A Day in the Life of Melech HaMoshiach

The world was created only for Moshiach.

—Talmud1

N

In this chapter we attempt to define who and what Moshiach is. It would certainly be impossible to describe the full greatness of Moshiach. To appreciate this, consider the statement of the Midrash2 that Moshiach will be greater than Avraham and greater than Moshe. We would first have to have a full understanding of the greatness of Avraham and Moshe before we could start to understand the greatness of Moshiach!

As another example, consider the following prophecy of Zechariah about Moshiach: “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.”3 In addition to its literal meaning, this is an allegory for the wisdom of Moshiach. Oil represents deep wisdom. Olives, the source of oil, represent an even greater wisdom. Olives on top of a mountain represent a higher wisdom yet. On this mountain of wisdom stand the feet of Moshiach, the wisdom of the head being so much greater.4

It is our intention then to present some of the basic fundamental characteristics of Moshiach based on which the reader will at least be able to formulate an image of Moshiach.

________

1. Sanhedrin, 98a.

2. Midrash Tanchuma, Toldos, sec. 14.

3. Zechariah 14:4.

4. Likutei Sichos 1:103.

65

The peace and perfection of the Era of Moshiach is the climax of creation. We find this goal stated at the outset, right at the beginning of the Torah. The second verse says, “The spirit of G-d hovered above the waters,” on which the Midrash comments, “This is the spirit of Melech HaMoshiach.” 5

Throughout the Torah—and especially in the books of the prophets—there are countless prophecies about the Era of Moshiach, some explicit and some allegorical. Explanation of and elaboration on these prophecies as well as further information is found in the Talmud, Midrash, Zohar and books on Kabbala, Chassidus and Halacha throughout the generations.

Rambam, the great Jewish philosopher and codifier of Jewish law, concludes his major work on Jewish law, Mishneh Torah, with two chapters discussing the laws of Moshiach—the basic definitions of Moshiach himself and the Messianic Era. Elsewhere, in his famous list of the “13 Principles of Jewish Faith,” the belief in the coming of Moshiach and the belief in the revival of the dead are the 12th and 13th on the list.

We begin with a prophecy of Isaiah which describes first Moshiach himself and then what the world will be like in the Era of Moshiach. This will be followed by selections from the last two chapters of Mishneh Torah which follow the same pattern—first describing Melech HaMoshiach (chap. 11), then the Era of Moshiach (chap. 12).6 Finally, we will draw on these sources as well as selections from the Talmud, Midrash, Kabbala and Chassidus to sketch certain prominent characteristics of Moshiach.

Isaiah Chap. 11

And a staff shall come forth from the stump of Yishai and a branch shall sprout from his roots.

And a spirit of G-d will rest upon him [Moshiach], a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and

________

1. Bereishis Rabbah 2:4.

2. It is interesting to note the following anecdote in which the Rebbe MHM himselffollowed the same pattern: when he was presented with a painting of himself—Melech HaMoshiach—by the Chassidic artist Michel, he said, “And now, Michel, I would like you to make a painting of what the world will be like in the time of Moshiach.”

power, a spirit of knowledge and fear of G-d.

And he will judge [with ease] as with his sense of smell because of his fear of G-d; neither with the sight of his eyes shall he judge, nor with the hearing of his ears shall he prove.

And he will judge the poor with justice and he will admonish with fairness the humble of the earth; and he will strike [the evil ones of] the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the speech of his lips he will put the wicked to death.

And righteousness shall be the belt of his waist and faith the belt of his loins.

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie with the young goat; and a calf and a lion and a fat ox shall lie down together and a small child shall lead them.

And the cow and even the bear shall graze, together their children will lie down; and the lion as the cattle will eat straw.

And the nursing child will amuse himself over the hole of a poisonous snake; and into the hole of a venomous snake shall a weaned child stretch his hand.

They shall do no evil nor shall they destroy throughout My holy mountain, for the land will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the ocean bed.

And the one who comes forth from the root of Yishai [Moshiach] who will stand on that day shall be for the nations as a banner carrier—the nations shall seek him; and his peace shall be an honor.

And it shall be on that day that G-d will continue to apply His hand a second time to acquire the rest of his people who will remain from Assyria and from Egypt and from Pasros and from Cush and from Elam and from Shinar and from Hamas and from the islands of the sea.

And He shall raise a banner to the nations to gather the exiles of Israel; and the dispersed of Judah He shall gather from the four corners of the earth.

And the envy of Ephraim will depart and the oppressors of Judah will no longer be; Ephraim will not envy Judah and Judah will not oppress Ephraim.

