But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
How great was the strength of Ben Koziva [a. He would intercept the stones shot by Roman catapults with one of his knees, heave them back, and thus slay ever so many Roman soldiers.
When R. He is the king Messiah. Alexandri said, R. I turned and someone touched me. However, arguably the most well-known approach to the criteria the Moshiach is required to fulfil is codified by the Rambam. The first point to make is that the Moshiach is required to descend from the House of David. Davidic lineage, like all lineage in Judaism, is established paternally, and therefore the Moshiach is required to be a direct male-to-male descendant of David.
While this general description provides some of the details of the requirements, the Rambam codifies that there are in fact two stages to belief that a particular individual is the Moshiach — 1 presumption that an individual is the Moshiach; and 2 complete confirmation thereof:. However, if he is not successful in achieving all of these things or he is killed, then it is known that this person is not the one the Torah promised and he is like all the other proper and upstanding kings of the House of David who died.
This pithy — although daunting — list is everything the Moshiach is required to achieve. However, this short list is sufficient to have excluded from contention both Jesus and Shabsai Tzvi, neither of whom achieved any of the above. Bar Kochba , however, did achieve the first two requirements, which is why the Sages of his time presumed him to be the Moshiach.
What is especially noteworthy is what the Moshiach is not required to do. Specifically, the Rambam codifies that the Moshiach is not required to perform any miracles or resurrect the dead. This is not the case for [we see that] Rabbi Akiva who was one of the greatest Sages of the Sages of the Mishna was a supporter of King Bar Kochba, and he said about him Bar Kochba that he was the Moshiach and he and all the Sages of his generation believed that he Bar Kochba was the Moshiach until he was killed for iniquities.
When he was killed, it was known that he was not the Moshiach. However, the Sages never asked him to perform a miraculous sign or wonder. In describing these times, the Rambam writes:. Further, in dealing with the many prophecies and statements of the Sages concerning specific events and indications that one is experiencing the times leading up to the Moshiach, the Rambam essentially considers the specifics to be no more than speculation:.
There are also some Sages who say that before the coming of the Moshiach King, Eliyahu will come. However, in concluding his discussion, the Rambam delivers a most surprising, yet superlatively important, point concerning the details of these times.
Despite the prominence of Moshiach in all aspects of Torah and Judaism, our ignorance of the particulars of what the Moshiach and his times will be like is of no real importance at all to us in any practical terms, and knowledge thereof does not make one a better Jew or servant of God. Similarly, one should not attempt to determine the end [of days]… rather one should [merely] look forward [to the arrival of the Moshiach] and believe in the general concept as we explained.
In fact, undue attention and focus on these issues may be exceptionally damaging and dangerous, and is viewed particularly negatively by the Sages of the Talmud. Specifically, we are told:. Besides the despair arising from the Moshiach not arriving at a date set by various people attempting to calculate the End of Days, such calculations have contributed directly to the unwarranted belief in charlatans and false Messiahs who have conveniently arisen at or near these set dates.
Home Share 8 Search. Email Facebook Twitter. Give Podcast Subscribe. Molly Boigon Molly Boigon is an investigative reporter at the Forward. J Goldberg. King David. Messiah Many Jews today believe that God will one day send a Messiah who will lead the world into an age of peace and understanding. Human beings are responsible for bringing peace to the world. Instead of praying for a Messiah, Jews should pray for a Messianic Age, which will be an age of peace.
The Messiah will be a human being descended from King David, although he will have superhuman qualities and abilities.
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