THE FOUNDATIONS OF JEWISH BELIEF

The Thirteen Foundations of the Ramba'm

The First Foundation is to believe in the existence of the Creator, blessed be He. This means that there exists a Being that is complete in all ways and He is the cause of all else that exists. He is what sustains their existence and the existence of all that sustains them. It is inconceivable that He would not exist, for if He would not exist then all else would cease to exist as well, nothing would remain. And if we would imagine that everything other than He would cease to exist, this would not cause His, HaShem's, blessed be He, existence to cease or be diminished. Independence and mastery is to Him alone, HaShem, blessed be His Name, for He needs nothing else and is sufficient unto himself. He does not need the existence of anything else. All that exists apart from Him, the angels, the universe and all that is within it, all these things are dependent on Him for their existence.

This first foundation is taught to us in the statement, "I am HaShem your God..." (Shemos [Exodus] 20:2, Devarim [Deuteronomy] 5:6).

The Second Foundation is the unity of HaShem, Blessed be His Name. In other words, to believe that this being, which is the cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair nor one like a species [which encompasses many individuals] nor one as in one object that is made up of many elements nor as a single simple object which is infinitely divisible. Rather, He, HaShem Blessed be His Name, is a unity unlike any other possible unity.

This second foundation is referred to when [the Torah] says, "Hear Israel! HaShem is our God, HaShem is one". (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 6:4)

The Third Foundation is that He is not physical. This means to believe that the One whom we have mentioned is not a body and His powers are not physical. The concepts of physical bodies such as movement, rest, or existence in a particular place cannot be applied to Him. Such things cannot be part of His nature nor can they happen to Him. Therefore the Sages of blessed memory stated that the concepts of combination and separation do not apply to Him and they said, "Above there is no sitting nor standing, no separation nor combination." The prophet says, "To whom can you compare Me? To what am I equal? Says the Holy One." (Yeshaya [Isaiah] 40:25) If He would be a physical body He would be comparable to physical bodies.

In all places where the Holy Scriptures speak of Him in physical terms, as walking, standing, sitting, speaking and anything similar, it is always metaphorical, as our Sages of blessed memory said, "The Torah speaks in the language of men". Our sages have discussed this issue at length.

This third foundation is referred to when [the Torah] says, "For you did not see any form" (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 4:15), in other words, you did not perceive him as being an entity with a form because, as we mentioned, He is not physical and His power is not physical.

The Fourth Foundation is that He is first. This means to believe that the One was the absolute first and everything else in existence is not first relative to Him. There are many proofs to this in the Holy Scriptures.

This fourth foundation is referred to in the verse, "That is the abode of God the first" (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 33:27).

The Fifth Foundation is that it is proper to serve Him, blessed be He, to ascribe to Him greatness, to make known His greatness, and to fulfill His commandments. We may not do this to any lesser being, whether it be one of the angels, the stars, the celestial spheres, the elements, or anything formed from them. For all these things have predetermined natures and have no authority or control over their actions. Rather, such authority and control is God's. Similarly, it is not proper to serve them as intermediaries in order that they should bring us closer to God. Rather, to God Himself we must direct out thoughts, and abandon anything else.

This fifth foundation is based in the prohibition against idolatry about which much of the Torah deals.

The Sixth Foundation is prophecy. That is, that a person must know that there exists amongst mankind individuals who have very lofty qualities and great perfection; whose souls are prepared until their minds receive perfect intellect. After this, their human intellect can then become attached to the Active Intellect [i.e. the 'mind', so to speak, of God] and have bestowed upon them an exalted state. These are the prophets and this is prophecy.

A full explanation of this foundation would be very lengthy and it is not our intent to bring proofs for every foundation or to explain how we know them, for that is the sum of all knowledge. Rather, we are simply mentioning them in an informal manner.

There are numerous verses in the Torah which attest to the prophecy of the prophets.

