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A question about the future....

Moshiach arrived. Israel is now at peace with herself, her neighbors, and the world. The Third Temple is built, and everything is humming along nicely according to Moshiach's halachic rulings, straight from The Source. All the Jews meant to be be in Israel are now there and enjoying their inherited provinces with their tribemates. King Moshiach has died, leaving his oldest and wisest son Ben Moshiach on the throne, and he's now ruling wisely.

What now?

Are we still going to be commuting to our daily jobs, only with a nice, spiritually-satisfied smile on our faces? Will we really then be a "Kingdom of Priests" with some Jews remaining worldwide to teach the rest of the world?

I realize this is a pretty broad question, and an awful lot of speculation about all the wonderful things that will eventually happen in Messianic times is in our literature, lions lying with lambs, resurrection of the dead, etc. I am looking for things from our writings that say what will be experienced by the average Yoseph in the days immediately following the Moshiach's completion of his mission and passing on, but way before the miraculous End prophecies are fulfilled.

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    Do Mitzvot? Learn Torah? Help the old/sick/poor people? The goal of Mitzvot isn't to bring Mashiach. It's to do what God said.
    – Double AA ♦
    Jun 20, 2014 at 23:27
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    Moshiach will definitely come whatever we do. We dont pray for moshiach to come that is unnecessary. We only pray he should come 'm'hayro' quickly and that is where mitvot play its part.
    – preferred
    Jun 21, 2014 at 22:50
  • Not sure where you get that king moshiach will die. I think he wont. Considering the amount of years till 6000 its not that far fetched.
    – preferred
    Jun 21, 2014 at 22:53
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    everyone will sit and learn about God and His torah and perfect Himself as the rambam says. then this study will continue in the infinite time of olam haba, but it's ok becauce it is a subject of infinite depth.
    – ray
    Jun 23, 2014 at 12:52
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    @DonielF That's before he brings the Geula. He is talking about identifying the correct Moshiach. Once he has come, done everything he is supposed to do, build the Bayis and become king, etc., the Rambam says he will die.
    – Y     e     z
    Dec 13, 2017 at 19:26

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The answer to this question depends heavily on what happens after Moshiach comes. Your question seems to be taking for granted the position of the Rambam, in which this world continues on as this world, Moshiach becomes king and starts a dynasty, and eventually dies, leaving his son as heir to the throne (see introduction to Chelek for one place).

According to the Rambam, after Moshiach has come and "done his thing," life will continue on as before, except that people will live comfortable and healthy lives, with the stresses of struggle removed, and they will live much longer, having access to herbal knowledge which will keep them healthy. (See introduction to Chelek, Hilchos Teshuva 9:2, and Iggeres Hatechiya where the Rambam makes these points.) They will then be able to perform mitzvos with more focus and dedication, and learn Torah with greater understanding. With this newer, greater achievement of Torah and mitzvos, they will go back to Olam Haba (where they had been since the time they died until they were resurrected) to experience an even higher level of reward (Iggeres HaTechiya).

In Hil. Teshuva 9:3, Rambam writes that everything except for the return of royal autonomy to the Jewish people (and presumably the tranquility that follows) will remain the same.

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  • By Iggeret HaTehia, do you mean maamar tehuyat hametim? Where is it called Iggeret HaTehiya? (There are actual questions; not rhetorical).
    – mevaqesh
    Dec 13, 2017 at 20:52
  • @mevaqesh he.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    – Y     e     z
    Dec 13, 2017 at 21:02
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Disclaimer: As I understand, this question is about the "post-Messianic" era, not the Messianic era itself.

  1. This Olam is called Olam Hatikun. Most things we do everyday, including work, marriage, kids, Mitzvot and good deeds are meant to repair what was "spiritually" broken at one point or another (you know, Adam, Flood, Golden Calf, Temple destructions etc).
  2. THe Messianic era is the days when the final Tikkunim (probably very painful) are maid to the whole humanity. His days span from the days of the world as we know it to the days we can not imagine, as Rambam describes it in Melachim-uMilchamot-Chapter-11. This is called "The Messianic age".
  3. During the last stages of this era (nobody can really tell when), the world gets out of the existing "Haster Ponim" reality where the G-d's presence is not experienced by our senses, but our minds, and transcends into "Giluy Ponim" reality, where G-d is sensed by our senses (can't explain it any better). This new reality is incomprehensible to me as it has no evil, no "work to do", no "Mitzvot" to observe, just the "World to come" reality.
  4. There will be no weekdays, only one long Shabbos. There will be no physical eating, sleeping and other needs. THerefore it will resemble Yom Kippur. It will also be the ultimate redemption and therefore some features of Purim will be recognizable (as our Sages taught us, those 3 holy-days will not cancel, unlike the festivals).

In my humble opinion, the spirituality of experiencing Hashem's reality, is way beyond our senses and our current comprehension.

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    I don't know what you are referring to in hilkhot melakhim in number two.
    – mevaqesh
    Nov 9, 2017 at 19:01
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    Nothing rambam says in three has anything to do with what you attribute to him. On the contrary, he says that prophecies of miraculous changes are metaphorical, and that nature won't change. Not that the reality will be too unnatural to describe.
    – mevaqesh
    Nov 9, 2017 at 19:04
  • @mevaqesh I thought it emphasizes the fact that we can not imagine it right now. In my understanding Rambam does not speak of "post mMessianic era", so I try to extrapolate from his vision of the Messianic era to post ME.
    – Al Berko
    Nov 11, 2017 at 18:09
  • First of all, I don't know what you mean by post-Messianic era, as though this is in contradistinction to the Messianic era. More significantly, Rambam writes in that very halakha that you quote: Melakhim 12:1 (which you ought to site in the post; readers will probably assume it is on ch. 11; the only source you specified) that nature will not change at all: אל יעלה על הלב שבימות המשיח, ייבטל דבר ממנהגו של עולם, או יהיה שם חידוש במעשה בראשית; אלא עולם כמנהגו הולך. When he writes that the prophecies will be understood in the Messianic era, it isnt because they are too miraculous to fathom.
    – mevaqesh
    Nov 12, 2017 at 0:32
  • On the contrary, it is because they arent miraculous at all. Therefore they must not be literal, but metaphors. We cant know what they are metaphors for, for as he writes later in the chapter 12:2, the Sages didnt have a tradition on how to interpret the verses.
    – mevaqesh
    Nov 12, 2017 at 0:32

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