Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Yearning for the Redemption


"I believe in perfect faith in the coming of the Moshiach and even though he may tarry, I will await his coming every day."


The coming of the Moshiach is a fundamental concept in Judaism. Somebody who denies the coming of Moshiach has no place in the World to Come. The Talmud relates to us that one of the first questions that a person is asked in Heaven is: "Tzipita la'yeshua? - Did you anticipate the Redemption?". It is not merely waiting passively for the Redemption, but anticipation, getting excited over it. King David writes of the Geula: "My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning; yea, more than watchmen for the morning." Just as a watchman stands guard and looks for any sign of the breaking of dawn, so too must we keep watch for the coming of the Redemption. Every single event must be interpreted as a sign of the coming of the Moshiach.

Being the month of Nissan, it is fitting to increase our yearning for the Moshiach. To be able to desire his coming properly, we must first learn about the whole concept of Moshiach. A fantastic resource is Moshiach.com.

Traits of the Moshaich:

He will be descended from King David:
"And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth out of his roots." -Isaiah 11:1

He will be a man of this world, an observant Jew with a fear of G-d:
"The Spirit of the L-RD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the L-RD." -Isaiah 11:2

He will ensure that All Israelites are returned to their homeland:
"And He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth." -Isaiah 11:12

He will include and attract people from all cultures and nations:
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious." -Isaiah 11:10

Once he is King, leaders of other nations will look to him for guidance; He will Ensure peace among the Nations:
"And he shall judge between the nations, and shall reprove many peoples: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." -Isaiah 2:4

Evil and tyranny will not be able to stand before his leadership:
"But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the land; and he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked." -Isaiah 11:4

He will be a messenger of peace:
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings, that announceth peace, the harbinger of good tidings, that announceth salvation; that saith unto Zion: 'Thy God reigneth!'" -Isaiah 52:7


He will then perfect the entire world to serve God together:
"For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent." -Zephaniah 3:9


In the Time of the Moshiach:

The Sanhedrin will be re-established:
"And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning; afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, the faithful city." -Isaiah 1:26

The peoples of the world will turn to the Jews for spiritual guidance:
"Thus saith the L-RD of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, shall even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that G-d is with you.'" -Zechariah 8:23

Knowledge of G-d will fill the world:
"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L-RD, as the waters cover the sea." -Isaiah 11:9

The whole world will worship the One G-d of Israel:
"And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and the L-RD alone shall be exalted in that day." -Isaiah 2:17

The ruined cities of Israel will be restored:
"And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate."- Ezekiel 16:55

The Temple will be rebuilt resuming many of the suspended Mitzvot:
Ezekiel 40-42


Nations will end up recognizing the wrongs they did to Israel:
"Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high." -Isaiah 52:13

Weapons of war will be destroyed:
"And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and use them as fuel, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years." -Ezekiel 39:9

Death will be swallowed up (i.e. cease to exist) forever:
"He will swallow up death for ever; and the L-rd G-D will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of His people will He take away from off all the earth; for the L-RD hath spoken it."- Isaiah 25:8

All of the dead will rise again:
"Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise--awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust--for Thy dew is as the dew of light, and the earth shall bring to life the shades." -Isaiah 26:19

The Jewish people will experience eternal joy and gladness:
"And the ransomed of the L-RD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." -Isaiah 51:11


In the merit of our yeaning and longing, may HaShem send His Moshiach speedily in our days, amen.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What can I say!? Amen!

Yehudi said...

Bimheirah b'Yameinu, amen!

Papa Frank said...

Now here's something that we both eagerly await.

Avi said...

Jason, I'm not getting into that but the coming of the Moshiach might but a kink in your theology.

;)

Next topic!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post, BK.
Thank you for sharing.
I am eager, I am eager.
I have a daughter waiting for me, ready to greet me.

Papa Frank said...

We will eagerly wait together then and hope it is in this year.

Anonymous said...

lol...I can sense a battle approaching...

Papa Frank said...

No battle -- for once we have found a subject that we can be in complete agreement upon although we look forward to this event for different reasons. I do believe these events to be in the future and quite literal. May it happen soon.

Avi said...

Interestingly enough, it is considered likely that the Moshiach will come in a year that ends with 8 (5768), and in a year where Pesach follows shabbat. We are told that if we observe two shabbatot properly, the Moshiach will come immediately. Pesach is refered to as Shabbat, so we have Shabbat and then Pesach Shabbat, which is the case this year. He's coming very, very soon.

Anonymous said...

I'll believe it when I see it(him rather).

Geula Girl said...

Kol HaTor chapter 1:6 says

The general purpose of Mashiach ben Yosef is in three things: uncovering the Torah's secrets, the ingathering of the exiles, and eradicating the spirit of impurity from the Land.

When the Jewish Mashiach rises to power(not come down from the clouds)and institutes Torah law and kicks out all non-Jews (except gerim toshavim)how will our xtian friends react?

Rita Loca said...

I eagerly await as well. No theological problem at all.