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Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair began: “If you seek it like silver…” (Proverbs 2:4). If you seek matters of Torah like these hidden treasures, the Holy One blessed be He will not withhold your reward. This is analogous to a person, if he loses a sela or a kilarin²²This was a valuable ornament of gold inlaid with a jewel. in his house, he will kindle several lamps, several wicks, until he finds them. The matter can be inferred a fortiori; if for these, that [enhance] the temporal life of this world, a person kindles several lamps and several wicks until he discovers them and finds them, matters of Torah, that [are essential for] life in this world and in the World to Come, do you not need to search for them like these hidden treasures? That is: “If you seek it like silver….” Rabbi Elazar said: In all my days, no one preceded me to the study hall and I did not leave a person there and exit. One time I awoke early and I found the collectors of manure and collectors of straw,²³These individuals would arise very early to collect straw and manure from public thoroughfares in order to sell them as fertilizer. They had begun their work before Rabbi Elazar had gone to the study hall. and I said: “If you seek it like silver and search for it like for hidden treasures, then you will understand fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 2:4–5). We are not even like the collectors of manure and collectors of straw. Thus we have learned that Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair used to say: Alacrity leads to cleanliness. Cleanliness leads to purity. Purity leads to sanctity. Sanctity leads to humility. Humility leads to fear of sin. Fear of sin leads to piety. Piety leads to the Divine Spirit. The Divine Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead. The resurrection of the dead leads to Elijah the prophet, of blessed memory.
Alacrity leads to cleanliness, as it is stated: “He shall complete atoning²⁴The term kapara means atonement as well as cleanliness. This verse, which is about the service of the High Priest in the Temple on Yom Kippur, indicates that it is the completion of a service, which is accomplished through alacrity, that leads to atonement, or cleanliness. for the Sanctuary” (Leviticus 16:20). Cleanliness leads to purity, as it is stated: “The priest shall atone for her and she will be purified” (Leviticus 12:8). Purity leads to sanctity, as it is stated: “He shall purify it and he shall sanctify it” (Leviticus 16:19). Sanctity leads to humility, as it is stated: “For so said the Exalted and Most High, who abides forever and whose name is holy: Exalted and holy I will dwell and I will be with the downtrodden and lowly” (Isaiah 57:15). Humility leads to fear of sin, as it is stated: “In the wake of humility is fear of the Lord…” (Proverbs 22:4). Fear of sin leads to piety, as it is stated: “Then you spoke in a vision to your pious ones” (Psalms 89:20).²⁵Some suggest that the text here should read: “The mercy [ḥesed] of the Lord is forever and ever upon those who fear Him” (Psalms 103:17), in accordance with the parallel text of the Jerusalem Talmud (Shekalim 3:3). The term ḥesed, translated in the verse as mercy, is related to the term ḥasidut, piety (see Etz Yosef). Piety leads to the Divine Spirit, as it is stated: “Then you spoke in a vision to your pious ones” (Psalms 89:20). The Divine Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead, as it is stated: “I will place My spirit in you, and you will live” (Ezekiel 37:14). The resurrection of the dead leads to Elijah the prophet, of blessed memory, as it is stated: “Behold, I am sending Elijah the prophet to you [before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord]” (Malachi 3:23).²⁶“The great and terrible day of the Lord” is understood as a reference to the resurrection of the dead. Elijah will come before the resurrection of the dead, but it is the need to perform the resurrection of the dead that leads to his coming (Etz Yosef).
Rabbi Matna said: What wisdom made as a crown on its head, humility made as a sandal on its heel. What wisdom made a crown on its head [roshah], as it is stated: “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord” (Psalms 111:10), humility made a sandal on its heel [akevah], as it is stated: “In the wake of [ekev] humility is fear of the Lord…” (Proverbs 22:4).
The resurrection of the dead is by means of Elijah the prophet, of blessed memory. That is what is written: “Then you will understand fear of the Lord, and you will find knowledge of ” (Proverbs 2:5), this is the Divine Spirit.²⁷Commentaries struggle to understand this line, which does not prove that resurrection of the dead is by means of Elijah. Some suggest that it be deleted (Etz Yosef). Others suggest that this is a proof that alacrity eventually leads to understanding via the Divine Spirit, as indicated above. This is because the verse that precedes the one cited here relates to alacrity (Midrash HaMevoar).
Rabbi Simon [said] in the name of Rabbi Ḥalafta: [This is analogous] to a royal adviser who grew prominent in the king’s palace. The king said to him: ‘Make a request; what shall I give you?’ The adviser said: If I request silver and gold, he will give them to me; gems and pearls, he will give them to me. He said: I will request the king’s daughter, and everything will be included. So too, “In Givon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; God said: Request; what shall I give you?” (I Kings 3:5). Solomon said: If I request silver, gold, gems and pearls, he will give them to me. But I will request wisdom and everything will be included. That is what is written: “Give Your servant an attentive heart” (I Kings 3:9). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Solomon, you requested wisdom and you did not request wealth and property and the lives of your enemies. By your life, wisdom is granted you, and thereby, I will give you wealth and property.’ Immediately, “Solomon awakened and behold, a dream” (I Kings 3:15). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The dream was fulfilled; a donkey brayed and he knew what it was braying, a bird tweeted and he knew what it was tweeting. Immediately, “he came to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. He sacrificed burnt offerings, he performed peace offerings, and he made a feast for all his servants” (I Kings 3:15). Rabbi Elazar said: From here it is derived that one makes a feast upon completion of the Torah. Rabbi Yudan said: It is to teach you that anyone who teaches Torah in public is privileged to have the Divine Spirit rest upon him, as so Solomon did. He taught and the Divine Spirit rested upon him and he composed three books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.

