You Have to Ask

Rabbi Simon Jacobson dispels various popular misconceptions about Jewish belief in Moshiach and clarifies some of the basic ways in which the advent of the Messianic Era is brought about.

How the cumulative effect of our positive actions results in the perfect world of Moshiach.

Why did G-d create the world in such a way that we can only experience redemption after having first endured the hardships of exile?

Do we anticipate the coming of Moshiach just to make ourselves feel better, or to align ourselves with the true and ultimate purpose for which the world was created?

One of the foundations of our faith is the belief that Moshiach may arrive at any moment. How do we develop a feeling that Moshiach's coming is imminent?

The coming of Moshiach is the fulfillment of G-d's plan for creation that human beings enter an era in which they will all pursue the knowledge of G-d.

What is it that will come to an end in the future Redemption and what will existence be like?

An in-depth analysis of a puzzling Talmudic passage which foretells that Moshiach will be a king and that his ancestor David will be his viceroy.

When will the Jew’s hopes and dreams be realized?

The Previous Rebbe was once approached with the following dilemma: You profess to expect Moshiach’s coming “immediately.” Yet, at the same time, you make long-term plans, as if expecting exile to continue for the foreseeable future?

The Talmud, 1,500 years ago, already stated, “All ‘end-times’ for the Redemption have passed, it now awaits only repentance.” In 1941, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, launched an intense campaign that “Immediate repentance will bring immediate Redemption.”

Transmit this message to my followers: Moshiach is coming very soon, and they must be prepared to receive him properly!

To a CNN reporter: “Moshiach is ready to come now, we all must only do something additional in the realm of goodness and kindness.”

Exile is a state when the world does not fully endorse the truth. Throughout history, Jews have risen above many attempts to discredit and hinder their devotion to G-d, and so must we do.

Hebrew, the Holy Tongue, is utterly precise. In Hebrew, “Exile” is called “Golah.” But this very word also hints the path to redemption. By inserting the letter Alef, the word “Golah — Exile” becomes “Geulah — Redemption.”

Concerning the future Redemption, the prophet declares, “I will offer thanks to You, G-d, for Your wrath,” for at that time, the good hidden in all mankind’s suffering will be made clear.

What does an authentic experience mean to you? What parts of your life are “plastic simulations”?

Passover is ‘The Festival of Our Freedom.’ The Festival itself calls out: “Listen, Jews – we must be free!” The verse states: “There shall be one law for the Passover sacrifice – for you, the convert and the native-born.” Allegorically speaking, ‘native-born’ refers to the ‘true citizen’ of a country – one who thinks that his country is the greatest. A Jew must recognize, however, that he is “Jerusalem-born” – no matter where in the world he is.

Maimonides concludes his code of law, the Mishneh Torah, by describing the era of Moshiach as a time of peace, abundance and enlightenment. All luxuries will be readily available, and yet they will be esteemed in man’s eyes as the dust. As such, we will devote ourselves totally to the study of Torah.

Maimonides concludes his code of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah: “In the Era of Moshiach… there will be no occupation in the whole world except to know G-d alone. Therefore, the Jews will be great sages, knowing the hidden matters and grasping their Creator to the full extent possible for man – as it is written, ‘For the knowledge of G-d will fill the earth as water covers the sea.’”

Everything can teach us a lesson on how to serve G-d better. The same is true about something that happened during one of the Apollo Mission landings

Before the siege of Jerusalem, G-d commanded the prophet Ezekiel to place an iron pot around a brick symbolizing the city's siege. (Ezekiel 4:3) Iron can be a metaphor for the grave character defect of rigidity or for the deep inner strength of the Jewish people that leads to Redemption.

The Jerusalem Talmud states: “If the Holy Temple is not rebuilt in your lifetime, it’s as though it were destroyed in your lifetime.” The commentaries learn from this that the Temple’s destruction is an ongoing event. On Tisha B’av, we do not mourn events that occurred 1,900 years ago… The destruction of the Temple takes place every single day – and a Jew is expected to cry out for Redemption as if he has witnessed that destruction today!

Maimonides rules in his Laws of Kings about the times of Moshiach: “Do not think that the world will undergo miraculous changes. The world will continue according to the natural order. And prophecies such as, ‘The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,’ are metaphors.”