And [Judah and Ephraim] shall swoop down upon the Philistines on the west side [of the land of Israel], together they shall plunder the people of the East; upon Edom and Moav they will stretch forth their hand and the children of Amon will obey them.

And G-d will cut off the gulf of the sea of Egypt and He shall wave His hand on the [Euphrates] river with the strength of His spirit; and He shall beat it into seven streams and cause [those returning from exile] to walk with their shoes [on the dry land].

And there shall be a road from Assyria for the rest of his people who will remain, just as there was for Israel on the day they went up from the land of Egypt.7

Laws of Kings and Melech HaMoshiach

Melech HaMoshiach will arise and restore the ancient dynasty of King David to its original sovereignty. He will build the Beis HaMikdosh and gather the dispersed of Israel [to the Land of Israel]. In his time all the laws of the Torah will be restored as they were in days of old: We will bring sacrifices and observe the Sabbatical and Jubilee years in accordance with all the Mitzvos stated in the Torah.

Anyone who doesn’t believe in him or does not await his coming denies not only the prophets but also the Torah and Moshe Rabbeinu since the Torah itself gives testimony regarding Moshiach. It says, “G-d will return your exiles and will have mercy on you and gather you in.… even if your exiles are at the end of the heavens … and G-d will bring you [to the Land of Israel].” These explicit words of the Torah contain within them all the things that all the prophets said on the matter.

________

7. Yeshaya chap. 11, translated by the author of this book based on Metzudas Dovid and Metzudas Tzion, with reference also to the translations of Rabbi Nisen Mangel (Kehot Publications) and the Judaica Press.

Also in Parshas Bilam there is a prophecy about the two Moshiachs—the first Moshiach which was King David who saved the Jews from their enemies, and the later Moshiach who arises from David’s descendants who saves the Jews from the hands of the sons of Esau. In that prophecy it says, “I see him but not now”—this refers to David; “I behold him but it is not close”—this refers to Melech HaMoshiach. “A star will shoot forth from Yakov”—this is David; “And a staff will rise from Israel”—this is Melech HaMoshiach.…

Also regarding the cities of refuge the Torah says, “If G-d will expand your borders you will add on three more cities.” This has not yet happened. But G-d doesn’t give an instruction for nothing. [Thus it will happen in the future—in the time of Moshiach.]

We do not, however, have to bring proofs from the prophets [about Moshiach] since all their books are filled with this matter.

Do not think that Melech HaMoshiach is required to perform signs or wonders, bring new things into the world or revive the dead or similar things.…

If a king will arise from the House of David who teaches Torah and is occupied in the Mitzvos like David his ancestor in accordance with both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, induces all the Jews to follow the Torah and to strengthen it where it has been broken and who fights the battles of G-d he has the assumed status of being Moshiach (chezkas Moshiach). If he succeeds further, builds the Beis HaMikdosh in its place and gathers the dispersed of Israel— then he is Moshiach with a certainty (Moshiach vadai) and he will direct the entire world to serve G-d together.

Do not think that in the time of Moshiach anything of the way of the world will be cancelled or that there will be innovations in the order of nature. But rather the world will follow its natural order.… Some chachomim (Rabbis of the Talmud) say that before Moshiach comes, Eliyahu HaNavi will come. Regarding all these matters and similar matters no one knows how they will happen until they happen.… [The main thing is] to await it and to believe in the matter in general as we explained above.

The scholars and the prophets desired the Era of Moshiach … only so that they would be free to pursue the study of the Torah and its wisdom without anyone oppressing  or distracting them so that they will merit the “World to Come.”… At that time there will be no famine or war, no jealousy or rivalry since there will be abundant good and all the delicacies will be as plentiful as the dust of the earth. The only occupation of the entire world will be to know G-d. Thus the Jewish people will be great scholars and will know the hidden secrets and will attain knowledge of the Creator to the full capacity of man as the prophet says, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the ocean bed.”8

While Rambam writes that Moshiach is not required to perform wonders, this is only as a Halachic requirement i.e. the Halachic definition of Moshiach does not require him to perform wonders but, as we will see later from many sources, Moshiach will in fact have a miraculous nature. Rambam is only stating what the minimum Halachic requirements of Moshiach are. Similarly, his statement that the world will maintain its natural order applies only to the initial period of Moshiach’s coming, the so called “First Era.” Later on however, in the “Second Era,” the order of nature will certainly change as the revival of the dead will occur—a very great change in the order of nature indeed.9

