MOSHIACH & GEULA
 
   

Moshiach: Setting the Record Straight
Transcribed and notated by Alexander Zushe Kohn

In reaction to renewed controversy and interest regarding the Lubavitch-Moshiach issue, a small panel of prominent Lubavitch scholars and shluchim, utilized the medium of radio to provide thousands of listeners with a clear picture of the Torah’s position on Moshiach.

The following is Part 2 of a transcript of the program, which aired Motzaei Shabbos Parshas VaYechi, on "Talk-line With Zev Brenner – America’s Leading Jewish Program," WMCA, 570AM in New York, WAXY, 790AM in Miami. "Talk-line With Zev Brenner" airs every Saturday night, midnight to 2:00 am.

"Talk-line With Zev Brenner" was preceded by another program in which the same panel of rabbis introduced some of the basic ideas of the belief that the Rebbe is Moshiach.

(Continued from last week.)

Z. Brenner: The difference between [the concealment of ] Moses, Moshe Rabbeinu, [and the Rebbe] is that [Moshe Rabbeinu] was hidden for a while from the scene, and that was the process that happened over there, but the Rebbe... Moshe Rabbeinu - if you want to make a complete analysis - may have been hidden, [but] he was still around, and he was revealed again, unlike the Rebbe... I think the difference is [this]: If you would have told me that the period when he [Moshiach] goes into seclusion was when the Rebbe was sick, you could have made, I think, more of a case in point for that. But when somebody dies, that changes it. Even if you’re going to argue semantically about Bar Kochva - that he had a certain victory and he was doing certain criteria that qualified him as Moshiach, maybe even B’chezkas Moshiach (certainly Rebbi Akiva and others believed that) - once he died, that changed the whole picture.

What are you going to say [that there’s a difference between] killed and died? But that’s semantics! He’s not here anymore. He was nistalek from the scene and is no longer considered Moshiach by the greatest sages of our generation.

[Transcriber’s note: Sources have been cited to the effect that after Moshiach’s initial revelation he becomes concealed and then is revealed again and brings the Redemption. This was also the pattern by Moshe Rabbeinu. Isn’t their a major difference though, between concealment and death? Isn’t death a stage beyond concealment? Didn’t Bar Kochva lose his Chezkas Moshiach status as a result of his death? True, the Rambam says that when Bar Kochva was killed they knew that he was not Moshiach, but does the word "killed" really exclude a natural death?]

R. Majeski: First of all, [the difference between "killed" and "died"] is not a little subject. It’s not just a matter of words - killed, died. Everyone knows - the whole Torah-world - when they study Rambam, that every word is very precise. And when the Rambam says that if someone is B’chezkas Moshiach and then he is killed, it invalidates him - it is very precise. Only if he was killed [is he invalidated]; not if he passed away.

If you ask me what the reason is, what should be the difference, I can speculate and say that being that one of Moshiach’s criteria is that he will be victorious over his enemies, then if he’s killed by his enemies, it is the opposite [of meeting the criteria]. But if he passes on, which is an act of Hashem, that could be part of the process [of Moshiach’s coming].

This is not fabricated; this is in Torah. [Including] this possibility - that the way that he’s concealed is in a way that appears as if he passed away. The Arizal writes - I think I mentioned it - these are his words: Moshiach will be a human being, born to a father and mother, and Hashem will give him the neshama of Moshiach. He will be appointed as Moshiach, but not everybody will accept him. Then [he will] go away, as Moshe Rabbeinu went to the mountain for forty days and forty nights. He’ll be hidden guf v’nefesh, hidden from us totally, and then he’ll come back and the whole world will accept him.

To us, this is a description of what we [in Lubavitch] are talking about, and it’s a Torah description. So how can someone come along and even suggest that a description which is in Torah is, chas v’shalom, the opposite of Torah? It’s a contradiction in terms.

[Transcriber’s note: 1. The Rambam is known to be very precise in his wording. Therefore, ‘killed’ means ‘killed’ and it doesn’t mean ‘died.’ Why should being killed invalidate someone from Chezkas Moshiach, and a natural death not? Because Moshiach must defeat his enemies, not be defeated by them. 2. When describing Moshiach’s temporary concealment, the Arizal says that it will resemble Moshe Rabbeinu’s concealment. We know that Moshe Rabbeinu was taken to Shamayim, body and soul, and the Satan made it appear to Klal Yisroel that Moshe had died.]

Z. Brenner: Let’s go [to some of our callers]. First to Chaim in Boro Park. Go ahead Chaim. You have a question for Rabbi Majeski?