The Seventh Foundation is the prophecy of Moshe (Moses) our Teacher, may he rest in peace. This means to believe that he is the father of all the prophets, both those that preceded him and those who arose after him; all of them were below his level. He was the chosen one from all of Mankind, for he attained a greater knowledge of the Blessed One, more than any other man ever attained or ever will attain. For he, may he rest in peace, rose up from the level of man to the level of the angels and gained the exalted status of an angel. There did not remain any screen that he did not tear and penetrate; nothing physical held him back. He was devoid of any flaw, big or small. His powers of imagination, the senses, and the perceptions were nullified; the power of desire was separated from him leaving him with pure intellect. It is for this reason that it is said on him that he could speak to HaShem, blessed be He, without the intermediary of angels.

First, every other prophet received the word of HaShem through an intermediary, Moshe did not have an intermediary, as it says, "Mouth to mouth I speak to him." (BaMidbar [Numbers] 12:8)

Second, all other prophets only receive their prophecy either when they are sleeping, as we find in numerous places "in a dream at night" (B'Reishis [Genesis] 20:3) and "in a vision at night" (Iyov [Job] 33:15) and many other examples. Or by day when a trance has fallen over them which removes all their senses and leaves their mind open as in a dream. Such a state [of prophecy] is called a vision or seeing and is referred to as "Divine visions" (Yechezkel [Ezekiel] 8:3). Moshe received his prophecy by day as he stood before the kruvim (cherubim), as is testified to by HaShem, blessed be He, "and I will commune with you there" (Shemos [Exodus] 25:22). And as HaShem, blessed be He, states, "If prophets are among you then I, HaShem, make myself known to them through a vision, in a dream I speak to him. It is not so with my servant Moshe, he is trusted in all my house. I speak to him mouth to mouth, in a vision without puzzlement. He gazes at the image of God." (BaMidbar [Numbers] 12:6-8)

Third, when a prophet receives prophecy, even though it was only a vision and by means of an angel, he would nevertheless be weakened by it and his body would shudder. He would be stricken with a very great fear almost to the point that his spirit would leave his body, as Daniel said when [the angel] Gavriel (Gabriel) spoke to him, "No strength remained in me; my robustness changed to pallor, and I could retain no strength... and I was in a deep sleep upon my face, and my face was to the ground". And as he says later, "during the vision my joints shuddered and I could retain no strength". (Daniel 10:8-9, 16). But Moshe, may he rest in peace, was not so, rather, the word came to him and he did not experience trembling and shivering in any way, as it says, "And HaShem spoke to Moshe face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Shemos [Exodus] 33:11). In other words, just as a man does not experience trembling from the speech of his fellow, Moshe did not tremble from the word even though it was face to face. This was due to his total attachment to the intellect, as we said earlier.

Fourth, all the [other] prophets were unable to receive prophecy when they willed it but only when HaShem, blessed be He, wished it. The prophet could wait days or years and prophecy would not come. He could beseech HaShem, blessed be He, to make known to him a matter through prophecy and then he could wait for days or months for the prophecy, sometimes it would never come at all. There were groups which would prepare themselves and purify their thoughts, as Elisha did, as it is written, "Now bring me a musician", and prophecy came upon him. But it was not certain that prophecy would come at the time a person prepared himself. Moshe, may he rest in peace, [could prophesize] at any time he wished. As he said, "Wait and I will hear what HaShem has commanded you" (BaMidbar [Numbers] 9:8) and as it says, "Speak to Aharon your brother, he shall not come at all times in the holy place" on which our Sages of blessed memory said, "Aharon could not enter, but this did not apply to Moshe".

The Eighth Foundation is that the Torah is from Heaven. This means that we must believe that this entire Torah, which was given to us from Moshe Our Teacher, may he rest in peace, is entirely from the mouth of the Almighty. In other words, that it all was conveyed to him from God, blessed Be He, in the manner which is called, for lack of a better term, "dibur" - "speech".  It is not known how it was conveyed to him, except to Moshe, may he rest in peace, to whom it was given, and he was like a scribe writing from dictation, and he wrote all the incidents, the stories, and the commandments. Therefore [Moshe] is called "mechokek" - "scribe" (BaMidbar [Numbers] 21:18).

