Who is Moshiach?
by:Rabbi Tuvia Bolton

True, there are other faiths that have also adopted the idea of Messiah, but there is a big difference between their beliefs and ours; their beliefs rarely deal with details.

I'm fairly sure that if you ask a priest of some other religion how will he recognize his Messiah, his answer will be something like that of Frank's brother in the following joke:

A young doctor began his first day at work in a large mental hospital when one demented patient walked up to him and began screaming at the top of his lungs "I am the Messiah, the L-rd has chosen me!!" Quietly another patient approached and whispered in the doctor's ear, " Don't listen to him, he's crazy, I never chose him. I chose my brother Frank!"

In Judaism Moshiach is clearly defined, and it is essential that we learn these definitions.

According to the Rambam (Maimonides), the prophesy of Bilam (Bamidbar 24: 17,18) implies that there will be two Moshiachs! King David was the first, and one of his direct descendents will be the last i.e. Moshiach ben Dovid. In other words, the Moshiach will be someone like king David.

He is more specific in the second to the last chapter of his Mishna Torah (Chapt. 11:4)

"If there arises a King from the family of David who constantly learns Torah and works in the commandments like Dovid his forefather, according to the written and oral Torah, tries to make all the Jews to be observant, strengthens the edifice of Judaism and fights the battles of G-d. Behold he is considered Moshiach (and you should follow him as Rabbi Akiva did with Bar Kocchva –as Mimonides explains in the previous law). If he succeeds in all this and builds the Holy Temple in its place and gathers the dispersed Jews, behold, this is certainly Moshiach and he will transform all mankind to serve G-d together. As it says "then I will transform the nations to call the name of G-d with a clear speech and serve Him together."

From this we can learn even more about the identity of Moshiach:

First: He will be a human being. G-d put the whole world in the hands of man and Moshiach is no exception.

Second: He will be Jewish. Jews are the only ones that really have the ability to feel and be attached to the Creator. The Jews were chosen by G-d to purify the world and to transmit this feeling, as much as possible, to the nations as well (through the 7 Noahide commandments).

Third: He will be a king. Even before he is accepted and crowned, he will demonstrate incomparable qualities of leadership and decision-making like his forefather King David.

Fourth: He will be a direct relative of King David.

Fifth: He will be a great Torah scholar. He will know ALL the Torah in all its aspects from the most simple, to the most complicated, and even to the most esoteric levels (Pshat, remez, drush, and sod). He will learn and teach Torah at every opportunity. In fact the Torah will provide him with his powers of leadership.

Sixth: He will constantly try to spread the observance of all the Holy Commandments, according to the interpretations of the Talmudic sages to all the Jews in the world.

Seventh: He will try to strengthen Judaism and the entire Jewish nation according to the definitions of the Torah

Finally: He will declare war on every idea and force that weakens or endangers the Jewish people, as Mimonades puts it "He will fight the battles of G-d".

As we mentioned in the first section, the arrival of Moshiach is in our hands. The great leaders of Judaism through the generations taught that the more genuinely we wait for Moshiach, the earlier he will arrive. It seems that G-d set up the world in a way that He is especially sensitive to our desires, prayers and good deeds for the immediate arrival of Moshiach.

That is why the Chafetz Chaim and generations of sages before and after him till this very day longed (and long) for Moshiach and even demanded him. Because they knew who they were waiting for and hoped to hasten his arrival. As we religious Jews say in our prayers (15th prayer of the Amida) three times every day. "G-d send your righteous Moshiach (Tzemach Dovid) quickly BECAUSE we await your salvation all the day"...