THE MESSIAH:
WHAT A STRANGE IDEA
In this essay I want to examine the messiah concept
and in particular its role within Judaism. It is my contention that we
have here an idea that is inconsistent with our foundations, as laid out
in the Five Books of Moses. Because the messianic promise is not
compatible with the earlier encouragement of responsibility, I am not
surprised that it has been detrimental to Jewish society. The
disappointments, or worse, will continue into the future, because we
cannot simultaneously have God’s daily trying to persuade us to improve
our lives by making the right choices and then promising to fix the
world eventually in spite of our negligence. It is pretty clear to me
from the Five Books that our decisions are meant to have serious
consequences. We face starkly different futures depending on our
actions.
I realize that the views I am stating are highly
controversial. Belief in the coming of the messiah has risen to be one
of Judaism’s main tenets. Still, I will argue that adopting such hopes
was a mistake that has already cost us much physical and emotional
suffering and will continue to hurt future generations, especially by
distracting them from their real, long-term, Jewish mission, i.e. to
demonstrate that following our laws is THE way to a bright world of
peace and happiness for individuals and societies.
The Messiah Concept Is Inconsistent With The Foundations Of Judaism As They Are Presented In The Five Books of Moses
Judaism is about making choices, as individuals and as a society. We
have the laws and they are intended to improve our lives. We choose to
either follow them or to ignore them. The former brings happiness and
life. The latter results in suffering and death. G-d said, “Choose life”
but both paths are available to us. Judaism is a rational religion
based on individual and national ethics. There are no shortcuts. G-d
didn’t say at Mt. Sinai that He’d save us from ourselves; in fact He
paints a bleak picture of what happens when we mess up.
It was promised to our forefathers that the Jews will be freed from
slavery and given a land of their own. G-d said He will do this Himself
and not through His agents. There was no promise that some person would
set us free. Moses was very much human and imperfect; he did mostly as
instructed. The miracles, the entire rescue, was G-d’s. In some biblical
events angels are given special tasks, but nowhere is there a hint of a
super-human being who by his sheer presence will alter history. Are we
supposed to believe that some new hybrid, greater than Moses but not
quite angelic, will eventually show up? Furthermore, his special birth
(i.e. from the house of David) will set things right when he simply
arrives in our world? There is no mention of such creatures in the Five
Books.
Should the messiah be considered someone who
actually goes about fixing things with G-d’s help, who in short order
corrects all the problems that our inattention to the laws have brought
upon us? This just doesn’t seem reasonable to me. Super-man is a very
non-Jewish idea. If there was going to be such a major event in
Judaism’s future, why is it not mentioned in the Five Books? It would be
problematic for me if on the one hand G-d says we should choose wisely
and on the other, He says he will send someone to clean up if we fail,
with the result being that we get the ideal society we didn’t earn.
The rabbis realized that there is a consistency problem as described
above and therefore suggested that we must perfect the world ourselves
in order for the messiah to come. In that case what will he do for us
that we haven’t already done for ourselves? Is he coming just to reign
as king over an already wonderful society? The truth is that if the Jews
followed the laws in the Five Books they wouldn’t need a messiah at
all. So the concept still doesn’t make much sense.
I believe that Isaiah wanted to comfort the Jews
and felt that G-d would save us from enemies and ourselves. He would
bring us home (to Israel) and install us in a wonderful life there.
Unfortunately, the well-intentioned prophet created a serious problem
for later generations. Yes, the idea of a messiah makes us feel better
but at what cost? In reality, hoping to be saved is an unhealthy,
non-constructive attitude for Jews and is definitely contrary to the
rational, do-it-yourself, good-behavior-rewarded, sensibilities that the
Five Books are trying to instill.
Messiah Claimants Have Repeatedly Brought Misery
If one studies Jewish history, he will find almost
thirty men who either claimed to be the messiah or were called that by
followers. Every one of these episodes was a disaster for the Jewish
community that mistakenly went along. Some of these false messiahs’
leadership cost us very many lives. The harm done by others was felt for
many generations after them. How can a concept fail so miserably? There
must be something impossible about it.
Religious authorities can say that these were all false messiahs and
the real messiah will be different. I say that the idea is so logically
flawed that it can’t ever be implemented. If G-d wants us to obey His
commandments and to demonstrate to the rest of the world that these
instructions are the way to perfect human lives, it doesn’t seem
reasonable that at some point in time, He’ll say, “Ok, that’s enough of
your weakness. I will now send a man who will oversee My rescue of the
whole planet.”
What was the problem with the false messiahs? They
promised an easy road, a shortcut around the commandments in the Five
Books of Moses. Followers wanted paradise delivered to them in spite of
their lackluster efforts. Of course no-one can deliver the idyllic state
of affairs that weakly striving Jews fail to achieve
In Conclusion.
The messiah is either a dangerous illusion, as
amply demonstrated by the past, or a serious distraction
from our day-to-day business of repairing the world. The less we dwell
on the messiah, the sooner we’ll obtain, with the guidance of the laws
in the Five Books of Moses, the lives that we want. Don’t wait and hope
to be saved. That is not G-d’s plan for the Jews or the world. Rely on
yourself, save yourself!
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