November 12, 2014

• Messiah from the Dead?

  Every Jew knows the idea that God would have a literal son is an absurdity to Judaism.Any reference to G-d as abba or father is figurative since mankind is his creation.

  Messiah simply means anointed one as in a king of Israel.The idea of a messianic figure in Judaism is a leader of the people,purely human and mortal. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi in the Talmud,Sanheddrin 98a,points out a contradiction. According to one verse in Isaiah,Messiah will come in his own due time while it is also written that G-d will hasten his coming (which implies before the proper time).The answer given there is,"If we are worthy Messiah will be hastened,if not,he will come at due time.
  Then Rabbi Joshua points to another contradiction.In Daniel it is written that Messiah will come"with the clouds of heaven" while Zechariah says messiah will come "as a poor man riding a donkey." R. Joshua answers this as,"If we are meritorious,he will come on the clouds of heaven (swiftly).if not,he will come like a poor man on a donkey(very slowly)." One should also consider that any messianic opinion concerning the book of Daniel is based on non binding Midrash (stories) since Daniel is not among the books of Prophets.

  How can it be appropriate to request that Redemption come swiftly,which implies ahead of due time?

  An answer to this may be found in the two aspects included in the word swiftly: 1)the plain meaning,referring simply to the time of Redemption 2)the manner of the Redemption.For Messiah can come either on the clouds of heaven or as a poor man riding on a donkey if one accepts opinion based on non binding Midrash stories. Accordingly it is still appropriate to request that Messiah come with the clouds of heaven ie swifty refers to the manner of his coming.

  Rambam's description of messiah in his Code,Laws of Kings 11:1 deals with messiah coming in a natural manner,"like a poor man riding a donkey." Then his identity needs to be verified.But if we merit,and he comes swiftly,with the clouds of heaven,ie: miraculously,there will be no need for clues or evidence that he is the true Messiah.

  Proof of the true Messiah,however,is needed when he comes slowly,like a poor man riding a donkey ie:in a natural way,leaving room for impostors. Therefore,there is a need to delineate and describe very clearly the characteristics of the true Messiah.

  This is what Rambam does in chapt.11 in his Laws of Kings. Rambam says,"And when a king of the House of David will arrive,dedicated to the study of the Torah and observance of the Mitzvot like his father David,according to the Torah Shbiksav (Written Law) and Shebal-Peh (Oral Law),and he compels all the Jewish people to walk in it and strengthen its fences,and he will fight the wars of G-d,he is assumed to be Messiah." (Note that this is not yet a certain sign of the Redemption,for this can take place in time of exile too .However Rambam continues):

  " If he did and has succeeded"(in the above matters,namely winning all the battles and impelled all the Jewish people to study and live a Torah way,we are still not sure and require the fulfillment of the two major prophesies),"and built the Holy Temple in its place and he gathers in the dispersed ones of Israel---then he is certainly the Messiah."

  Now,I'm quite sure that one of the Christian members here will jump in with Jesus is coming back,born in a natural way and coming back on the clouds as it says in THEIR book,not ours; jumping on the Talmudic bandwagon though with anything else they refer to Talmudic writings as "rabbinic nonsense" and "laws of men"

  .While there is opinion that the messiah figure can come from the dead, it is not a widely held view.In the second to the last Rashi (the foremost explainer of the scripture and the Talmud, printed in every text) in the book of Daniel, (12:12) he writes: "The Moshiach [King Messiah] will reveal himself and then be concealed.... and then revealed once more, and so it says in the Midrash on Ruth and in the poems of Rabbi Eliezer HaKalir." I can't stress the point enough of this opinion being based on Midrash and poetry.

  So it states in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b), "If the Moshiach [King Messiah] comes from the dead he will be someone like Daniel." Rashi there explains this to mean exactly what it says; Moshiach [King Messiah] can come from the dead and be Daniel or one like him.

