Study Sanhedrin folio 99A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
And that is the background for the following exchange, as a certain heretic said to R' Abbahu: When will the Messiah come? R' Abbahu said to him: He will come when the darkness will enshroud these people, i.e., you. The heretic said to him: Are you cursing me for no reason? R' Abbahu said to him
§ It is taught in a baraita: R' Eliezer says: The messianic era will be 40 years long, as it is stated: “40 years will I strive with the generation” (Psalms 95:10). The 40 years of strife with the non-Jews will be followed by the glory days of the Messiah. R' Elazar ben Azarya says: The messianic e
R' Yehuda HaNasi says: The messianic era will last 3 generations, as it is stated: “May they fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout the generations [dor dorim]” (Psalms 72:5). Dor is singular and dorim is plural, for a total of 3 generations. R' Hillel says: There is no Messiah com
Rav Yosef says: May the Master forgive R' Hillel for stating matters with no basis. With regard to Hezekiah, when was his reign? It was during the First Temple period. Whereas Zechariah ben Berechiah, the prophet, prophesied during the Second Temple period and said: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zio
It is taught in another baraita: R' Eliezer says: The messianic era will be 40 years long. It is written here with regard to the 40-year sojourn of the children of Israel in the wilderness: “And He afflicted you, and suffered you to hunger and fed you with manna” (Deuteronomy 8:3); and it is written