From Hadesh Vol. 1, Issue No. 3
By: Ariel Yaari
In the last century or so, we have seen a stark rise in Messianism. By “Messianism” I do not mean the belief that the Messiah will come to redeem us– that is a fundamental tenet of our religion. I rather refer to the frenzy which takes hold among various groups every few hundred years. Despite the Talmud’s various warnings to not anticipate the end, people look for every sign that foretells of his impending arrival. From antisemitism to children disrespecting their parents, for many the Messianic Age is imminent. Is it not only fair that after so many years of exile that our suffering should finally come to an end?
While I appreciate the enthusiasm and the genuine belief these people hold, I find this mentality extremely dangerous. This attitude has been manipulated by unworthy men in ages past to prop themselves up as saviors, from Bar Koziva1 to Shabbetai Tzvi. It has ended in disaster every single time. In the cases of both of the above, we still feel the ramifications of these false Messiahs today. It can even sweep up the most righteous in its wake.2
Possible objections to this feverishness are oftentimes dismissed by the Rambam’s Twelfth Principle of Faith, where people will quote the Ani Maamin poem which says the following:
“I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah and although he might tarry, nonetheless I await his arrival every day.”
The Rambam himself says that we should be expectant of the Messiah’s arrival! What I am calling a “frenzy” is merely what believing Jews feel to be imperative upon them as we draw closer to the Messianic age. Isn’t that a positive?
The problem is the Rambam does not say that. The Ani Maamin poem quoted by so many is actually a poem written long after his death by an anonymous author.3
It is a summary of the Thirteen Principles of Faith that divests a lot of the theological nuance of the original text. I think it is imperative when dealing with such a sensitive subject to go back and look at the source material directly.
At the end of his introduction to the tenth chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin, the Rambam writes:
“The Twelfth Principle [regards] the Messianic era, this means to believe that [the Messiah] will come and not delay, “If it tarries, await it.4” You should not set a fixed time [for his arrival] nor should various verses be sought to extrapolate the time of his arrival from them (emphasis my own). The Sages say “Accursed are the minds of those who calculate the end times…5”
In his Epistle to Yemen, he further continues to warn against determining the arrival of the Messianic age. He says that many people were confused about the initial redemption from Egypt and that mistakes were made even there,6 where G-d had told us definitively the amount of time we would be enslaved, and that for a redemption where the Tanakh never tells us outright the time it will begin, shouldn’t we be all the more cautious when discussing it?7 8
These entries are a far cry from the ecstatic apocalypticism forwarded by some. It contains an incredible foresight that has only been reproduced by the greatest of our Sages. The Rambam, living in a time of turmoil and false Messiahs, saw it necessary to clearly elaborate the necessity of the steadfast faith in G-d’s eventual salvation and not overwhelm ourselves with fanciful visions of the future.
There can be no doubt that we live in extraordinary times, as everything around us testifies. The Jewish People stands at a precipice and whether or not we will implement our national prerogative has yet to be seen and extraordinary times come with both extraordinary opportunities and extraordinary dangers.
The Messianic impulse is one that derives from excitement. Excitement for a new world built on justice, where the Jewish people will no longer suffer deprivation and oppression. Where there will be relative peace and stability, and we can live securely in our homeland.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Contemporary Messianic movements can be found all over the Jewish world from certain sections of Chabad to the enclaves of the Hilltop Youth. What underlies them all is a fiery devotion to achieving perceived redemptive goals by any means necessary. They have all created false Messiahs for themselves, ideals of immediate action punctuated by revolutionary zeal through which the Jews may fulfill their destiny.
Other Messianisms manifest through those who advocate for “a single mitzvah to tip the scale.” One more laying of Tefillin, one more Shabbos candle lit, one more verse read. A call for spiritual action and physical inaction. The Messiah will come because of our good deeds and not due to political maneuvering or social change. Let Tel Aviv be Tel Aviv, Jerusalem is where the Beit HaMikdash will descend after all.
The reason why both of these groups are so effective is because there exists truth in their attitudes. The current situation is not okay and must be changed and observance of the Torah and wider acceptance of its precepts is important. However, these things must not be advocated for because of some distant hope of future redemption. Changes in certain areas of the political structure and observance of our ancestral law are a return to who we are as Jews, as opposed to some mimicry self-imposed by our sycophantic obsession with being anything but Jews.
I do not want Tel Aviv to remain Tel Aviv as it is. My dream is for the ideas recorded in this journal to be discussed in its cafes and for our brothers to join us side by side. This is not achieved through heavenly fire or through passive optimism. It is built through patience and prudence.9 Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither will Jerusalem be rebuilt in a day.
One of the leaders of the anti-Bar Kochba faction of the sages was Rabbi Yohanan ben Torta. When Rabbi Akiva started heaping praise on Bar Kochba, lauding him as the long-awaited Messiah, Yohanan ben Torta rejoined, “Akiva! Grass will grow from your cheeks and still the son of David will not have arrived!”10
Interestingly enough, this is the only recorded teaching we have from Yohanan ben Torta. Besides a perplexing Midrash alleging that his cow kept Shabbat,11 there is no other mention of his name throughout the vast Oral Tradition.
This begs the question, why did the Hakhamim decide to record this specific teaching of his? They did not arbitrarily decide what to include and what not to, this was a conscious decision.
The reason is because Yohanan ben Torta was right. Rabbi Akiva, the greatest of the sages, whose work comprises the backbone of the Mishnah and Talmud, allowed himself to be engulfed by the zealous flame of redemption and it led to disaster, the further ethnic cleansing of Jews of the Land of Israel, the destruction of the Galilee, and a long process of ecological decline from which Israel has still not recovered.
I want redemption. I want to welcome Mashiach to the gates of Jerusalem the day he appears, but that should not distract us from the mission we have upon ourselves.
Let us await the Messiah, and let us do it while building a state worthy of him.
Commonly known by his moniker “Bar Kochba”, his real name was Shimon bar Kosiba. I have gone with the nickname the Sages gave him after his failed revolt “Bar Koziva” or “Son of falsehood”.
Even the greatest of our Sages, Rabbi Akiva, was convinced that Bar Kochba was Mashiach.
The Ani Maamin poem first appeared in Siddurim during the late 16th century. For more see, https://www.hamichlol.org.il/אני_מאמין
Habakkuk 2:3
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97b
The Rambam says that there was confusion among the Israelites as to when the 400 years of servitude began. Some thought it was the time of G-d’s prophecy to Abraham while others thought it started from Jacob’s descent into Egypt. In reality, it began when Isaac was born.
See the third part of the Epistle to Yemen.
One of the interesting ironies here, is while warning against it, the Rambam also participates in it, contradicting himself in true Maimonidean fashion. For example, in the beginning of the Epistle to Yemen, he writes the following regarding forced conversions and the tribulations of the Jewish people: “There is no doubt that these are the birth pangs of the Messianic age that the Sages beseeched G-d to never experience.”
Prudence is often used in modern English as cautiousness bordering on cowardice. This is not my meaning here. It is the quality of knowing when and how to act. For example, if a general attacks his enemy because he sees a weakness that others do not, that is prudent.
Talmud of the Land of Israel, Ta’anit 68d.
Pesikta Rabbati 14