Moshiach (Messiah) lit. "annointed one". The final redeemer of the Jewish people from exile. Prophesied in Tanach, he will be a righteous human king descended patrilineally from King David. Identity still unknown, check back later.

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238 views

Will Tisha B'Av be pushed off in the future?

We have a tradition that Tisha B'Av will become a holiday in the time of Moshiach. Will that holiday also be nidcheh if it comes out on Shabbos?
14
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8answers
371 views

How do I get myself to yearn for moshiach if I'm comfortable in the diaspora?

Intellectually I know that we're supposed to yearn for the coming of the mashiach and the in-gathering in Eretz Yisrael. I know that one of the Rambam's 13 principles calls for this. We pray for ...
14
votes
1answer
229 views

Who is Moshiach?

How do I know that someone is Moshiach? Will I just know? Are there requirements? If someone tells me that he is the Moshiach, is he to be believed. It would seem seem strange to say so.
14
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1answer
196 views

Can you learn from seforim written by someone who believed in Shabbetai Tzvi?

During the times of false messiah Shabbetai Tzvi, and for several decades afterwards, many well established rabbanim [1] believed him to be Moshiach. Some even maintained this belief after his ...
12
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4answers
1k views

Why don't Jews sacrifice animals anymore?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Jews do not currently sacrifice animals like ancestors long ago. Why do Jews not currently sacrifice animals? Will there be a time when sacrificing returns once again? How ...
12
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3answers
479 views

What percentage of Chabad still believes the Rebbe is the Messiah?

Are there any statistics as to what percentage of Chabad still believes the Rebbe is the Messiah? Is it the majority or simply a very vocal minority? Have there been any serious studies made on the ...
11
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4answers
200 views

Pesach Sheni when Moshiach has just come

Suppose Moshiach arrives between Pesach and Pesach Sheni - would we bring a Korban Pesach on Pesach Sheni as we did not bring one for Pesach or was there no Chiyuv in the first place and we would not ...
11
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1answer
166 views

Insurance against משיח

According to this rather amusing blog post, there is apparently a common clause in rental contracts in Jerusalem, called the Messiah clause, in which, when a landlord outside of Israel rents out a ...
10
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3answers
133 views

the tangled web of prophecy

The sages removed the inclination for idol worship (gemarah in Yoma) and subsequently prophecy ceased. It is postulated that the two are interconnected. Meaning that in order to maintain free will if ...
7
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1answer
293 views

Who is Moshiach Ben Joseph and what does/did he do?

I am asking this as someone who has never heard of Moshiach Ben Joseph. I would appreciate detailed answers, or maybe links to places that explain it. I have been interested in Judaism for a long ...
7
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3answers
222 views

How does laughing confuse the Satan?

Sefardim have a practice (custom?) to laugh during habdalah. When I asked the reason for this practice I was told that it was "to confound the satan". I assume it has something to do with ...
7
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1answer
65 views

Source for shuls flying in yemos hamoshiach?

My son mentioned to me that he learned in school that when Moshiach comes all the shuls (and schools?) will miraculously fly to Eretz Yisroel. What is the source of this idea?
7
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2answers
113 views

Yearning for Moshiach while the Temples stood

Did we (the Jewish people) yearn for the complete Redemption (with the Techias HaMasim, etc) like we do today, at the time the either Temple was standing? It can't be that we just assumed "This is ...
6
votes
5answers
280 views

What are some practical things we can do to bring Moshiach?

I am looking for the best and most practical suggestion as to what any average person can implement on a daily basis to help bring Moshiach. This could be either a positive action or refraining from a ...
6
votes
2answers
228 views

Erev Rav and Modern Israeli Leaders

I saw in a response to an article on Israelnn.com the following: "the Erev Rav, that conned us with their sincerity in converting and dragged along with us @ Y'ziat Mitzraim, and we have been ...
6
votes
2answers
274 views

Will the king messiah be a prophet?