There is no difference between [verses such as] "And the children of Cham were Kush and Mitzrayim" (B'Reishis [Genesis] 10:6), "And the name of his wife was Meheitaveil" (ibid. 36:39), and "And Simnah was a concubine" (ibid. 36:12) and [verses such as] "I am HaShem your God" (Shemos [Exodus] 20:2) and "Hear O Israel" (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 6:4), for all of the Torah is from the mouth of the Almighty and it is all the Teaching of God (Toras HaShem), perfect, pure, holy, and true.

One who says that verses and stories like these [in the first group] were written by Moshe out of his own mind, behold! He is considered by our Sages and Prophets as a heretic and a perverter of the Torah more than all other heretics, for he believes that the Torah has a "heart" and a "shell" [i.e. an meaningful part and a meaningless part] and that these historical accounts and stories have no benefit and are from Moshe our Teacher, may he rest in peace. This is the meaning of [the category of heretic who believes that] "The Torah is not from Heaven" [which is listed in the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 10:1) as one who has no share in the World to Come]. Our Sages, may their memory be a blessing, explain that this is [even] someone who says that the entire Torah is from the Almighty except for a particular verse which was written by Moses alone. And on this [person, the Torah writes], "For he has scorned the word of God... [his soul shall be absolutely cut off, his sin is upon him]" (BaMidbar [Numbers] 15:31). May God, blessed be He, forgive the statements of the heretics.

In truth, however, every word of the Torah has within it wisdom and wonders for one who can understand them, and the full depth of their wisdom can never be attained. "Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea" (Iyov [Job] 11:9). A man has option but to follow in the footsteps of King David, the anointed of the god of Yakov (Jacob), who prayed, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things in your Torah" (Tehillim [Psalms] 119:18).

All this is also true for the explanation of the Torah, which was also received from the mouth of the Almighty [the Oral Torah]. The manner in which we today make the Sukkah, Lulav, Shofar, Tzitzis, Tefillin, and other items is precisely the manner that God, blessed be He, instructed Moshe, who then instructed us and Moshe was reliable in relating [God's word].

The verse which teaches this foundation is "And Moshe said, 'Through this you shall know that God has sent me to do all these things, for they are not from my heart." (BaMidbar [Numbers] 16:28)

The Ninth Foundation is the transcription, meaning that this Torah, and no other, was transcribed from the Creator and we may not add to it or remove from it, not in the Written Torah or in the Oral Torah, as it says, "...you shall not add to it, nor diminish from it" (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 13:1). We have already fully clarified this foundation in the introduction to this work [the Commentary on the Mishnah].

The Tenth Foundation is that God, blessed be He, knows the actions of mankind and does not turn His eyes from them. Not like the opinion of those who say, "...[The Lord does not see us;] the Lord has forsaken the land" (Yechezkel [Ezekiel] 8:12). But rather like it says, "Great in counsel, and mighty in work; for your eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men; to give to every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Yirmiyah (Jeremiah) 32:19), "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth..." (B'Reishis (Genesis) 6:5), and "And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great..." (ibid. 18:20). These verses teach us this tenth foundation.

The Eleventh Foundation is that God, blessed be He, gives reward to one who obeys the commandments of the Torah and punishes one who violates its prohibitions. The greatest reward is the World to Come, and the greatest punishment is kareis (spiritual excision, "cutting off"). We have already said enough on this topic [earlier in the Commentary]. The verse which teaches this foundation is [when Moshe says to God], "And now, if you will forgive their sin; and if not, please remove me [from your book which you have written]" to which God responds, "...Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot from my book" (Shemos (Exodus) 32:32-33). This indicates that He knows the servant and the sinner, to give reward to this one and punishment to the other.

The Twelfth Foundation is the time of the Moshiach (literally, the anointed). This means to believe and be certain that he will come, and not to think that he is late in coming, "if it seems slow, wait for it; [because it will surely come, it will not come late]" (Chabakuk 2:3). You should not set a time for him, and you should not make calculations in Scripture to determine the time of his coming. The Sages say, "Let despair come upon those who calculate endtimes." [This foundation further includes] to believe that he (Moshiach) will possess advantages, superiority, and honor to a greater degree than all the kings that have ever existed, as was prophesied regarding him by all the prophets, from Moshe, peace be upon him, till Malachi, peace be upon him. One who doubts this or who minimizes his greatness denies the Torah that testifies explicitly to [the coming of Moshiach] in the account of Balaam (BaMidbar [Numbers] 24) and in the portion of Netzavim (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 30:3-5). Included in this principle is that there is no king to the Jewish people except from the House of David and the seed of Solomon alone. Anyone who disagrees with this family denies God and His prophets.

