Chapter 4: Studies in Rambam, Hilchos Melachim, Ch. 11

1 1. In future time, the King Mashiach2 will arise and renew the Davidic dynasty, restoring it to its initial sovereignty. He will rebuild the [Beis Ha]Mikdash and gather in the dispersed remnant of Israel. Then, in his days, all the statutes will be reinstituted as in former times. Sacrifices will be offered and the Sabbatical and Jubilee years will be observed according to all their particulars as commanded in the Torah.

Whoever does not believe in him, or does not await his coming, denies not only [the statements of] the other prophets, but also [those of] the Torah and of Moshe, our teacher, for the Torah attests to his coming, stating:3

And the L‑rd your G‑d will bring back your captivity and have compassion upon you. He will return and gather you [from among all the nations].... Even if your dispersed ones are in the furthest reaches of the heavens, [from there will G‑d gather you in].... G‑d will bring you [to the land]....

These explicit words of the Torah include all that was said [on the subject] by all the prophets.

There is also a reference [to Mashiach] in the passage concerning Bilaam, who prophesied about the two anointed [kings]: the first anointed [king],4 David, who saved Israel from her oppressors, and the final anointed [king] who will arise from among his descendants and save Israel [at the End of Days].5 The following [quoted] phrases are from that passage:6

“I see it, but not now” – This refers to David; “I perceive it, but not in the near future” – This refers to King Mashiach.

“A star shall go forth from Yaakov” – This refers to David; “and a staff shall arise in Yisrael” – This refers to King Mashiach.

“He shall crush all of Moab’s princes” – This refers to David, (as it is written,7 “He smote Moab and measured them with a line”); “he shall break down all of Seth’s descendants” – This refers to King Mashiach, (about whom it is written,8 “He will rule from sea to sea”).

“Edom will be demolished” – This refers to David, (as it is written,9 “Edom became the servants of David”); “his enemies, Seir, will be destroyed” – This refers to King Mashiach, (as it is written,10 “Saviors will ascend Mount Zion [to judge the mountain of Esau....]”).

2. Similarly, in regard to the Cities of Refuge, it is stated,11 “When G‑d will expand your borders... you shall add three more cities.” This command has never been fulfilled. [Surely,] G‑d did not give this command in vain, [and thus the intent was that it be fulfilled after the coming of Mashiach]. There is no need to cite prooftexts on the concept [of the Mashiach] from the words of the prophets, for all [their] books are filled with it.

3. One should not entertain the notion that the King Mashiach must work miracles and wonders, bring about new phenomena within the world, resurrect the dead, or perform other similar deeds. This is [definitely] not true.

[A proof can be brought from the fact that] Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest Sages of the Mishnah, was a supporter [lit., “an arms-bearer”] of King Ben Koziva, and would describe him as the King Mashiach. He and all the Sages of his generation considered him to be the King Mashiach until he was killed because of [his] sins. Once he was killed, they realized that he was not [the Mashiach]. The Sages did not ask him for any signs or wonders.

[Rather,] this is the main thrust of the matter: This Torah, with its statutes and laws, is everlasting. We may neither add to them nor detract from them.12

4. If a king will arise from the House of David, who, like David his ancestor, delves deeply into the study of the Torah and engages in the mitzvos as prescribed by the Written Law and the Oral Law; if he will compel all of Israel to walk in [the way of the Torah] and repair the breaches [in its observance]; and if he will fight the wars of G‑d; – we may, with assurance, consider him Mashiach.

If he succeeds in the above, defeats all the nations around him, builds the [Beis Ha]Mikdash on its site, and gathers in the dispersed remnant of Israel, he is definitely the Mashiach.13

He will perfect the entire world, [motivating all the nations] to serve G‑d together, as it is written,14 “For I shall then make the peoples pure of speech so that they will all call upon the Name of G‑d and serve Him with one purpose.”

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Chapter 3: Studies in the Passage on the Redemption in Tractate Sanhedrin

Halachah 1

Footnotes

Many of the teachings in this chapter may be found in context, in all their original power and fully documented detail, in: I Await His Coming Every Day: Analytical Studies by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of the Rambam’s Rulings on Mashiach and the Ultimate Redemption (prepared by Sichos In English; Kehot, N.Y., 1991).

In the original Heb., המלך המשיח (lit., “the anointed king”); i.e., the Messianic King.

Devarim 30:3-5.

In the original Heb., the word here translated “anointed [king]” is simply המשיח (lit., “the anointed one”); i.e., the Messiah. It is used interchangeably with the earlier phrase.

At this point, before being censored by medieval ecclesiastical authorities, the Rambam’s original text continued: “...and save Israel from the hands of Eisav’s descendants.” This and two other such deletions have been copied verbatim in these footnotes from the celebrated Yemenite manuscript in the hands of Chacham Yosef Kapach of Jerusalem. (See footnotes 558 and 559, below.)

Bamidbar 24:17-18.

II Shmuel 8:2.

Zechariah 9:10.

Cf. II Shmuel 8:6 and 8:14.

10.

Ovadiah 1:21.

11.

Devarim 19:8-9.

12.

At this point, the uncensored original text continued as follows: “Whoever adds to [the mitzvos] or detracts from them, or misinterprets the Torah, implying that the mitzvos are not intended to be understood literally, is surely a wicked impostor and a heretic.”

13.

The whole of the following passage was deleted from most of the editions published since the Venice edition of 1574:

“If he did not succeed to this degree or was killed, he surely is not [the redeemer] promised by the Torah. [Rather,] he should be considered to be like all the other proper and legitimate kings of the Davidic dynasty who died. G‑d caused him to arise only in order to test the multitude. As it is written (Daniel 11:35), ‘Some of the wise men will stumble, to purge, to refine and to clarify, until the appointed final time, for it is yet to come.’

[At this point the Rambam proceeds to describe the results of one historical instance of this process:] “...Can there be a greater stumbling block than [such teachings]? All the prophets spoke of Mashiach as the redeemer of Israel and their savior, who would gather their dispersed ones and strengthen their [observance of the] mitzvos. In contrast, [this innovator] caused the Jews to be slain by the sword, their remnants to be scattered and humiliated, the Torah to be altered, and the majority of the world to serve a god other than the L‑rd.

“Nevertheless, the intent of the Creator of the world is not within the power of man to comprehend, for [to paraphrase Yeshayahu 55:8] His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts, our thoughts. [Ultimately,] all the deeds of [this innovator] and that Ishmaelite who rose after him will only serve to pave the way for the coming of Mashiach and for the improvement of the entire world, [motivating the nations] to serve G‑d together, as it is written [Zephaniah 3:9], ‘For I shall then make the peoples pure of speech so that they will all call upon the Name of G‑d and serve Him with one purpose.’

“How will this come about? The entire world has already become filled with talk of [the supposed] Messiah, as well as of the Torah and the mitzvos. These matters have been spread among the furthermost islands and among many spiritually insensitive nations, who discuss these matters as well as the mitzvos of the Torah. Some of them say: ‘These commandments were true, but are not in force in the present age; they are not applicable for all time.’ Others say: ‘Implied in the commandments are hidden concepts that cannot be understood simply; the Messiah has already come and revealed them.’

“When the true Messianic king will arise and prove successful, his [position becoming] exalted and uplifted, they will all return and realize that their ancestors endowed them with a false heritage; their prophets and ancestors caused them to err.”

14.

Zephaniah 3:9.

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