By the phrase "king messiah," I am referring to the individual who is expected to come and restore the kingdom of David. (For example, the exact individual that Rambam writes about in this portion of ...
6
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3answers
163 views

electronic Olam Haba

When Moshisch comes (Biezras Hashem) will there be technology like, computers, cars, electricity, etc?
6
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3answers
101 views

Ya'akov's brief amnesia

In Parashas Vayechi, Ya'akov calls for his sons to gather so that he can tell them about what shall befall them at the end of days. Gen. 49:1. He never gets to that, however, because, according to ...
6
votes
3answers
297 views

Rambam, Mashiach, and Olam Haba

Could somebody explain to me briefly what the Rambam's opinion is about the sequence of events with Olam HaBa, the Mashiach and Techiyat haMeitim? It seems that he's saying that when a person dies ...
6
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4answers
155 views

What defines a “Jewish State” according to Rav Kook?

This question is only According to the opinion of R' Kook, who says that modern day Israel "would be considered the quasi-Kingdom of Israel". What component of the modern-day state would give it ...
6
votes
1answer
154 views

(Why) is the construction of the 3rd Temple necessary to restore peace in the world?

Is it essential to build the 3rd Temple to restore peace in the world? If so, why? And why can only the Messiah do this? And how should this goal be achieved in a way that keeps everyone happy?
6
votes
1answer
143 views

Mamzer Question on Kiddushin 72b

The gemarah in Yevamos (78b) says "mamzer eino chai" (A mamzer [who is not known, look later in the daf] doesn't live [for more that 12 months] so not to proliferate mamzeirim). However, the Gemarah ...
5
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3answers
157 views

Cities of Refuge when Moshiach comes?

Why do we need Cities of Refuge when Moshiach comes if at that time there will be no more death?
5
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2answers
130 views

Navi will be annulled when Moshiach comes?

The Talmud Yerushalmi (Meggilah 1:5) says that the Neviim and the Kesubim will be annulled in the future. The Rambam (Hilchos Meggilah 2:18) that it is talking about the days of Moshiach. What does ...
5
votes
3answers
262 views

Why a human Messiah?

I understand that Mashiach is going to be a human. What is the source for this, and are there any explanations why it must be so? Can't G-d Himself redeem us?
5
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2answers
237 views

Destruction of the world after 1000 years of Moshiach?

I have read somewhere that after the 1000 year reign of Moshiach, there will be a destruction of this Olam Hazeh (pls. help me out, there's a word for it starting with a chet), before we go to Olam ...
5
votes
2answers
108 views

Did Shlomo Molcho actually declare himself a messiah?

I know this is widely claimed, but is there a historical source that can confirm that Shlomo Molcho considered himself a messiah (as opposed to merely predicting a keitz and generating a messianic ...
5
votes
2answers
215 views

Is there a source that the Messiah can die and return?

Is there a source in Judaism that indicates that Moshiach (Ben David, not Ben Yosef) will die before having fulfilled his role and then return to posthumously achieve it?
5
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1answer
115 views

Yom Tov Sheni after Moshiach

Will there be a Yom Tov Sheni after Moshiach comes?
5
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1answer
80 views

Source for bechorot losing/reclaiming priesthood

At a parshat hashavua shiur that I regularly attend, the rabbi has stated on multiple occasions that the bechorot (firstborn sons of Israel) were supposed to serve the purpose that the Leviim and ...
4
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3answers
219 views

Will marriages continue when mashiach comes?

If you are married to a girl and mashaich comes, wil you be married to her in the world to come or you start all over?!?
4
votes
3answers
200 views

Does the State of Israel fulfill the coming of the Messiah?

Jews believe that the Messiah has not yet come yet; we see that most of the Jews of the world have already gathered in Israel, so the exile has practically ended. They have constructed a nation of ...
4
votes
2answers
136 views

Which Moshiach are we waiting for?