As mentioned before, the belief in the coming of Moshiach and the belief in the revival of the dead are the 12th and 13th principles of faith on Rambam’s famous list of the Thirteen Principles of Faith. Similar to Rambam’s statement here that one who does not believe in Moshiach denies the whole Torah, is his statement elsewhere that one who does not believe in the revival of the dead has no part in

Judaism.10

________

1. Hilchos Melachim U’Melech HaMoshiach, chaps. 11–12, free translation by the author.

2. Dvar Malchus on Hilchos Melachim, sicha no. 3.

3. Rambam’s commentary to the first mishnah in Sanhedrin, Perek Chelek.

“The innovation of Moshiach is that through him the two concepts of ‘above’ and ‘below’ will be united.”11

The unification of opposites is a fundamental characteristic of Melech HaMoshiach which derives from his life source which is Atzmus, the essence of G-d. This is indicated by the verse in Isaiah, “And a spirit of G-d will rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and fear of G-d.”12 This verse is analyzed carefully in the writings of Chassidus where it is pointed out that even though wisdom and understanding are opposite intellectual powers (wisdom is the essential kernel of a concept, often symbolized by a fountainhead, and understanding is the broad expansion and development of a concept, symbolized by a wide river), the spirit of G-d the descends upon Moshiach will contain both of these opposites. This will enable him to unify opposing forces in the world.13

We will use this concept of the unification of opposites as the framework for our presentation of some of the primary characteristics of Moshiach stated in the works of the Talmud, Kabbala and Chassidus.14

Majesty and Modesty

Regarding Moshiach, the prophet Isaiah says,15 “Behold, my servant shall have great wisdom. He will be elevated, exalted and of very high stature.” In various sources this high exaltation is explained to mean that Moshiach will be greater than Adam, Avraham Avinu and even Moshe Rabbeinu.16

Melech HaMoshiach will be exalted, greater and more honored and more glorious than all kings who preceded him.17 His reign will

________

1. Sefer HaMa’amorim Melukat 2:297.

2. Yeshaya 11:2.

3. Sefer HaMa’amorim Melukat 2:297–98. See also chapter V, sec. 2b, “The Messianic World Order,” for a discussion of this in the wider context of Messianic phenomena.

4. It is significant to note that at a conference about the Rebbe MHM and his influence on the world held at New York University (NYU) in November 2005, one professor described him as “the embodiment of impossible contraries.”

5. Yeshaya 52:13.

6. Midrash Tanchuma, Toldos, sec. 14.

7. Likutei Sichos 6:254.

extend over the entire world and will last forever.18 His wisdom will surpass that of Shlomo HaMelech (King Solomon) and he will be a prophet of the caliber of Moshe.19 He will reveal the deepest level of the Torah—both its Halachic content and its mystical secrets.20 What we know of the wisdom of the Torah now is nothing compared to what he will reveal.21

At the same time he will be of the greatest humility concerned with the common man,22 bringing this new wisdom and knowledge down to the level where anyone can understand it. He will show that the sincere faith of the simple Jew, who is totally dedicated to Judaism, is greater even than the deep understanding of the scholars.23

The Midrash tells a story about Moshe from the time that he was a shepherd. One of the sheep ran away from the flock and Moshe left the entire flock to care for this sheep and bring it back to the flock. This trait qualified him to be the leader of the Jewish people as he would be concerned about every individual Jew.24 Similarly Moshiach will cherish every single Jew—even one who has run away from the flock.25

These two extremes of majesty and modesty are symbolized by two prophecies, one which says that Moshiach will appear on a cloud and one which says that he will appear as a poor man riding on a donkey.26

Wisdom and Prophecy

The chacham (man of wisdom) and the prophet are two distinct personalities with different characteristics and abilities. Each has an advantage over the other. Moshiach will attain the highest levels of perfection in both of these areas As Isaiah says in the prophecy quoted above, “And the spirit of G-d (prophecy) will rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding … a spirit of knowledge.…”

________

1. Bamidbar Rabbah 13:14.

2. See references in nn. 27 and 28.

3. Sefer HaSichos 5751, 566.

4. Koheles Rabbah 11:8.

5. HaYom Yom, 75.

6. HaYom Yom, 9, 56.

7. Shemos Rabbah 2:2.

8. “Sicha of Achron Shel Pesach 5743,” in Hisva’aduyos 5743, 3:1314.