The Thirteenth Foundation is the resurrection of the dead.

When a man believes all of these foundations and his belief in them is clear, then he enters into the community of Israel, and it is commanded to love him, to have mercy upon him, and to behave towards him with all the manners of love and brotherhood which have been commanded upon a man towards his fellow by God, blessed be He. And even if he sins greatly because of his desires and the strength of his baser nature, he is punished according to his sins but he still has a share in the World to Come and he is considered a sinning Jew. If a man does not accept one of these foundations, then he has left the community and denied the fundamental. He is called a min and apikorus (two technical terms for a heretic). He is one who "cuts the plantings".

HaShem Echad! - HaShem is One!

The Unity of God

I am certain, with complete certainty, that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is One and there is no unity like His in any way. He alone is our God He was, He is, and He will be.

From the Siddur.

The Second Foundation [of the Thirteen Foundations] is the unity of HaShem, blessed be His Name. In other words, [the Torah teaches us] to believe that this Being, which is the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair nor one like a species [which encompasses many individuals], nor one as in one object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, HaShem, blessed be His Name, is a unity unlike any other possible unity.

This second foundation is referred to when [the Torah] says, "Hear Israel! HaShem is our God, HaShem is one". (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 6:4)

From the Thirteen Foundations by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon.

The belief in the unity of God is one of the most basic elements of Jewish belief. The basic ideas of this belief are very simple. Judaism teaches that the Creator is absolutely unique and indivisible. Belief in another god in addition to HaShem is considered idolatry. Furthermore, HaShem has no parts or sections. He is absolutely One and cannot be divided further. Belief in the unity of HaShem is a mitzvah that can be fulfilled at any time just by thinking.

There are many additional important principles that we derive from this basic statement of Jewish belief that "HaShem Echad" - "HaShem is One." Among these are the following:

HaShem is unique in His perfection. No other being can compare to His perfect kindness, love, truth, and justice.

HaShem is the only one who controls the universe. Even the "laws of nature" are only the constant expression of His direct Will. All that occurs is the result of His Will, even when it appears to be bad. This teaches us that all that occurs is actually for the good, although we may not be capable of understanding how.

Those who believe in multiple gods, and also those who deny His existence entirely, frequently point to the apparent contradictions of the world. We see many conflicts in the world, both in the natural world - as in the struggles between different species - and in human civilization. These apparent conflicts between good and evil, light and darkness, human society and natural forces, are seen by these people as contradicting the idea that one God could be the Cause of all of creation. The Torah teaches us that HaShem does control all of Creation and even events that seem to be bad are for a good reason. Someday all these questions will be answered and everyone in the world will recognize that HaShem is the One True Ruler over the entire universe.

Despite the apparent simplicity of this concept of the Unity of God, this concept actually raises many difficult questions about our understanding of HaShem. These questions are discussed at great length by many of the great Jewish philosophers and thinkers. Ultimately, however, the difficulty is that we cannot actually comprehend the idea of absolute unity. Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746), one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of all time, writes:

It is necessary to know that Gods existence is absolutely simple, without combinations or additions of any kind. All perfections are found in Him in a perfectly simple manner. In truth, this is a concept that is very far from our ability to grasp and imagine, there is almost no way to express it clearly and explain it in words, because our minds can only grasp those things which are bound by the laws of nature created by HaShem.

Prophets and Prophecy

What is Prophecy?

It is a basic concept in Judaism that HaShem can communicate with certain human beings and has done so on numerous occasions in the past. This communication is called prophecy. This concept is so fundamental that it is one of the thirteen principles of Judaism compiled by the Ramba'm (Maimonides).

A prophet receives his prophecy when he is sleeping or in a trance. The prophecy is conveyed in a symbolic form but the explanation is implanted into the mind of the prophet simultaneously.