... Another explanation. “When the Lord, your God, expands your boundary…” (Deuteronomy 12:20) The Rabbis say: this is speaking of Jerusalem. Who is able to see the calm of Jerusalem when the Holy One expands it? R’ Shimon bar Nachman says: to what is this to be compared? To a country, etc. “And then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old and former years.” (Malachi 3:4) “Lo, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord, that he may turn the heart of the fathers back through the children, and the heart of the children back through their fathers-lest I come and smite the earth with utter destruction.” (Malachi 3:23-24) Behold I send My angel and he will clear the way before Me. And suddenly the Master whom you desire will come into His palace and the angel of the covenant whom you desire, behold he is coming says the Lord of Hosts. “Therefore, so said the Lord: 'I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built there,' says the Lord of Hosts. 'And a plumb line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.' Further, proclaim, saying: so said the Lord of Hosts, 'My cities shall yet spread out with prosperity, and the Lord shall yet console Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem.'” (Zechariah 1:16-17) “Be exceedingly happy, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold! Your king shall come to you. He is just and victorious; humble, and riding a donkey and a foal, the offspring of she-donkeys.” (Zechariah 9:9)

Gad, a troop shall troop upon him; but he shall troop at the end (Gen. 49:19). That is to say, the redeemer who will come at the end of days will descend from Gad, for he was one of the last to come: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord (Mal. 3:23). And Elijah descended from Gad. Hence it is said: But he shall troop in the end.

Another matter: “Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates [shelaḥayikh]” – the Holy One blessed be He is destined to transform your rejected ones [shiluḥayikh] into a pomegranate orchard in the future. What is that? This is Elijah of blessed memory, as we learned there: There was a family from Beit Tzereifa on the eastern side of the Jordan, and the people of Zion admitted it by force, and there was another that they rejected by force.¹⁵⁵The family from Beit Tzereifa was of tainted lineage and should not have been allowed to freely marry other Jews, but the leaders of that time forcefully prevented publicity of this fact. A different family was of pure lineage, but their reputation was besmirched and they became known as being of tainted lineage. In circumstances like these, Elijah will come to purify, to impurify, to reject, and to admit. Rabbi Yehuda said: To admit and not to reject. Rabbi Shimon said: [Elijah will come] to resolve disputes. The Sages say: Not to admit and not to reject, but to bring peace in the world, as it is stated: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet.… and he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children [and the heart of the children to their fathers]” (Malachi 3:23–24).