The Rambam lists waiting for Moshiach as one of the 13 principles of faith. We have a tradition that there will be two Moshiachs, Ben Yosef and Ben David, which one was the Rambam referring to?
4
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2answers
607 views

Messiah ben Joseph versus Messiah ben David

Where does the Theology of Messiah ben Joseph versus Messiah ben David come from? If we are supposed to have only one Messiah, where did the idea of these two Messias come from?
4
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2answers
139 views

Will we follow Beis Shammai in times of Moshiach?

I've heard a few times that in the times of Moshiach the Halacha will follow the opinion of Beis Shammai. What is the source and reasoning for this? Is it true? We will no longer follow Beis Hillel ...
4
votes
3answers
111 views

Do a mitzva for mashiach?

I recently saw in The Moshiach Times, a popular Chabad-Lubavitch publication for children, an exhortation to "do a mitzvah for moshiach": to do a mitzva with the specific purpose of hastening the ...
4
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3answers
186 views

Source in Jewish writings for Moshiach?

What is the source in Jewish writings (Pre-Rambam) that there is a concept of a Moshiach, and his nature?
4
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1answer
78 views

seeking text of a notice published by the Malbim

Someone told the following story today (or something like the following story. I may be remembering it incorrectly to some extent). He said he had gotten it from a book called Em Habanim S'mecha, ...
4
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3answers
221 views

Is the brain the seat of the soul?

There are disturbing ideas in the Feb 21, 2011 Time magazine cover article 2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal. The article attributes to Raymond Kurzweil the prediction that within the next 25 years ...
4
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0answers
27 views

What would have happened if the sin of the spies never occurred?

If the spies had not given a bad report about Eretz Yisroel or the people had not accepted their bad report, how would history have been different? I have heard speculation that upon entering the ...
4
votes
0answers
156 views

Why ad meah v'esrim?

Why do we bless people with "ad meah v'esrim"? Aren't we supposed to believe moshiach will come by then, and there will be eternal life (according to some opinions)? Thus by giving a blessing for a ...
3
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2answers
88 views

Will prophecy return in the time of Mashiach?

Will the there be prophets in the times of Moshiach? Will everyone have some level of prophecy in the time of Mashiach? Or is prophecy gone forever?
3
votes
2answers
275 views

Are the Jews today still waiting for the Messiah to come?

Are the Jews still today waiting for the promised Messiah to come? If so, then what kind of Messiah are they expecting right now? When do they expect him to come?
3
votes
1answer
48 views

Will all Jews speak Hebrew when Mashiach comes?

This question just kind of popped into my head, so I'm not sure whether it is really a good question for this site, but I wonder if anybody has written about it. I would imagine that since when ...
3
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3answers
260 views

Understanding Shabsai Tzvi

Who was Shabsai Tzvi and why was he considered evil?
3
votes
3answers
98 views

Will there be free will and a purpose to doing good in the messianic era?

I recently saw this question in the new Christianity stack exchange site, and it reminded me of a question I meant to ask as a follow-up to this question. With the assumption that evil exists so that ...
2
votes
3answers
109 views

How can we strengthen belief in the coming of Moshiach and the end of our exile?

We believe that Moshiach will come and our exile will end soon. How can we strengthen this belief? Answers supported by sources are preferred.
2
votes
3answers
312 views

Please explain the idea of the Chair of Elijah in synagogue

What is the purpose and meaning of the Chair of Elijah? I understand that (some?) synagogues have a chair called the Chair of Elijah. Does this mean that it is a special chair that is set aside for ...
2
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4answers
472 views

Teachings of Chabad (Lubavitch) - controversial or not?

I have been reading about Chabad Lubavitch and, since I have started to be in contact with a local group, I am in doubt about the Chabad messianism (belief of some adherents about the last Rebbe). ...
1
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1answer
77 views

Was Shlomo Molcho a great kabbalist or a false messiah?

History records that a Portuguese Marano, Diego Peres (born 1500), after being spurned by Jewish adventurist David Reuveni, circumcised himself, changed his name to Shlomo Molcho, and went on a ...

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