Chapter 11
1
In the future, King Messiah will rise and restore the reign of David to its former glory.1 He already had his previous government and will build the Temple2 and will gather together the dispersed of Israel3 and all the laws will return in their days as they were before4. Sacrifices will be offered and the seventh year will be observed (Shmita) and Fiftieth (Iovel)5 as everything mentioned in the Torah.
Anyone who does not believe in him, or who does not await his coming, not only denies the other prophets but also denies the Torah and Moses. For the Torah foretold him as it is written.6“And God your Lord will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you and then gather you, etc., if you are scattered to the ends of the earth, etc., and God will bring you back.” And these words, clearly written in the Torah, include all the things that were spoken through all the prophets.
He was even mentioned in the section about Balaam, and there he prophesied about two Messiahs.7: about the first Messiah who is David who saved the people of Israel from the hands of their oppressors and about the last Messiah who will rise from his children who will finally save the Jewish people.
It says there8"I see him, but not now" - this is David - "I observe him, but not closely"9”This is the Messiah, the king.”.
“A star will depart from Jacob10”This is David.“ ”And a governor will arise from Israel.” This is King Messiah.
“And he will destroy the remnant of Moab”—this is David, as it is written.11“And he struck Moab, and measured them with a rope.” “And he will destroy all the children of Sheth”—this is the Messiah, the king about whom it is written12"And he will rule from sea to sea.".
“And Edom shall be desolate”—this is David, as it is written.13“And Edom became David’s slave, etc.” “And it will be desolate, etc.” – this is King Messiah, as it is written14: “And the saviors will ascend on Mount Zion etc.”.
2
He also says about cities of refuge15“And if God your Lord increases your borders, etc., and you add three more cities to yourself, etc.” and this never happened, and God did not command in vain.16.However, in the words of the prophets, this needs no proof, as all the books are full of it.
3
And don't get the idea that King Messiah should perform miracles and wonders, renew things in the world, raise the dead, or anything like that; it's not like that. Rabbi Akiva was a great sage among the sages of the Mishnah, and he supported King Ben Koziva, saying that he was King Messiah.17 And all the sages of his generation thought that he was indeed the Messiah until he was put to death for his sins. Because he was put to death, they knew that he was not the Messiah, and the sages did not ask him for any miracle or wonder. The main point is this: this Torah, its laws and rules, are eternal, and nothing is added to them or taken away from them.
4
And if a king arises from the house of David and strives in Torah study and observes the mitzvot like his father David, according to both the Written and Oral Torah, and compels all the people of Israel to follow it and strengthen it, and fights God's wars, then this one may be assumed to be the Messiah. And if he did so and succeeded, and built the Temple17a Instead, he gathered the scattered people of Israel; this is surely the Messiah. And he will repair the whole world so that we may serve God together.18, as it is written19 “Then I will go to the nations with a clear language, to call all of them in the name of God and serve Him together.”.
[Censorship]
And if he did not succeed thus far or was killed, it is known that this is not the one the Torah promised, and he is like all the righteous and worthy kings of the house of David who died. And God did not raise him up except to test many, as it is written.20"And those who understand will stumble, to purge, refine, and clarify, until the appointed time, for it is yet to come.".
Daniel also prophesied about Yeshua the Nazarene, who thought he would be the Messiah and was put to death by a court, as it is written.21"The renegades of your people will rise up in an effort to establish a vision, but they will stumble." Is there a greater stumbling block than this? For all the prophets said that Messiah redeems and saves the Jewish people, gathers their dispersed, and strengthens their precepts, and yet this one caused the Jews to be destroyed by the sword, their remnant to be scattered and humiliated, and the Torah to be changed, confusing most of the world to serve a lord other than God.
But the thoughts of the Creator of the world cannot be understood by human beings, because our ways are not His ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts, and all these things of Yeshua the Nazarene and of that Ishmaeli22 Those who rose up after him are not only to prepare the way for the Messiah, and to prepare the whole world to serve God together, as it is written23“Then I will return to the nations with a clear language, to call all in the name of God and serve Him together.”.
What is this [preparation] like? The whole world has been filled with the words of Messiah and the words of the Torah and the commandments, and these things have spread to the distant islands and to many uncircumcised peoples, and they study these things and the commandments of the Torah. These say: those commandments were true, but they have expired today and no longer apply forever. And those say: there are hidden things in them, and they are not literal, and Messiah has already come and revealed their secrets.
When the true King Messiah arises and is successful and ascends, immediately everyone will return and know what lies they inherited and that their prophets and fathers misled them.24.
[End of Censorship]
Chapter 12
1
Do not imagine that in the days of Messiah anything in the nature of the world will be abolished or that there will be anything new in creation, but rather that the world will proceed as it naturally does. That which is written in Isaiah25“The wolf will live with the sheep, and the leopard will lie down with the goat” is both an example and an allegory. The explanation [of the example] is that the Jewish people will be securely settled alongside the wicked Gentiles, who are exemplified as wolves and leopards, as it is written.26"The wolf of the desert will destroy them, and the leopard persists over their cities.".
They will all return to the true faith and will not steal or destroy, but will eat what is permitted in peace alongside the Jewish people.27, as it is written28“The lion will eat straw like cattle.” And so these things concerning the Messiah are examples, and in the days of the King Messiah it will be known by all what the example was about and what was being alluded to.