Resh Lakish said: Pinchas and Eliahu are one and the same. The Holy One of Blessing said to him: you established peace between Me and the children of Israel, so too even in the future you will establish peace between Me and them, as it is written "behold I am sending to you Elijah the prophet" (Malachi 3:23)

Our Rabbis taught: How many meals must a man eat on the Sabbath? "Three." But R. Chidka says "Four." R. Jochanan said: "Both the Rabbis and R. Chidka interpret the same passage. (Ex. 16, 25.) And Moses said. Eat it to-day; for a Sabbath is this day unto the Lord; to-day ye will not find it in the field. R. Chidka is of the opinion that the use of the word Hayom (day) [mentioned in the above passage] three times indicates three meals during the day excluding the evening meal; together with the Friday evening meal it makes four; but the Rabbis are of the opinion that the three meals include that of Friday night, hence there are but three altogether." (Fol. 118a) R. Simon b. Pazi in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi, who spoke in the name of bar Kappara, said: "He who fulfills the observation of three meals on the Sabbath, will be delivered from three evil dispensations, viz., from the pains of Messiah, from the judgment of Gehenna, and from the war of Gog and Magog. From the pains of Messiah, for it is written here (Ex. 16, 25.) Yom (day); and it is also written (Malachi 3, 23.) Behold. I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the day (Yom) of the Lord, etc.; from the judgment of hell, here is written Yom (day) and (Zephanin 1, 15.) A day of wrath is that day (Yom); of the war of Gog ana Magog, here is written (Yom) (day) and it is written (Ex. 38, 19.) On the day (Yom) of Gog's comincg."

(Gen. 43:14, cont.:) THAT HE MAY RELEASE (ShLH) TO YOU. (Mal. 3:23 [4:5]:) BEHOLD, I AM SENDING (ShLH) YOU < THE PROPHET ELIJAH BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD >.

And so He would do in the future, He would punish their guardian angels and then the kings of the nations, as it is said: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will punish the host of the high heaven on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth (Isa. 24:21). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: In this world I will send an angel to make the peoples of the world flee from you, but in the future I will lead you and I will send Elijah before you, as it is said: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord (Mal. 3:24).

... R’ Huna said: the Messiah is called by seven names, and they are – magnified, Our Righteousness, Shoot, Consoler, David, Shiloh, and Eliyahu. Magnified from where? As it says, “May his name be forever; before the sun, his name will be magnified…” (Tehillim 72:17) Our Righteousness from where? As it says, “…and this is his name that he shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness.” (Yirmiyahu 23:6) Shoot from where? As it says, “…Behold a man whose name is the Shoot…” (Zechariah 6:12) Consoler from where? As it says, “For the Lord shall console Zion…” (Yeshayahu 51:3) David from where? As it says, “…and He performs kindness to His anointed; to David and to his seed forever.” (Tehillim 18:51) Shiloh from where? As it says, “…until Shiloh comes, and to him will be a gathering of peoples.” (Bereshit 49:10) Eliyahu from where? As it says, “Lo, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord…” (Malachi 3:23)

... Teach us o teacher: toward where should one who prays orient his heart? This is what our Rabbis taught: one should orient his heart toward the place of the Holy of Holies (Berachot 4:5). R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov says: if one is praying outside of the land, he should orient his heart to the land of Israel. If one is praying within the land of Israel, he should orient his heart to Jerusalem. If one is praying in Jerusalem, he should orient his heart to the Holy Temple. If one is praying in the Holy Temple, he should orient his heart to the Holy of Holies. R’ Avin the Levi said: “our neck is like the Tower of David, built as a model (talpiyot)…” (Song of Songs 4:4) What does talpiyot mean? The hill (tel) toward which all turns (peniyot) are directed. And after all this praise, it is written “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars.” (Zechariah 11:1) And so too they said “He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) Israel said to Him: Master of the World! How long will it be like this? Did You not write in Your Torah “…the one who ignited the fire shall surely pay” (Exodus 22:5)? And You are the one who ignited the fire, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) You need to rebuild it and to console us, not at the hands of an angel but You in Your glory. The Holy One said to them: by your life, so I will do! As it says “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2) And I am the one who consoles you. From where do we learn this? From that which they read in the prophets “I, yea I am He Who consoles you…” (Isaiah 51:12)

"before his death"; Would it enter your mind that Moses blessed Israel after his death? What, then, is the intent of "before his death"? Close to his death. Similarly, (Malachi 3:23-24) "Behold, I send you Eliyah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the L-rd, and he will return the heart of fathers to sons." Would it enter your mind that Eliyahu would prophesy to Israel after the coming (of that day)? What, then, is the intent of "before the coming of the day of the L-rd"? Close to its coming.