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I'm going to answer this question indirectly. I have had discussions with several Lubavitchers who have come up with some compelling (to them) reasoning how the Rebbe זצ"ל can be Moshiach, which leads inexorably to the conclusion that he must be Moshiach. I'm not going to attempt to express the arguments here, even though you have asked for them, because I ...
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Rambam Hilchos Malachim perek 1 Halacha 5
"אין מעמידין אשה במלכות שנאמר עליך מלך ולא מלכה וכן כל משימות שבישראל אין ממנים בהם אלא איש."
women cannot become kings.
Also when the gemara discusses Mashiach they use the loshon "him" and Ben Dovid see Sanhedrin 98
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Yonatan ben Uziel, Radak, Metzudat David, and Ibn Ezra say that the sign is outlined in verse 15.
Yonatan Ben Uziel says on verse 15 and 16 the child is used as a time stamp of sorts. Basically deliverance from the two oppressing monarchy will end and the land will prosper before the child matures, and can distinguish between good and bad. It is possible ...
17
Let me break this down by question:
1. Are there any documented halachik authorities that rule that the belief in a dead Messiah is beyond the pale of permitted Jewish belief and therefore would qualify as Kfira?
Short Answer: Yes -- and we do consideer it kfira in the case of Jews who adopt Christianity.
Rabbi Gil Student, in his book Can The Rebbe ...
17
See Gil Students tremendous treatment entitled "Can The Rebbe Be Moshiach?"
In Chapter Five called What Counter-proofs can be
Brought? Rabbi Student brings the arguments that many meshichist lubavitchers use to argue that the Lubavitcher rebbe was/is/will be Moshiach.
From the beginning of the chapter:
There are two types of proofs that are ...
17
This midrash does not exist in Bereishit Rabba. Indeed, the verse referenced by the translation "Behold the man whose name is Zemach [branch], and he shall branch up out of his place" is Zechariah 6:12 (see here), and that verse does not appear in Bereishit Rabbah 35 or 37 — or in fact in Bereishit Rabba at all — as can be seen by searching this ...
15
Having lived and studied in Crown Heights for several months--before which I believed that a significant proportion of Lubavitchers, perhaps 40% or half, did not believe the Rebbe was Moshiach--I have been surprised to find that the notion that the Rebbe is the presumptive, if not actual Messiah is very dominant in Chabad. Chabad Houses and conferences and ...
14
This answer demonstrates that the messiah must be human. See also Sanhedrin 98a in the Babylonian talmud, which -- in the midst of a discussion of signs that the messiah has come -- calls the messiah the "son of David" several times. "Son of David" -- that is, a Jewish man descended from King David. A man, not a supernatural being. From the Soncino ...
13
Absolutely not.
The Jewish messiah is a flesh-and-blood man descended from King David.
13
The first individual to know of the Messiah was Adam HaRishon. This is stated explicitly in Sanhedrin 38b in the name of Reish Lakish, by Yose ben Chalafta in Seder Olam Rabbah 30 and Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon in Bereshit Rabbah 24:2 which teach that Adam was shown all the righteous, each generation and its Sages and those who would teach and explain the Torah.
...
12
A demanding "tone" in prayer is deemed improper. Consider what Shimon ben Shetach said to Choni heMeagel after successfully demanding rain from Hashem (vowing not to leave a drawn circle until it was given, modifying the request multiple times):
שלח לו שמעון בן שטח ואמר לו, צריך אתה לינדות; אבל מה אעשה לך, שאתה מתחטא לפני המקום כבן שמתחטא לפני אביו, והוא ...
12
According to this article at Chabad.org, based on the teachings of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe zy"a, each generation builds on the achievements of the previous generation. So that even though we may be on a lower spiritual level, we are still furthering the cause of creation and bringing it closer to its ultimate goal. I think that this is similar to the ...
11
All of these things can help.
Most week days, you can/should say Psalm 137, (as opposed to Psalm 126), before Grace After Meals. Many booklets that contain Grace After Maals have this in them already. It is a very sad lament and it certainly gives one pause if one take a few seconds to contemplate the words.
Baal Halachot Gedolot brings down a series of ...
11
As a student of early Christology, Patristic theology, biblical hermeneutics, textual criticism of the bible, and the history of the bible and the early church, I can answer this question the way I wish it had been explained to me.
The Jewish messiah is expected to be and do many things, but Jesus simply doesn't fit the description, and he certainly didn'...
11
Before or during Jesus's time, what other notable Jews claimed to be or hinted at being the Messiah?
Famously Rabbi Akiva thought that Bar Kochba was the Messiah but I don't know whether Bar Kochba claimed that title for himself.
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No, Judaism had a belief in moshiach before zoroastrianism was invented. While zoroastrianism is a very old religion it isn't older than Judaism. As for the Jewish belief in moshiach see Rambam:
Anyone who does not believe in [Mashiach], or whoever does not look
forward to his coming, denies not only [the teachings of] the other
prophets but [also ...
