How Should We Feel About the Coming of Moshiach?

Provided courtesy of Real Clear Daf

The Daf this week extensively explored the topic of Moshiach devoting much attention to the signs of the Moshiach’s imminent arrival and the question of a preordained “deadline” by which the Moshiach will certainly come. Naturally, this topic elicits intense scrutiny and curiosity: Are we seeing these pre-Messianic signs in our generation? Is the pre-ordained Messianic deadline to occur in our days? Have we already suffered the “birth pains” that are to precede the coming of Moshiach? And what are the characteristics of the person who will be Moshiach? These have been burning questions throughout the generations of our long exile.

Yet the Gemara is critical of people who become overly concerned with these matters. As we learned on 97b:

“A curse upon those who calculate Messianic deadlines! For since their calculated deadlines have passed, they say, ‘he will never come!’ “

The Gemara here appears to criticize the practice of predicting exactly when Moshiach will come out of concern that if those predictions do not prove accurate, people will lose faith in the coming of Moshiach.  

However on the previous amud (97a) the Gemara more broadly criticizes predicting the date of the Moshiach’s arrival:

When R’ Zeira found the Rabbis engaged in predicting when the Moshiach will come, he said to them, “I beg of you not to delay the coming of Moshiach! For we have learned that the coming of Moshiach will be just when we’re not expecting it.”

This viewpoint is codified by the Rambam (Melachim 12:2) where he indicates that one shouldn’t even spend too long studying the very teachings of Chazal that we learned this week that attempt to forecast when the Moshiach will come. Delving into these matters, states the Rambam, “lead neither to love nor fear of God.”

This seems like quite a strong statement. When was the last time you heard the Rambam telling us not to (deeply) study passages of Gemara? Why did he feel so strongly about this?

Perhaps the Rambam intends to caution us not to lose sight of the real importance of the Moshiach’s arrival: the beginning of an era in which we will be fully re-united as a people with our Creator, and a time when He will be truly recognized by all. The Rambam was worried that if we are spending our time asking whether the Moshiach will arrive on a donkey or a steed, or delving into this or that calculation of the Messianic deadline, then those issues will distort the true object that we should be yearning for: the glorification of God Almighty, finally recognized by all of mankind.

A few Gemaros we learned now light up when viewed from this perspective. For instance, on 97b the Gemara states that even though our national unworthiness has prevented the Moshiach’s coming for so long, we should still continue to yearn for him each and every day. Why? “In order to receive reward, as it says, ‘Fortunate are those who wait for Him.’ “ In light of the above, the Gemara’s intent with this explanation of “in order to receive reward” is clear: for when we yearn for Moshiach, what we are really feeling is a yearning for the glorification of God--something that is surely worthy of reward. Indeed, the quoted verse from Tehillim is referring not to the human Moshiach, but to Hashem Himself.

We can also now better understand the view of R’ Hillel that was cited on 99a. R’ Hillel there makes a shocking assertion:

“There will be no Moshiach for the Jewish people, for the years of Moshiach already occurred during the days of King Chizkiah.”

Although the Gemara there refutes R’ Hillel, it seems impossible that this sage would assert that there will be no Moshiach considering that the Prophets are replete with references to the idyllic times of the Final Redemption, and it is something we pray for three times a day in Shmoneh Esrei! However, Rashi there clarifies that all R’ Hillel means is that there won’t be a human saviour that ushers in the time of Moshiach, rather, God Himself will redeem His people. This jibes well with what we said above: really everyone agrees that the main focus is on the glorification of Hashem that will occur during the time of Moshiach.

And finally, perhaps this perspective can help us understand the conversation between King Shapur and Shmuel that was brought on 98a:

Once King Shapur said to Shmuel: “Your Messiah will come on a donkey?! That isn’t befitting: I’ll send him my finest steed!” Shmuel responds, “Even your finest steed won’t suffice: do you have a steed of a hundred colors??”

Rashi there says that this whole conversation was only in jest. But why then does our Gemara bring it at all? Perhaps to underscore the point we are making here: it’s not about the donkey the Moshiach will ride on. It’s about the the glorification of God that the Moshiach will bring about.

Whenever exactly it will be God’s will to bring the Moshiach, may he arrive soon, speedily in our days. Amen.