96. Rabbi Shimon raised his hands, wept and said, Woe to he who is present at that time, and blissful is the portion of he who is present and WILL BE ABLE TO attend at that time. AND HE EXPLAINS, Woe to he who is present at that time, because when the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to visit the Gazelle WHO IS THE SHECHINAH, He will observe who is standing by Her, and all those who are with Her. He will contemplate the actions of each and every one, but no righteous person will be found, as is written, "And I looked and there was none to help" (Yeshayah 63:5). And how many troubles upon troubles will there be for Yisrael.
97. Happy is he who is present, because he who is present at that time with Faith, will merit that light of joy of the King. In relation to that time it is written, "And I will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried" (Zecharyah 13:9).
98. After these troubles have been aroused against Yisrael, all the peoples and their kings will counsel together against them, raise many bad decrees, and come upon them with one mind. There will come troubles upon troubles and the later troubles will cause the earlier ones to be forgotten. Then a pillar of fire shall be seen there, standing from above down for forty days. And all the nations of the world will see it.
99. At that time the king, Messiah, will arise to go out of the Garden of Eden from the place called the 'bird's nest' and he will become revealed in the land of Galilee. On the day that MESSIAH goes there, the whole world will tremble and all the people of the world will hide in the caves and CRACKS in the rocks and will not expect to survive. And concerning that time, it is written, "And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and in the caves of the earth, for fear of Hashem, and for the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth terribly" (Yeshayah 2:19).
100. AND HE EXPLAINS, "For fear of Hashem," is the trembling of the whole world, "and for the glory OF HIS majesty" is Messiah. ."..When He arises to shake the earth terribly..." refers to when MESSIAH will arise and be revealed in the land of Galilee, because this was the first place in the Holy Land that was destroyed BY ASHUR. Therefore, He will be revealed there before any other place, and from there He will stir wars all over the world.
101. After 40 days, the pillar will stand from the earth to the heaven before the eyes of the whole world, and Messiah will be revealed. There will arise from the East side a star that will glow with variety of colors, and seven other stars will surround that star and will war with it on all sides, three times a day up to seventy days. And all the people of the world will see.
102. And that star will do battle with them with flames of fire that will burn and sparkle in every direction, and it will smite them until it will swallow them every night; and by day, AGAIN it shall take them out where they will battle before the eyes of the whole world. And so it shall ensue, every day for seventy days! After seventy days, that star will be hidden and Messiah will be concealed for up to twelve months. Then the pillar of fire will return as originally, and in it Messiah will be concealed, and that pillar is invisible.
103. After twelve months, Messiah will be elevated within that pillar to the sky, and there he will receive the power and crown of the Kingdom. And when he descends TO THE EARTH, that pillar of fire will again appear as originally, before the eyes of the whole world. Afterwards, Messiah will appear and many nations will gather to him and he will wage wars throughout the entire world. At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, will rise with His might against all the nations of the world. Messiah will be publicly known throughout the world, and all the kings of the world will join together to do battle with Him.
104. Many of the oppressors of Yisrael will turn and join THESE NATIONS to war against the king Messiah; then will the world darken for fifteen days. Many of Yisrael will perish during this darkness. Of this it is written, "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples" (Yeshayah 60:2).
105. He opened the discussion saying: "If a bird's nest chance to be before you, and in your way, in any tree or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs, and the mother bird sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother together with the young: but you shall surely let the mother go" (Devarim 22:6). We have explained this verse and it is one of the concealed commandments of the Torah. We have in it concealed secrets of the Torah, paths and ways known to the friends in the 32 paths of the Torah.