2
Our wise men said29“There is nothing between this age and the days of the Messiah but bondage to kingdoms.” This is understood from the literal interpretation of the prophets’ words.30 which in the beginning of the days of Messiah will be the war of Gog and Magog31 And that before the war of Gog and Magog a prophet will arise32 to straighten the Jewish people and prepare their hearts, as it is written33: “Behold, I am sending you Elijah etc.”.
And [Messiah] does not come to defile the pure or to purify the impure, nor to invalidate those presumed to be worthy or to validate those presumed to be invalid. Rather, he comes to establish peace in the world, as it is written.34"He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children." And there are sages who say that Elijah will come before the coming of Messiah.35.
All these things and more, no one knows how they will be until they happen, since they are matters hidden in the prophets' texts. Even the sages have no tradition on these matters, but they explain them according to their understanding of the verses, and that is why they have discussions about them.36.At least there is no basis for faith in the order in which these things will occur, nor in their details. Man should never dwell on the words of the stories, nor delve into the allegories of our sages concerning these and similar matters, and should not consider them fundamental, for they do not lead to either fear or love of God.
Nor should you calculate the date [of the coming of Messiah]. Our sages said37“May the souls of those who calculate dates [for the coming of the Messiah] explode.” Rather, one must wait and have faith in the matter in general.38 as we explained.
3
In the days of King Messiah, when his reign is established and all the people of Israel are gathered to him, they will all be grouped according to their lineage with the divine inspiration that will reside upon him, as it is written:39 “And he will sit to refine and purify, etc.” And he first purifies the sons of Levi and says, “This one is of the lineage of the Kohen, and this one is of the lineage of Levi,” and he displaces those who are not of these lineages to the lineage of Israel. It is written40“And Hatirshata said to them etc. until a Kohen stands to the Urim and Thummim.”41. Here you learned that with divine inspiration, he separates the lineage of those assumed to be of that lineage and informs the [other] lineages. And he does not separate the lineage of Israel except according to its tribes, [that is] he indicates that this is tribe such and such and that, but he does not say about those assumed to be appropriate: “This is a bastard, and this is a slave,” because the law is that an [invalid] family that mingled, mingled.42.
4
Our sages and prophets did not desire the days of Messiah to rule over the whole world, nor to subjugate the Gentiles, nor to be elevated by other nations, nor to eat and drink and rejoice, but rather to be free [for the study of] Torah and its wisdom. And may they have no oppressors or troublers, so that they may be worthy of life in the World to Come, as we explain in the laws of Repentance.
5
And at that time43 There will be no hunger or war.44, no envy or rivalry45, For goodness will flow in abundance and all delights will be available like dust46. It will not be the occupation of the world, but knowing God alone. Therefore, it will be the people of Israel47 great sages48 And they will know hidden things and grasp the understanding of their Creator according to human capacity, as it is written.49“And the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the water covers the sea.”50.
1Talmud Yoma 69b
2Zevajim 45a. Here, the concept of a law that will be necessary for the time of the Third Temple is mentioned. It is concluded, then, that a Third Temple will exist in the time of the Messiah, since the Talmudic text is "A Law for the Time of the Messiah," referring to the Third Temple. See note 17a.
3Midrash Agadat Mashiach, based on Isaiah 27:13 “And it shall be in that day… and the lost will come… the displaced… on the holy mountain.”.
4Sanhedrin 51b, Rashi there.
5Torat Cohanim Vaikra 13: “In the future, the Yovel will cease and return.”.
6Deuteronomy 30:3-5
7Midrash Aggadah on Numbers 24:17
8Numbers 24:17-18
9See Shmot Rabbah 30:24
10Talmud Yerushalmi Taanit 4:5, Devarim Raba 1:20 and Targum Ionathan ben Uziel
11Shmuel 2, 8:2
12Zechariah 9:10
13Shmuel 2, 8:2
14Ovadia 1:21
15Deuteronomy 19:8-9
16Talmud Yerushalmi Macot 2:4: “In the future to come we will separate three more cities.”.
17Talmud Yerushalmi Taanit 4:5
17a Isaiah 2:2-3 speaks of the rebuilding of the Temple "in the end of days""
Isaiah 56:7 clearly states, "I will bring them to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and grain offerings will be my will on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." In other words, there will be a Temple, and offerings will be made.
18Talmud Bavli Avoda Zara 24a
19Zephaniah 3:9
20Daniel 11:35
21Daniel 11:14
22It refers to Muhammad
23Zephaniah 3:9
24Jeremiah 16:19
2511:6
26Jeremiah 5:6
27Isaiah 30:15
28Isaiah 11:7
29Talmud Berakhot 34b
30Iejezkej 38:2 and Rashi's commentary. Iejezkel 39:4.
31Talmud Avoda zara 3b
32Pirkei Mashiach
33Malachi 3:23
34Malachi 3:24
35Talmud Eiruvin 43b
36Talmud Sanhedrin 97-98
37Talmud Sanhedrin 97b
38Javakuk 2:3
39Malachi 3:3
40Ezra 2:63
41Talmud Sota 48b
42Mishnah Eduiot 8:7
43Midrash Tanjuma, end of paragraph 7
44Talmud Shabbat 63a
45Talmud Berakhot 17a
46Talmud Shabbat 30b
47The manuscripts do not mention “the people of Israel” but rather “it will be the people”
48Bamidbar Raba end of chapter 15
49Isaiah 11:9
50Zohar 1, 113b