The Special Status of Moshe

Moshe Rabeinu (Moses our Teacher) has a unique status among all the prophets. Indeed, his stature is so important that the Ramba'm included it as one the thirteen principles of Judaism by itself. He is referred to as "the chief of all prophets". The higher status of Moshe's prophecy is due to the mass revelation which occurred at Mount Sinai, an event unparalleled in history, which firmly established the authority of Moshe Rabeinu and his prophecies.

As we shall soon see, the prophecy of Moshe Rabeinu is the basis upon which the validity of all other prophecy rests. Any prophet who contradicts the prophecy of Moshe is inherently false.

Moshe was an exception to many of the rules regarding prophecy. Unlike all other prophets, Moshe received prophecy while awake and in full control of his faculties. The prophecies of Moses were explicit, not couched in symbolism. And Moses was capable of experiencing prophecy whenever he chose to.

Who can be a Prophet?

In order for a person to receive prophecy he must be must be great in righteousness and wisdom and completely self-disciplined. Such a person, if he prepares himself by immersing himself totally in Torah study and mitzvos, can bring his mind to a higher spiritual state in which he becomes capable of receiving prophecy.

A prophet has no control over whether and when he will receive prophecy. He can only ready himself by meditating and focusing his mind in a joyous state. (Prophecy can only come when a person is happy.) There is no guarantee that a person who has prepared himself will ever receive prophecy.

Prophetesses

Prophecy is not restricted to men. There have been many holy women who have attained the level of prophecy, many to an even higher degree than most men. According to at least one source the number of women who reached the level of prophecy is equal to the number of men. Some of the more famous prophetesses are: Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, and Esther. There are many others.

The Obligation to Obey a Prophet

We are obligated to obey a prophet as it says in the Torah, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:15, "In your midst, God will set up for you a prophet like me [Moshe] from among your brethren, and it is to him you must listen."

How do we Identify a Prophet?

When HaShem sends a prophet, He gives the prophet a sign to show that he is a true prophet. However, not every person who shows such a sign is automatically accepted. The prophet must be known to be a great, wise, and righteous person. If he is such a person, then we are commanded to accept and obey him if he comes with a sign.

The sign that a prophet must give to prove he is genuine need not be a miracle. He must predict a future event, if his prophecy is fulfilled with perfect accuracy then we believe him, if, however, even the smallest detail is inaccurate then he is a false prophet. We must test a prophet in this manner several times but we are not permitted to overly test him.

It is always possible that even a person who successfully passes the required tests is not a true prophet. Still we are commanded to obey him. This is similar to the law that we must accept the testimony of two witnesses. Even though there is always the possibility that they are lying, nevertheless, we are required to believe them if they meet all of the requirements.

We can only test a prophet in prophecies which are good, the failure of a bad prophecy to be fulfilled does not mean that the prophet is false. This is because HaShem is merciful and accepts repentance. It is possible that the people have repented and HaShem has removed the punishment which the prophet had predicted.

If an established prophet testifies that another person is a legitimate prophet we do not have to test the second.

The Torah lays out the basic method for testing a prophet quite clearly in Devarim 18:21-22, "You may ask yourselves, "How shall we recognize that a declaration was not spoken by HaShem?". If the prophet predicts something in HaShem's name, and the prediction does not materialize or come true, then the message was not spoken by HaShem. That prophet spoke deceitfully, and you must not fear him."

Even if a prophet passes all of these tests if he attempts to contradict the Torah in any way he is automatically shown to be false. This requirement can disqualify any prophet at any time. A prophet may not add or detract from the Torah in any way, this applies to both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. Therefore, any prophet who claims that a certain mitzvah is no longer required or that a new mitzvah has been added to the Torah shows himself to be a false prophet and is judged accordingly. This is true even if he performs miracles.

However, an established prophet may declare a temporary suspension of a Torah law and we are required to obey him. The only exception to this rule is idolatry which can never be permitted under any circumstances.

False Prophets

A prophet who is shown to be false is liable for the death penalty as it says in Devarim 18:20, "But the prophet who shall willfully speak a word in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or one who speaks in the name of the gods of others - that prophet shall die."

