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Will the Messiah revive the dead bodies during the messianic age according to Judaism?

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    My understanding has been that we know little about what will happen in the Messianic Age, and even less about the Resurrection of the Dead: "All these and similar matters cannot be definitely known by man until they occur for these matters are undefined in the prophets' words and even the wise men have no established tradition regarding these matters except their own interpretation of the verses" (Mishneh Torah Melachim u-Milchamot 12:2 about the coming of the Messiah) ...
    – Tamir Evan
    Commented Jul 24, 2021 at 18:11
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    ..."Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: All the prophets prophesied only about the messianic era, but with regard to the World-to-Come 'No eye has seen it, God, aside from You, Who will do for those who await Him' (Isaiah 64:3)" (Sanhedrin 99a).
    – Tamir Evan
    Commented Jul 24, 2021 at 18:11

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According to the Rambam this is not necessarily true, see MT Melachim 11:3

One should not presume that the Messianic king must work miracles and wonders, bring about new phenomena in the world, resurrect the dead, or perform other similar deeds. This is definitely not true.

So even if resurrection of the death is a fundamental tenet of Judaism (see Maimonides' 13 principles of faith), it might come at a later time.

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  • I think the Halakhah you quote is talking about the king proving that he is the Messiah, as it goes on to say: "Proof can be brought from the fact that Rabbi Akiva, one of the greater Sages of the Mishnah, was one of the supporters of King Bar Kozibah and would describe him as the Messianic king. He and all the Sages of his generation considered him to be the Messianic king until he was killed because of sins. Once he was killed, they realized that he was not the Mashiach. The Sages did not ask him for any signs or wonders".
    – Tamir Evan
    Commented Jul 24, 2021 at 18:24
  • Yes I know. Reviving the dead is not a necessary sign of being Mashiach. It might happen post Messianic era according to the Rambam, see also here
    – mbloch
    Commented Jul 24, 2021 at 18:28
  • True, but the quote you bring proves nothing, as he might not need to resurrect the dead to prove he is the Mashiach, but still be expected to do so later on, after being confirmed. In chapter 12, Rambam makes the point that nobody really knows the details of how things will play out, and we'll only find out when they comes to pass.
    – Tamir Evan
    Commented Jul 24, 2021 at 18:43
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    The quote I quoted proves what I wrote, i.e., that according to the Rambam the Messiah will not necessarily resurrect the dead. If the Rambam felt he would necessarily do so but later, he would have written it differently.
    – mbloch
    Commented Jul 24, 2021 at 19:35

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