9. Sefer HaSichos 5749, 109.

Rambam27 writes that Moshiach will be a chacham greater than King Solomon who was called “the wisest of all men,” and will attain a level of prophecy close to that of Moshe Rabbeinu of whom the Torah says, “There arose none like Moshe who knew G-d face to face.” The Midrash Tanchuma goes even further and indicates that Moshiach will be a greater prophet than Moshe.28

In fact, there is a close connection between these two characteristics of being greater than King Solomon and similar to Moshe, as we see from the continuation of Rambam’s statement: “therefore he will teach Torah to all Jews.” This refers to a deep level of the Torah which will be revealed by Moshiach. Now we know that the Torah has great depth. The greatest Rabbis and scholars—starting with Moshe Rabbeinu himself—have been studying it, analyzing it and delving into its depths for thousands of years. But the Torah being the wisdom of G-d has infinite depth so even the deepest analysis by the greatest chachamim for the longest time cannot reveal its full depth. Moshiach, however, will reveal in it a new dimension previously unattainable. So new will this revelation be that the Midrash (based on a verse in Isaiah) calls it Torah Chadasha—a new Torah. King Solomon refers to it at the beginning of his Song of Songs and symbolizes it by a kiss from G-d.29

To be able to accomplish this task Moshiach needs two qualities. Firstly, he needs to have the highest level of prophecy—similar to Moshe—to be able to receive this revelation from G-d, just as Moshe received the original revelation of the Torah from G-d at Mt. Sinai. But that is not yet enough. To be able to teach this new dimension of Torah to all Jews he must be able to bring it down to their level. To do this one would have to have the wisdom of King Solomon—literally. The greatness of the wisdom of Solomon consisted of his ability to take the greatest abstract concepts and, by giving one example after another, bring it down one level after another until even the common man could understand it. Moshiach, who will reveal a wisdom greater than Solomon’s, must therefore have this ability to a greater degree than even Solomon had.30

________

1. Rambam, Hilchos Teshuva, chap. 9, sec. 2.

2. Sefer HaSichos 5751, 789.

3. Shir HaShirim 1:2 and commentary of Rashi.

4. See Sefer HaSichos 5751, 566–82.

There is another aspect of King Solomon’s wisdom which is also essential to the wisdom of Moshiach. Regarding wisdom King Solomon says, “I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom over nonsense similar to the advantage of light over darkness.” The Zohar asks a strong question on this: “Does it take King Solomon, the wisest of all men, to see that wisdom is better than nonsense and light is better than darkness? Doesn’t everybody know this?” Chassidus explains that “wisdom” and “nonsense” here actually refer to two types of wisdom one which is termed “light” and the other which called “darkness.” The light derives directly from the Torah—the search from above—while the darkness is the view of reality resulting from the groping search from below—the attempt to understand the world in its own terms, i.e. scientific research. The difference between these two types of wisdom is so great that the latter is called “nonsense” relative to the former. The point that Solomon was making was that when the sciences are used to explain a matter in Torah—for example, when astronomy and mathematics are used to explain the laws of the new moon—this scientific knowledge ceases to be secular. It becomes part of Torah. The darkness is thus transformed into a great light—greater than the light derived directly from the Torah. This is the “advantage” that he is talking about. The light resulting from transformed darkness has an advantage over the light derived directly from the Torah.31

The greatness of Solomon’s wisdom was due in part to his having transformed the sciences.32 This transformation of “nonsense” into wisdom is a major part of the refinement of the world that prepares it for and actually brings about the highest revelations in the Torah by Moshiach.33 This process actually began with Joseph, who was the master over ancient Egypt and its wisdom, reached a very high level with King Solomon and will be completed by Moshiach himself.34

Thus Melech HaMoshiach will unify the concepts of  ‘above’ and ‘below’—including the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below.

Finally, the prevalence of peace in the time of Solomon (for which

________

1. Sefer HaMa’amarim Melukat 3:58–60.

2. “Sicha of Parshas Emor,” sec. 6, in Sefer HaSichos 5751, vol. 2.

3. Sefer HaSichos 5751, 2:525, n. 73.

4. Ma’amorei Admur HaEmtzai, Devorim 1:9–10.

he was named, as the prophet said, “His name will be Shlomo and I will put Shalom—peace—and tranquility on Israel in his days”35) was a sample of the peace that will prevail in the time of Moshiach. The power of his monarchy was due to the power of his wisdom by which all the nations were awed. It was a great light which dispelled the darkness of war and brought about unity just as Isaiah says in the Messianic prophecy quoted above, “They will not cause destruction

… because the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d.”36

Natural and Miraculous

Moshiach is a human being with human parents whose ancestry goes back to King David. Yet his soul is from the loftiest heights— from the essence of G-d Himself. “Moshiach, as a messenger of G-d, combines two extremes. On the one hand he is a being in and for himself, a soul in a physical body. But at the same time, being a messenger of Adam HaElyon (G-dliness), he is literally like—Him.”37 The essence of Moshiach is the same as the essence of G-d.