The Authority of the Prophet

The task of the prophet is to admonish the people from sin and guide them in serving HaShem. The prophet warns of coming punishments which will occur if the people do not repent and guides them in a general sense in their lives. The prophet is often a source of information which would be unobtainable otherwise.

Despite the great stature of the prophets, no matter of Jewish law can be decided by the means of prophecy or any other form of Divine inspiration. When a question of Jewish law is concerned a prophet is no better than any other sage.

Prophets in the Torah

Although there were many prophets in the history of the Jewish people the Torah only preserves those prophecies which have a message for all generations.

Prophecy Today

Prophecy is a difficult state to obtain because, in addition to the demands it makes on the individual, it also requires a very high state of holiness in the general environment. When the Jewish people lived in the land of Israel and the Aron HaKodesh (Holy Ark) was kept in the Beis HaMikdash (The Holy Temple), this state of holiness existed in the land of Israel. Since the time of the destruction of the first Beis HaMikdash, prophecy and other forms of Divine Inspiration have become progressively more difficult to obtain. Today, for all purposes, true prophecy does not exist. It will return to the Jewish people in the time of Moshiach.

MOSHIACH

THE JEWISH CONCEPT OF THE MESSIAH

I am certain, with complete certainty, that the Moshiach will come. And even though it takes a long time, even so I anticipate his coming every day.

What Is The Moshiach?

The word moshiach means anointed. It is commonly translated as messiah. The Moshiach will be a very righteous man from the family of King David with a total commitment to the Torah. He will be anointed as king of the Jewish people. He will reestablish the dynasty of King David, rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and gather together all the Jews from throughout the world to the land of Israel directing all of them to properly observe all of HaShem's laws. He will reestablish the laws of a Jewish Kingdom, including the sacrificial service and other practices. Finally, he will perfect the world, leading all humanity to serve HaShem in unity. The entire world will realize that HaShem is the only God and they will all worship HaShem together. The world will be completely at peace.

The Torah describes the time of Moshiach:

HaShem your God will bring back your remnants and have mercy on you, and He will gather you in from all the peoples to which HaShem your God has scattered you. If your dispersed will be at the ends of the heavens, from there HaShem your God will gather you and from there He will take you. And HaShem your God will bring you to the land your fathers inhabited and you shall inhabit it, and He will be good to you and you will increase even more than your fathers. HaShem your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love HaShem your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live. HaShem your God will place these curses upon your enemies and upon your haters who pursued you. And you will return and listen to the voice of HaShem and you will do all His commandments which I have commanded you today. HaShem will make you abundant in all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your animals, and the fruit of your ground, for the good; for HaShem will again rejoice in you for good as He rejoiced in your forefathers. (Devarim 30)

How Do We Identify The Moshiach?

When a person comes forth and claims to be the Moshiach, how can we know if he is the real thing? Unfortunately, Jewish history has had several false claimants to the title of Moshiach. Some of these false messiahs caused great turmoil and suffering. Christianity was founded by the followers of one such false Moshiach. So we see that it is very important to have clear rules to identify the real Moshiach.

There are two stages in the identification of the Moshiach. The first stage is when someone first comes and claims to be Moshiach. He must fulfill the following conditions:

He must be a father-to-son descendant of King David. Therefore, a Kohein, Levi, or a convert (and his children) cannot be Moshiach.

He must be completely immersed in the study of Torah, just like his ancestor David.

He must follow the entire Torah, both the Written and the Oral.

He must lead all the Jews back to the Torah, so that they follow all its laws.

If a man comes who fulfills all of these conditions, then we assume that he is the Moshiach. This is the first stage of the identification of Moshiach.

The second stage is completed when the presumed Moshiach succeeds in rebuilding the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and gathering all the Jewish people in the land of Israel. At that point we know that he is certainly Moshiach.

These are the minimum requirements. Until a person succeeds in fulfilling all the requirements of the first stage, we are not allowed to accept him as Moshiach.

