Growing up in North West London, I was extremely fortunate to have been part of a very special community – the Bridge Lane Beth Hamidrash – whose members spanned a broad range of backgrounds and levels of observance. One custom which falls to mind at this time of year was the annual “Mashiach Feast” which was held, with the encouragement of Chabad members, on the eighth day of Pesach. The custom, which traces back to the Baal Shem Tov, is connected to the Messianic theme of the Haftarah of the final day, which is understood to convey a thematic link between the redemption from Egypt and the final awaited Redemption.
While two decades of 7-day Pesachs in Jerusalem may have weakened memories of this custom, the global upheaval to our lives and religious practices caused by the Coronavirus pandemic has led to whispers of Messianic machinations and preparations well beyond the usual confines of Chabad houses and farbrengens. I will therefore mention some brief ideas on the subject that are touched upon in Judaism Reclaimed.
The chapter of Judaism Reclaimed which addresses the Messianic era examines it in the context of the desirability of miracles and their role within Judaism. We note that while for Ramban and Rabbi Yehudah Halevi miracles, and the Divine experience they entail, represent the pinnacle of religious aspiration, this is firmly rejected by thinkers such as Rambam who idealise an intellectual relationship with God through the divinely-ordained natural order. This dichotomy is played out in their contrasting approaches to the Messianic era. While for Ramban the Messianic era is a setting in which God’s wonders need no longer be concealed, Rambam strongly endorses the position of the Talmudic sage Shmuel that “there is no difference between today’s world and the days of Mashiach except for [freedom from] oppression of the nations”. After all, why would God choose to perform miracles which serve to conceal rather than reveal the great wisdom inherent in his Creation?
What might such a Messianic era look like within Rambam’s worldview and what benefits could it be expected to yield?
I recently heard a fascinating idea on a YouTube lecture (on Isaiah chap. 2 about 30 mins in) from Rabbi Tovia Singer. R’ Singer highlights the fact that the term “Mashiach” is never used in the biblical texts in the context of the Messianic era. This is not just a linguistic observation but reflects a far more fundamental point: the biblical texts focus primarily on the societal utopia of the “Acharit Hayamim” (End of Days), with the Messianic King relegated to a facilitatory role. This got me wondering how much of our own Messianic conceptions might have been infiltrated by teachings of Christianity’s Messiah with their almost-exclusive focus on the role of their ‘Saviour’. From reading the conclusion of Rambam’s Hilchot Melachim, the message is clear:
The Sages and the prophets did not yearn for the Messianic era in order to have dominion over the entire world, to rule over the gentiles, to be exalted by the nations, or to eat, drink, and celebrate. Rather, they desired to be free to involve themselves in Torah and wisdom without any pressures or disturbances, so that they would merit the world to come... In that era, there will be neither famine or war, envy or competition, for good will flow in abundance and all the delights will be freely available as dust. The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know God. Therefore, the Jews will be great sages and know the hidden matters, grasping the knowledge of their Creator according to the full extent of human potential, as Isaiah states: "The world will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the ocean bed”.
By the time we reach Moreh Nevuchim (3:11), the message is even more pronounced with the Messianic king not even gaining a single mention:
For through awareness of the truth, enmity and hatred are removed and the inflicting of harm by people on one another is abolished. It [Tanach] holds out this promise, saying “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb…”. Then it gives the reason for this, saying that the cause of the abolition of these enmities, these discords and these tyrannies, will be humanity’s knowledge of God…
The primary and perhaps exclusive causes of warfare and misery are obsession with and competition over material possessions, power and pride. Once humanity is taught or becomes aware of this folly, its energies and capabilities will be channelled towards achieving universal happiness, thus “they will beat their swords into ploughshares…” and “your sons and daughters will prophesy”.
While we may at times look at the world and despair of such a destiny ever being achieved, Jewish tradition teaches that we must always be anticipating and working towards the fulfilment of these biblical promises. On this note, my wife Rivka Phillips pointed out how humanity’s predicament over the past year or so – which saw huge number of people under total lockdown and jobs, travel, schools, leisure and sports brought to a total standstill – would have been totally unthinkable only a few months before. Yet when we look back we can appreciate how all of this occurred in a perfectly rational and natural manner. So too we must maintain our firm belief – even within Rambam’s more naturalistic Messianic depiction – that humanity’s follies and misplaced focus can be reversed more speedily than we can ever imagine allowing us to progress towards the prophesied “world will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the ocean bed” .
First posted to Facebook 13 April 2020, here.