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The idea is that if someone died or was killed before fulfilling his messianic mission, such as was the case by Bar Kochba, who was thought to be the mashiach until this happened, then he is at most like any other righteous king of Israel, but not the mashiach. This is spelled out in the Rambam, Hilchot Melachim, Chapter 11, as follows:
ח ואם יעמוד מלך ...
10
Well, I guess we can start with Zecharia 9:9
גִּילִי מְאֹד בַּת צִיּוֹן הָרִיעִי בַּת יְרוּשָׁלִַם הִנֵּה מַלְכֵּךְ יָבוֹא לָךְ צַדִּיק וְנוֹשָׁע הוּא עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל חֲמוֹר וְעַל עַיִר בֶּן אֲתֹנוֹת
Be exceedingly happy, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold! Your king shall come to you. He is just and victorious; humble, and riding ...
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Before or during Jesus's time, what other notable Jews claimed to be or hinted at being the Messiah?
I decided to expand the scope of my answer a bit beyond the limits set in the question. I did so for a couple of reasons: the period of Jesus' life is a very narrow range; we don't have much information about alleged messiahs prior to Jesus; and most importantly, I was having too much fun to stop. Therefore, my answer spans the period from the first ...
10
The main point in the question seems to be:
The idea of a celestial and divine Messiah incarnate in Jesus the Nazarene would not be out of the Jewish tradition, for many Jews believed in the Messiah as being divine and supernatural.
The question is, do the referenced sources support that conclusion.
You list several sources: The fourth book of Ezra, ...
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This is probably based on what the Mishnah Berurah writes in the Beiur Halacha in siman 427, but I don't think it is entirely accurate.
The discussion there is about calculating the molad for future years. The Beiur Halacha mentions that up until the year 5847 the listings in the calendar of the Tur are accurate, and we don't have to worry about beyond that ...
9
Since the question presented in the title is a very broad one, I will focus on the more specific one presented in the text while touching upon other issues.
The question asked was why it is so significant that a young woman will bear a child, implying that the issue is too mundane to be a "sign". Such a question, although understandable, ...
9
There is a question asked, to which I have heard two answers:
Chazal teach us that there are many times when Moshiach will not come, such as on Shabbos or Yom Tov (Eruvin 43b). So how can one expect that Moshiach will come at any time?
I have heard quoted, but do not know the exact citation of, a teshuva of the Nodeh B'Yehuda (R' Yechezkel Landau) who was ...
9
Many meforshim understand that when the Gemara refers to Rome it is referring to the Christian nations. See here for example in the Ramban in Sefer HaGeulah - start from last word on the sixth line. http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=41398&st=&pgnum=51&hilite=
(The discussion of the four kingdoms is from the beginning of the perek ...
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The Rema in Yoreh Deah 363:1 writes:
יש נוהגין לתת מעפר א"י בקבר (א"ז) (ויש למנהג זה על מה שיסמוכו) (מדרש תנחומא פ' ויחי)
Some have the custom to place some earth from the Land of Israel in the grave (Refer to the Or Zaruah) (and this custom has a basis - see Midrash Tanchuma Parshas Vayechi)
The Midrash writes over there a reference to the fact ...
8
The main argument of the Shebbatai's disciples was that his apostasy, his conversion to islam, as well his death was supposed to happen.
His Apostasy
Sabbatai‘s followers were instructed to reject the halakha and used mystical reasons to justify their position by explaining that the rejection of the mitzvot was a key step in messianic redemption, as ...
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I read online once, forgot the exact source I think it was Rav Shach that it's problematic in its insistence, as if God is not doing the best thing by delaying it.
This contradicts the principle that all that H' does is for the good.
Yes, we are supposed to wait for it, but not insist and demand that it comes, as if God is witholding good or that He doesn'...
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In order to inherit and be part of a tribe a person must be be the child of a Jewish couple (both father and mother Jewish) to begin with. For example the blasphemer in the Bible is the son of a Jewish woman of the tribe of Dan (so he was Jewish) and an Egyptian man. Part of the explanation of the dispute is that he was not considered a member of the tribe ...
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Let's answer one at a time.
Major rabbis have signed a [document][1] declaring Rabbi Schneerson as Messiah, so do other Jews who do not hold this position become apostates?
Let's see what the Rambam says in הלכות מלכים ומלחמותיהם Ch. 11:1
א הַמֶּלֶךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ עָתִיד לַעֲמֹד וּלְהַחְזִיר מַלכוּת דָּוִד לְיָשְׁנָהּ לַמֶּמְשָׁלָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה. וּבוֹנֶה ...
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This article provides a good synopsis of Armilus in Jewish thought.
Targum Jonathan, Saadia Gaon, and Ben Ish Chai (page 23) all mention him as a personality in messianic times. Another possible source for him is in Sefer Zerubabel, an apocryphal text that if authentic would be the earliest source for Armilus.
Per the aforementioned accounts, Armilus will ...
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