The Beginning of the Redemption and the Three Final Hours

(2) “I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian:
They shall war with each other,
Neighbor with neighbor,
City with city
And kingdom with kingdom.akingdom…kingdom I.e., the various districts of Egypt, which in Isaiah’s time were governed by hereditary princes.

(1) Our rabbis, may their memory be blessed said... The numerical value of Gog and Magog is seventy, as they are the seventy nations [of the world].

Rabbi Ḥanina says: Anyone who states that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is forgiving [vateran] of transgressions, his life will be relinquished [yivatru]...

(8) Every Jewish man is obligated to study Torah,1This represents the second aspect of the mitzvah of Torah study; studying oneself. whether he is poor or rich,2Yoma 35b declares: "Hillel obligates the poor [in Torah study], Rabbi Eleazar ben Chersom obligates the rich."
The Talmud elaborates: Hillel would work and earn a tarp'eick [a coin of little value] daily. Half he would give to the watchman at the Hall of Study, and half he would use for his livelihood and that of his family. One day he could not find work. The watchman at the entrance did not let him enter and so he hung himself over the window to hear "the words of the living God" from Shemayah and Avtalion.
In contrast, Rabbi Eleazar ben Chersom was extremely wealthy: His father left him one thousand villages on land and one thousand ships at sea. Each day, he would take a sack of flour on his shoulders and go from city to city to study Torah...Throughout his entire life, he did not go to see them [the villages and the ships], but rather sat and studied Torah the entire day and night. whether his body is healthy and whole or afflicted by difficulties,3Bava Metzia 84b relates that Rabbi Elazar ben Shimon was afflicted by severe physical difficulties. Nevertheless, he continued to persevere in his dedication to Torah study. Indeed, Eruvin 54a counsels that Torah study will help a person with health problems recover. whether he is young4and his youthful exuberance might prevent him from concentrating on his studies; or an old man whose strength has diminished.5See Halachah 10.
Even if he is a poor man who derives his livelihood from charity and begs from door to door, even if he is a husband and [a father of] children,6At one extreme, Eruvin 22a relates: "Who will you find possessing Torah: A person who is cruel to his wife and children" - i.e., one who gives up some of the time he would spend with his family to dedicate himself to Torah study. However, even a person who does not make such an all-encompassing commitment to Torah must find time for study despite his family responsibilities. he must establish a fixed time for Torah study during the day and at night, as [Joshua 1:8] commands: "You shall think about it day and night."7There are two aspects to Torah study:a) One which requires total devotion, dedicating all of one's time and effort to Torah, because "the study of Torah has no limit." Though it is fitting for each Jew to apply himself to Torah study in this fashion, such a practice cannot be required of a person. Rather, this remains a voluntary decision to be made by a person, to quote Chapter 3, Halachah 6, "whose heart inspires him to fulfill this mitzvah in a fitting manner and to become crowned with the crown of Torah."b) The establishment of fixed times for Torah study. Regardless of the responsibilities and difficulties a person may have, he is obligated to set aside a certain portion of his day for Torah study.
On Joshua 1:8, which commands "This Torah shall not depart from your mouth" and Deuteronomy 11:14, which relates how "you will collect your grain, your wine, and your oil," implying an involvement in work and commerce.
Rabbi Yishmael explains that a person should follow "the way of the world," involving himself in work and devoting only part of his energies to Torah study. In contrast, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai exclaims: "If a person will plow in the plowing season, sow in the sowing season,...what will happen to the Torah! Rather, when the Jews do God's will, their work is performed by others."
The Talmud concludes: Many followed Rabbi Yishmael's advice and were successful. Many followed Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's advice and were not successful.
Though the complete and total dedication demanded by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is beyond the reach of all at present, the passage is useful in order to appreciate two different approaches to the obligation of Torah study:a) That of Rabbi Yishmael, who sees it as a responsibility to be considered within the context of our daily activities;b) That of Rabbi Shimon, who sees Torah study as the paramount aspect of a person's life, to which he should be devoted without considering the demands of his financial position.

Rabbi Elazar’s students asked Rabbi Elazar: What shall a person do to be spared from the pains preceding the coming of the Messiah? Rabbi Elazar said to them: They shall engage in Torah study and acts of kindness.

(8) And all living things which were upon the face of the earth decayed, as it is said, "And every living thing was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground" (Gen. 7:23), except Noah and those who were with him in the ark, as it is said, "And Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark" (ibid.), except Og, king of Bashan, who sat down on a piece of wood under the gutter of the ark. He swore to Noah and to his sons that he would be their servant for ever. What did Noah do? He bored an aperture in the ark, and he put (through it) his food daily for him, and he also was left, as it is said, "For only Og, king of Bashan, remained of the remnant of the giants" (Deut. 3:11). (The Flood was universal) except in the land of Israel, upon which the water of the Flood did not descend from heaven, but the waters were gathered together from all lands, and they entered therein, as it is said, "Son of man, say unto her, Thou art a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon, in the day of indignation" (Ezek. 22:24).

There are three matters that come only by means of diversion of attention from those matters, and these are they: The Messiah, a lost item, and a scorpion.