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I am wondering if the Moshiach in Judaism is supposed to be returning in the sense that it is a soul from another figure, specifically King David.
I ask because I see this pattern everywhere including Christianity and current Jewish offshoots. I was wondering if the “returning” element of the Moshiach that I see outside (and even sometimes inside) of Judaism is happening because the concept is already cooked into the true rabbinical Judaism. Does anyone know the answer or where I could get one?
According to the Arizal (cited, e.g. here), the name אדם - Adam, includes the acronym: א=אדם; ד= דוד; מ=משיח (or, speculatively perhaps מנחם=מ), representing his three gilgulim. This is understood to mean that Adam's potential role in history, upon failing by the original sin, was taken over historically by David. Upon David's failure, the role passes onto the final redeemer.
