eSefarad Noticias del Mundo Sefaradi
To conclude my exposition on the subject “MAIMONIDES AND THE JEWSH MESSIAH” I’m presenting a translation of the last chapter of the Mishne Tora in which Maimonides refers to the messianic times. The explanations in square brackets have been added by me to facilitate the understanding of the original text).
HILKHOT MELAKHIM Chapter 12
1) Let it not occur to one to think that in the days of the Messiah something will change in the physical and natural laws established since the time of Creation: the world will follow its natural order. And what is said in Isaiah “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the tiger shall lie down beside the goat” (Isaiah 11:6), [which suggests that carnivorous animals will stop chasing their prey] is a parable and a metaphor. It means that Israel [the lamb that the predators so much desire to devour] will live in peace with the nations of the world, which [because of their permanent aggression and threats towards Israel] were compared to wolves and tigers [regarding the lamb, Israel]…. all nations will return to the true faith [will believe in the God of Israel], and there will be no robbery or corruption, but each one will consume from his own with peace and tranquility… as it is said: «And the lion, like the cattle, will eat straw» (Isaiah 11:7).
2) And likewise, all the things that are written [in the prophets] about the times of the Messiah, are metaphors. And only when these events occur in the days of the Messiah, we will all know [retroactively] what these allegories referred to and what [the prophets said] meant. The sages affirmed, that there will be no difference between this world and the days of the Messiah, except the yoke of the nations [the oppression of Israel; that in messianic times, will end].
3) It would seem to follow from the words of the prophets [as Maimonides says later: we do not have a qabbala, that is: a piece of solid information transmitted by the Sages through the generations regarding the issues concerning the Mashiach, therefore, everything that the rabbis said on this topic is speculative and debatable] that at the beginning of the times of the Messiah there will be a war between Gog and Magog [I wonder if it would not be possible to think that this war, with so many implications for the Jews, was the Second World War… Y.B.] and that before the war of Gog and Magog, a prophet will arise in Israel to guide Israel [in the laws of the Tora] and prepare their hearts: as it is said: “Behold, I will send, to you the prophet Eliyahu» (Malakhi 3:23). And the Mashiach will not come… other than to establish peace in the world, as it is said: “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children” (Malachi 3:24).
4) And there are some of the Sages who say that before the Messiah arrives, the prophet Eliyahu will arrive. And all this information and other similar opinions [regarding what will exactly happen in messianic times] will not be known until it happens, since these words of the prophets are [metaphors whose meaning is unknown to us] because the Sages have not received a binding explanation [on this subject. This is why this subject, methodologically, is different from all the other subjects of the oral tradition] therefore, the Sages are interpreting [the words of the prophets] according to their own interpretation and personal opinion of these texts. And that is why [the Sages] differ in their explanations about the messianic times. And in any case, the order in which these events will unfold and their details [which are not known with certainty] do not represent a principle of our Tora [and therefore, it is not necessary to accept these interpretations as a Jewish principle of faith].
5) And for this reason, a person should not waste too much time studying the words of the rabbis [Haggadot] nor should he try to analyze their explanations on these topics [i.e. all the details of the coming of the Messiah and the nature of messianic times ], since these details [apart from being purely speculative] do not represent a principle of our Tora, and [studying them] will not lead a man to [increase] his love or fear of God. [And regarding when exactly the Messiah will come] the Sages were very strongly opposed [they actually “cursed”] all those who claim to know through their calculations when exactly the Messiah will arrive [the Sages were very harsh with these individuals because when at the time determined by these diviners the Messiah does not arrive, people become disappointed, they stop taking the Sages seriously, and a great desecration of the Divine name is caused, as happened with Shabbetay Zvi]. But [what we should do about it] is to wait for the Messiah to come and believe that he will come, as we have explained.
7) The prophets and the Sages never said that in the days of the Messiah the Jews will rule the world, nor dominate the other nations, nor that the other nations will serve them. The Sages did not teach us that in messianic times [we will devote ourselves to luxuries and indulgences like]: eating, drinking, and having fun. The aspiration of the Jews is that in the Messianic times [we will have peace and material abundance] so that, free from material concerns, we will be able to dedicate ourselves [with freedom and ease to study and observe] the Tora, without anything or anyone preventing or distracting us from doing so. By doing so, we will deserve eternal life in the world to come, as we explained in the laws of Teshuba [for Maimonides the ultimate goal of this life is the World To Come. And to deserve immortality a person needs to observe and study the Tora, and free himself from materialism].
8) [In messianic times] there will be no famine, no war, no envy, no competition – the world will enjoy abundance and prosperity. And [by not having to deal so much with work to cover the minimum needs] humanity will be able to dedicate exclusively to knowing [getting closer and connecting to] God. And, therefore, human society will reach a great level of wisdom [in these spiritual] subjects, that were inaccessible or unknown before. And the knowledge of the Creator will increase as much as possible for a human being, as it is said: “And the earth will be as full of the knowledge of God as the waters that cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
Maimonides does not discuss the topic of Techiyat HaMetim when he talks about the Mashiach, because the two topics are not necessarily connected in the sense that they occur at the same time. Many contemporary scholars misunderstood him and criticized Maimonides for this omission. To defend himself against these baseless accusations Maimonides wrote an epistle, a long letter, called IGGERET TECHIYAT HAMETIM. In that letter, to the disappointment of many, Maimonides does not provide all the «juicy» details that unsophisticated people want to know about the resurrection of the dead. His emphasis is on affirming that the concept of TECHIYAT HAMETIM is an integral part of the Jewish belief system and that it can not be interpreted as a metaphor or non-literally. However, beyond the basic belief that TECHIYAT HAMETIM will happen, we do not know for sure how or when it will happen. To read more about Techiyat HaMetim, see this article. https://halakhaoftheday.org/
Rab Yosef Bitton
Fuente: halaja.org