This essential fact about the life of Moshiach is connected with another essential fact: that he lives forever—an uninterrupted everlasting life. This fact is stated in the Talmud based on the verse in Psalms, “Life he [Moshiach] asked from You, and You granted it to him—length of days forever.”38 This is discussed extensively in the writings of Kabbala and Chassidus. The Mittler Rebbe, the second Rebbe of Chabad, in his explanation of this, contrasts Moshiach with other tzaddikim. He says that all other tzaddikim require some refinement of their bodies and therefore there has to be some sort of “passing away.” This is true even of Moshe Rabbeinu of whom the Talmud and Zohar say, “Moshe did not die,” and even regarding Dovid HaMelech (King David) of whom it is said, “Dovid Melech Yisroel Chai V’kayam”—David King of Israel is alive.

Moshiach, however, is on a much higher level. “No change or refinement takes place in his body at all. He will have a physical body similar to the bodies of all Jews of that time” which will eat, drink,

________

1. Divrei HaYamim I, 22:9.

2. See Sefer HaSichos 5751, 527–29.

3. Sefer HaSichos 5752, 1:107.

4. Psalms 21:5.

wear clothes and sit on a chair but “Moshiach will remain alive in his body together with the essence of his soul—down here just as it is above, literally. By Moshe Rabbeinu “there was no difference at all between his body and his soul … and this will hold true of Moshiach in a much higher way. Therefore … he will not need to ascend above.”39 (There is, however, a period of concealment between the time he attains the “assumed status of Moshiach” and when he attains the status of “Moshiach with a certainty.”40)

Regarding Dovid HaMelech the Mittler Rebbe writes, “His life came only from the ten sefiros … of Atzilus (the highest spiritual world), but regarding Moshiach it says ‘You granted it to him’ which means from Atzmus, the infinite.”41 When G-d is addressed in second person (“You”) it refers to Atzmus i.e. G-d Himself, His essence. A life which comes from Atzmus is above all definitions and limitations of natural life and death as we know it. As the Rebbe Rashab says, “Relative to Atzmus, life and death are equal.”42 This will be discussed at greater length later in this chapter.43

In fact Atzmus transcends all limitations. The miraculous and the natural are equal relative to Atzmus and can coexist. It follows that the life of Moshiach is completely above the laws of nature, even as he lives in the physical world. As the Maharal of Prague writes “Moshiach will be … outside of nature and the way of the world.”44 The Midrash says that G-d conceived of Moshiach even before He created the world because Moshiach is higher than the order of creation.45 Yet at the same time, as we emphasized above, he lives within nature and the physical world. Because he contains these two opposites within himself, he will eventually bring the entire world to a new world order which will be characterized by the full revelation of G-d’s infinite essence within the finite physical world,46 a world order in which the natural and the miraculous combine and function simultaneously. This is expressed by the verse, “As in the days of your exodus from Egypt, I will show you wonders.”47

________

1. Ma’amorei Admur HaEmtzai, “Drushei Chasunah,” 131, 155.

2. Bamidbar Rabbah, chap. 11, sec. 2. Likutei Sichos 9:381.

3. Ma’amorei Admur HaEmtzai, Devorim 1:214–15.

4. Sefer HaMa’amorim 5670, 100.

5. See sec. 6, “The Everlasting Life of Melech HaMoshiach.”44. Quoted in Sha’arei Geulah 2:69, n. 29.

1. Bereishis Rabbah 1:4; Or HaTorah, Miketz, 2202.

2. Sefer HaMa’amarim Melukat 3:297–98.

3. Micha 7:15. See Sefer HaMa’amarim Melukat 4:225–34.

Soul Within a Soul

While the everlasting life of Moshiach transcends that of Moshe Rabbeinu and King David, there is, however, a deep connection between them. In fact, in the writings of Kabbala and Chassidus it says that the souls of both Moshe Rabbeinu and King David will “enter into” the soul of Moshiach.48

This concept of a soul entering into another soul or one soul containing another soul, is a deep topic in Kabbala. But one of the most important facts about Moshiach is that his soul is a Neshama Klalis— a general soul which contains the souls of all Jews. This means that the soul of every Jew is a part of Moshiach and thus there is a part of Moshiach in every Jew. This technical fact has a very important practical implication: since the soul of every Jew corresponds to a unique part of the soul of Moshiach, each Jew has a unique role to play in preparing the world for the coming of Moshiach.49

________

1. Likutei Sichos 35:206, n. 6.

2. Ibid. 20:522; Sefer HaSichos 5751, 590.