  In fact,through history and people who either did a few things the messiah is to do or,in most cases,their self proclaimed title of messiah, there have been only three messiah sects that held the belief their messiah would return from the dead to finish doing what the messiah is supposed to do. Those three messianic sects believing this were Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BCE – 30 CE), leader of a Jewish sect who was crucified by the Romans , Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), an Ottoman Jew who claimed to be the Messiah,married a Polish prostitute and a Torah scroll,declared all Torah law void, but then converted to Islam; still has followers today in the Donmeh., and Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), the seventh Chabad Rabbi who tried to "prepare the way" for the Messiah. An unidentifiable number of his followers believe him to be the Messiah, though he himself never said this and actually scoffed at such claims which were made during his lifetime.

  Only three messiah sects out of the following.The rest realized that with death,their messianic hopes were over since none fulfilled actual prophesy fully.
  Jewish Messiah was one who would deliver the Jews from oppression and usher in an Olam Haba ("world to come") or Messianic Age.doing what was described above.

  Simon of Peraea (c. Unknown – 4 BCE), a former slave of Herod the Great who rebelled and was killed by the Romans.
  Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BCE – 30 CE), leader of a Jewish sect who was crucified by the Romans
  Athronges (c. 3 CE), a shepherd turned rebel leader.
  Menahem ben Judah (?), allegedly son of Judas of Galilee, partook in a revolt against Agrippa II before being slain by a rival Zealot leader.
  Vespasian, c. 70, according to Josephus
  Simon bar Kokhba (died c. 135), founded a short-lived Jewish state before being defeated in the Second Jewish-Roman War.
  Moses of Crete (?), who in about 440–470 persuaded the Jews of Crete to walk into the sea, as Moses had done, to return to Israel. The results were disastrous and he soon disappeared.
  Ishak ben Ya'kub Obadiah Abu 'Isa al-Isfahani (684–705), who led a revolt in Persia against the Umayyad Caliph 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.
  Yudghan (?), a disciple of Abu 'Isa who continued the faith after Isa was slain.
  Serene (?), who around 720 claimed to be the Messiah and advocated expulsion of Muslims and relaxing various rabbinic laws before being arrested; he then recanted.
  David Alroy (?), born in Kurdistan, who around 1160 agitated against the caliph before being assassinated.
  Nissim ben Abraham (?), active around 1295.
  Moses Botarel of Cisneros (?), active around 1413; claimed to be a sorcerer able to combine the names of God.
  Asher Lämmlein (?), a German near Venice who proclaimed himself a forerunner of the Messiah in 1502.
  David Reubeni (1490–1541?) and Solomon Molcho (1500–1532), messianic adventurers who traveled in Portugal, Italy and Turkey; Molcho, who was a baptized Catholic, was tried by the Inquisition, convicted of apostasy and burned at the stake.
  A mostly unknown Czech Jew from around the 1650s.
  Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), an Ottoman Jew who claimed to be the Messiah, but then converted to Islam; still has followers today in the Donmeh.
  Barukhia Russo (Osman Baba), successor of Sabbatai Zevi.
  Jacob Querido (?–1690), claimed to be the new incarnation of Sabbatai; later converted to Islam and led the Donmeh.
  Miguel Cardoso (1630–1706), another successor of Sabbatai who claimed to be the "Messiah ben Ephraim."
  Mordecai Mokia (1650–1729), "the Rebuker," another person who proclaimed himself Messiah after Sabbatai's death.
  Löbele Prossnitz (?–1750), attained some following among former followers of Sabbatai, calling himself the "Messiah ben Joseph."
  Jacob Joseph Frank (1726–1791), who claimed to be the reincarnation of King David and preached a synthesis of Christianity and Judaism.
  Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), the seventh Chabad Rabbi who tried to "prepare the way" for the Messiah. An unidentifiable number of his followers believe him to be the Messiah, though he himself never said this and actually scoffed at such claims which were made during his lifetime.
  Goel Ratzon (1951-), from Tel Aviv, claims to have supernatural healing powers and reportedly lived with 32 women who believed he was the Messiah. He also fathered 89 children, who were all given names that were variants of his own, but was arrested in 2010 on suspicions that he was abusing his "wives" and children

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