It is also important to know that the Moshiach does not have to perform miracles to prove that he is the Moshiach. If he fulfills the requirements listed above then he is the Moshiach, even if he never performed a single miracle. Nevertheless, the Moshiach will be a great prophet. His level of prophecy will be higher than any other prophet except Moses.

What Moshiach Is Not

There are many false ideas about Moshiach in the world. Many of these ideas have been spread by Christianity. It is therefore important to clarify some of these points:

Moshiach will be a normal human being born from human parents. He will not be a god, or a son of god.

Moshiach will be mortal. He will not live forever. When he dies he will be succeeded by his son, like any normal king.

Moshiach will not atone for our sins. Every person must atone for his own sins; no one else can do it for you.

Moshiach will not change the laws of the Torah in any way. If he attempts to do so then we know that he is a false messiah.

All of these issues point to a fundamental belief of Judaism. We must recognize that the Moshiach is only a person who is a messenger from HaShem. He is not our actual redeemer, for redemption only comes from HaShem. The Moshiach will be like Moses who took us out of Egypt. It was really HaShem who took us out of Egypt, not Moses. That is one reason why we never even mention Moses in the entire Haggadah which we read at the Pesach Seder. Moses only served as a prophet, conveying the news of redemption to the Jewish people and to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The Moshiach will serve the same function. It is important that we always focus on HaShem as our savior, and not on any human being. It is especially important that we never pray to any human being instead of HaShem.

The Messianic Era

When the Moshiach completes his task all mankind will recognize that HaSHem is the one true God, and all human beings will come to serve HaShem with all their hearts. People will abandon warfare and serve HaShem in complete peace.

The prophet Isaiah tells us:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the HaShem's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the Temple of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for from Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem. And he [Moshiach] shall judge among the nations, and shall decide for many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2)

Jerusalem will be established as the spiritual capital of the world. The Jewish people will be the teachers and priests for the entire world, fulfilling our destiny to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6) and a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6).

Jealousy and warfare will cease. All nations and peoples will live in harmony. The prophet Isaiah expresses this in a famous allegory:

The wolf shall live with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11)

However, the laws of nature will not be changed. People will still need to grow food and make clothing and fix broken machinery. However, the world will be blessed with plenty and no person will suffer from poverty.

How Do We Bring Moshiach?

HaShem has promised us that Moshiach will come at some time. We do not know when this time will be. We are also not allowed to try to predict the time when Moshiach will come. However, we should do whatever we can to bring Moshiach sooner. How can we do this?

The Torah says:

It will be that when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have presented to you, then you will reflect upon it among all the nations where HaShem your God has scattered you. And you will return to HaShem your God and you will obey His voice according to everything I have commanded you today, you and your children with all your heart and with all your soul. And HaShem your God will bring back your remnants and have mercy on you, and He will gather you in from all the peoples to which HaShem your God has scattered you. (Devarim 30)

From here we see that Moshiach will be brought by the return of the Jewish people to serving HaShem and following all the laws of the Torah. Particular emphasis should be placed on those laws which caused us to go into exile. These are:

Unjustified hatred of our fellow Jews. We should all work to feel love our fellow Jews, and also for all human beings.

Murder. We should work on ourselves to respect our fellow man and see in him the image of God which exists in every person. Even publicly shaming another person is likened to murder.

Idolatry. We should recognize that only HaShem is the cause of good and bad. No person or thing can hurt you or help you unless it is HaShem's wish. Nothing else has any real power in the world. We should also focus on developing our relationship with HaShem and to realize that He cares about you personally and hears your prayers.

Sexual Immorality. We should train ourselves to avoid circumstances which might tempt us to engage in acts of immorality.

Torah study. We must recognize that the Torah is HaShem's direct revelation to us. As such, it is fundamentally different from all other forms of knowledge. All the other sciences are the product of human knowledge and thought and can only express partial truth. New knowledge is constantly being found, and old knowledge is proven incorrect. However, the Torah is from HaShem. HaShem is perfect and knows all. Therefore the Torah is also perfect. From the Torah we learn what our purpose is in this world and how to achieve that purpose. Our attitude towards the Torah must express this recognition. We should not treat the Torah like just another form of study.

May we merit the speedy coming of Moshiach in our days.