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I am not asking how I will know who Moshiach is. My question is how will he know to do those things which will let me know who he is. And specifically, will he know long before his revelation that he is Moshiach (i.e. is it possible some guy is walking around for 20 years knowing that he is Moshiach but can't tell anyone yet) or will he suddenly get a nevuah to go do all those things Moshiach does so well?

As always, please source your answers.

(No, I'm not wondering if I may be Moshiach and just don't know it - I am definitively not of the Davidic line. But maybe you?)

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The Chatam Sofer in his responsa section 6:98 (collected answers) states explicitly that Moshiach will not know that he is Moshiach until the time for the redemption is at hand.

והנה בהא דביאת בן דוד , צריך אני להציע הוצעה אחת והוא, כמו שהיה משה רבינו ע"ה שהיה הגואל הראשון נזדקן שמונים שנה ולא ידע ולא הרגיש בעצמו שהוא יהיה גואל ישראל, ואפילו כשאמר לו הקב"ה לכה ואשלחך אל פרעה (שמות ג ' י') מכל מקום סירב ולא רצה לקבל על עצמו, "כן יהיה אי"ה הגואל האחרון

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    This is also what is brought from Sefer Ohr HaChamah of Rabbi Avraham Azulai to Zohar, parshat Shemot 7b quoting Rabbi Chaim Vital. hebrewbooks.org/…
    – Yaacov Deane
    Sep 2, 2016 at 16:09
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    According to what is taught by Rabbi Chaim Vital, Moshiach will become aware that he is Moshiach at the time that he merits to prophecy. This is like Moshe Rabbeinu. To emphasize, tradition teaches that the level of prophecy of Moshiach will rival, but not be as great as Moshe. Since part of the quantification of Moshe's level is how quickly he attained prophecy, it means Moshiach will attain this similar level at or slightly after the time Moshe did. Moshe achieved this when he was 80 years old.
    – Yaacov Deane
    Sep 2, 2016 at 16:16
  • Um, can you translate it in English?
    – user15055
    Apr 23, 2018 at 17:05
  • @yaacov Deane "part of the quantification of Moshe's level is how quickly he attained prophecy" Sources?
    – Orion
    Jun 14, 2018 at 19:07
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    @yaacov Deane I'm not asking for a source of when or how fast Moshe recieved prophecy. I'm wondering how you know that Mishiach being almost as great as Moshe means he attains prophecy almost as quickly as Moshe and not just that the clarity/strength of his prophecy will be almost as great.
    – Orion
    Jun 15, 2018 at 3:46
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Well seeming from the pashut pshat(some may not agree) in the Gemara Sanhedrin 98 which discusses the story of Eliyahu Hanavi and Reb Yehoshua Ben Levi ,where he asked when is Mashiach coming,and Eliyahu answered go ask him yourself and he went to Rome and asked Mashiach himself. See there for more details.

From here it seems clear that Mashiach knows who he is .

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  • but he wasn't so i dont think you can take the story too literally
    – ray
    Apr 29, 2014 at 5:33
  • I don't understand what you mean?
    – sam
    Apr 29, 2014 at 15:44
  • he wasn't the actual mashiach
    – ray
    Apr 29, 2014 at 17:31
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    @ray He could have been for that generation that didn't merit to bring him...
    – Baby Seal
    Jan 1, 2015 at 13:28
  • Beautiful answer. The Chatam Sofer's logic in my opinion seems kind of wishy-washy in the sense that it relies upon us knowing all the details of Moses' life. Yet he was one of the Lamed Vav Tzadikim which if one of them comes to a realization of their true purpose, they would never admit it. You'd think after Moses used the Shem HaMeforash to kill the Egptyian that it would have foreshadowed his purpose, or some time along the way.
    – Ultimater
    Apr 12, 2016 at 7:35
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This would probably depend on which approach one takes to how the coming of the Messiah is supposed to unfold. According to Rambam, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot 11, the process will unfold naturally, without any supernatural events. The Rambam even metions in Halacha 8 that there will be a period of time in which, based on his accomplishments, we may assume that he is the Messiah, and then if he continues that will confirm to us that he is the Messiah. All this would seem to indicate that, being that this is a completely non-supernatural process occuring, that the Messiah would be in the same position as us as to whether or not he is actually the Messiah.

However, if you take the approach of Ramban and others of a more Kabbalistic persuasion that the coming of the Messiah will be a supernaturalistic event, that the Messiah himself will preform miracles and the like and will have the qualities of a prophet, presumably he will be told prophetically that he is indeed the Messiah.

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    The Rambam also says that Moshiach will be a prophet.
    – Yishai
    Jan 1, 2015 at 16:50

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