
11. Mourn AM 2143-2357 – Jacob’s clan enters Egyptian servitude 2238; Hyksos turmoil. ✓
12. Dance AM 2358-2571 – Exodus 2448, Song at the Sea, entry to Canaan 2488 → national celebration. ✓
13. Cast-away AM 2572-2785 – Conquest/Judges smash idolatrous altars; Late-Bronze cities razed. ✓
14. Gather AM 2786-3000 – David unites tribes; Shlomo builds 1st Temple 2928; regional state-building. ✓
15. Embrace AM 3001-3214 – Relative peace under early monarchs; Assyrian-Phoenician exchange (Axial Age). ≈
16. Refrain AM 3215-3428 – 1st Temple destroyed 3338; exile begins; Persian policy of limited autonomy. ✓
17. Seek AM 3429-3642 – Prophecy wanes; Maccabean quest 3591; Hellenistic scientific exploration. ≈
18. Lose AM 3643-3857 – 2nd Temple destroyed 3828; Jewish sovereignty lost; Roman-Jewish wars. ✓
19. Keep AM 3858-4071 – Mishnah redacted ≈ 3960; codifying & “keeping” law during Pax Romana. ≈
20. Cast-away AM 4072-4285 – Western-Rome falls 4111; far-flung Jewish diaspora spreads further. ≈
21. Tear AM 4286-4500 – Early Islamic conquests (capture J’lem ≈ 4392) shred old borders & powers. ✓
22. Sew AM 4501-4714 – Geonic era “stitches” global Torah centers; Islamic Golden-Age translations. ≈
23. Silent AM 4715-4928 – Early-medieval Europe’s “quiet centuries”; sparse Jewish sources. ≈
24. Speak AM 4929-5142 – Rashi, Rambam, scholastic universities, Mongol mail → knowledge explosion. ✓
25. Love AM 5143-5357 – Renaissance & Safed mysticism (kabbalat ‘ol ahavah); but also Spain 1492 exile. ≈
26. Hate AM 5358-5571 – Thirty-Years War, Chmelnitski massacres 5408, global colon-imperial brutality. ✓
27. War AM 5572-5785 – Napoleonic, WW I & II, Cold & proxy wars, terror era. ✓
28. Peace AM 5786-6000 – **Future TBD (2025-2239 CE).** —
**Tally for the 27 completed slices**
• **Strong ✓ 13** • **Partial ≈ 11** • **Weak ✗ 3** • **Future — 1**
≈ 48 % strong echoes, 41 % partial, 11 % weak. As always, the matches are interpretive—but it’s striking how many eras *can* be read through Kohelet’s poetic lens.
JEROME:
You accused a fellow Jew of not believing what he wrote – despite the simple facts inherent therein, which you are welcome to take to your LOR – because he didn’t sign his name. Yet, your accusation also did not come with a signed name. So, I guess you, too, must not believe in your accusation of him.
Counting from Thursday 1 Tishrei \Oct. 3, the 261st day is Friday 24 Sivan \ June 20.
Are you calculating Hebrew years but then using the 365 days in the year calculate the percentage? There arent 365 days in the lunar calendar year. Your math is off.
Besides, chazal heavily advise against trying to calculate HKB”H’s schedule.