Editing 50,000 Jubilees (section)

=== In Kabbalah ===
It states in the Gemara: "Rav Ketina said: The world will exist for six thousand years and be destroyed for one, as it says 'And Hashem alone will be exalted on that day.'" This means that the duration of the world's existence is divided into six thousand years followed by the seventh millennium, "one of destruction" - like the cycle of the six days of creation followed by the Sabbath day, and like the six years of work followed by the Shemittah year.

Based on this foundation, it is explained in Kabbalah that this cycle - of "the world existing for six thousand years and one of destruction" - is the second Shemittah, and before it there was another Shemittah (about which it is said "Hakadosh Baruch Hu builds worlds and destroys them"). According to this, the later Kabbalists established that there would be five additional Shemittot, for a total of seven Shemittot - corresponding to the seven middot (attributes). In other places, it is brought that according to this calculation of seven Shemittot followed by a Jubilee, there will be 50,000 such cycles (50,000 Jubilees).

The Arizal disagrees with the opinion of these Kabbalists, and says that there are no other physical Shemittot like ours.