Chaim: …They did not refute Dr. Berger. Dr. Berger said that the Rambam says, "a king will arise from the house of David," [but] the Rebbe was no king... The second point is that even with all these minority [sources] - Sanhedrin, Abarbanel - go deep down [and you’ll see that] there is no source to say that the Redeemer will start the Redemption, die, and then continue the Redemption. [Yet] according to Lubavitchers the Rebbe started the process of Redemption and then..., and then will come back to continue. That is Dr. Berger’s central point, and they never answered it. They have destroyed the legacy of the Rebbe with all their scholarly interpretations and—

Z. Brenner: Chaim, you raise interesting points and we’re going to let Rabbi Majeski respond to you. Go ahead Rabbi Majeski.

R. Majeski: [Your question is essentially] It says that a melech will rise - that’s what the Rambam writes - "a king," and the Rebbe was not a king. The answer is in the Rambam itself. The Rambam uses the example of Bar Kochva. Bar Kochva was not a king. [He lived] in a time when we didn’t have kings in Israel. It was after the Churban Beis HaMikdash. So, obviously, the term "king" in this context means a leader, like Bar Kochva was; even though he was called "Ben Koziba HaMelech," it means a leader.

We’ve said a number of times already, that there is no source in Torah to what Dr. Berger says. This is his own fabricated thing, and there is no basis for it. He writes himself that there is no source for it. The only basis that he has is the vikuach of the Ramban. In the vikuach of the Ramban, if you’ll look there, you’ll see that [Dr. Berger’s interpretation] is also a distorted interpretation of what the Ramban says. [This is] besides the fact that it’s known what the Gemara says in Menachos, and what the Gemara says in Bava Basra - that when it came to debates with heretics, even with Jewish people who were heretics, like the Tzedukim [for example], the Rabbis did not give them the real reasons [for their views]. [The Rabbis] did not tell them things the way they really were, because they dealt with these kinds of people.

[Transcriber’s note: 1. The Rambam uses the term "Melech," i.e., "King," when speaking of Bar Kochva, despite the fact that Bar Kochva did not have the halachic status of king. This is very significant in light of the fact that the Rambam actually derives the laws for identifying Moshiach from the Bar Kochva episode.

Moreover, the Rambam cannot possibly be referring to someone with the halachic status of king, for he already pointed out at the beginning of that very chapter ("Hilchos Melachim," chapter 11), that Moshiach himself will be the one to restore the kingship. How can a king arise, who may later prove to be Moshiach, if the kingship has not yet been restored?

The argument that a king may be appointed by a navi, together with a 71-member Sanhedrin - there are opinions that the Sanhedrin will be restored prior to the coming of Moshiach, and according to the Rambam, prophecy can be attained nowadays, as well - is not relevant to our discussion, because if a navi would appoint someone as king, that itself would prove that he is Moshiach, as just mentioned, and their would be no need for the rest of the "B’chezkas Moshiach" simanim. (Based on the Rebbe’s notes in Likkutei Sichos, volume 8, page 361.)

2. Berger bases his claim that Moshiach cannot be from those who have passed on, on a statement made by the Ramban in "Vikuach HaRamban." However, It is a well documented fact that when Torah scholars would debate representatives of other religions and philosophies, they would often give them false interpretations, in order to silence them. ]

Z. Brenner: Let me just digress for one moment before we get to our phone calls: I’m quoting from Beis Moshiach, the weekly magazine that’s put out by those who believe the Rebbe is Moshiach, and it says, "Long live the Rebbe King Moshiach forever and ever," on the cover. This is a weekly publication, glossy, very well produced and done. There’s an article by Rabbi Simon Jacobson, who I didn’t realize was very vocal in his talking about the Rebbe as being Moshiach, and he talks about the Tomchei T’mimim, [i.e., the bachurim of the Lubavitcher yeshivos], and he talks about the conquering of the world - [that] the avoda of the T’mimim in the seventh generation is to conquer the world. This is a [transcript of] a lecture that he gave, and he says that there are two categories that the Rebbe has. The first stage would be the war against the enemies of Hashem, who mock [Him], that is, the Maskilim and Reform. Stage two will be the war against those who fulfill Torah and mitzvos but are in the category of, "They mock the footsteps of Your anointed one." The T’mimim were going to be in the vanguard of this war. The question is: [Am] I, as an Orthodox Jew, complete if I don’t believe the Rebbe is Moshiach?

R. Kalmanson: The answer is very simple: Yes. But let me make this clear. You said today in the Haftora of today’s portion: Dovid HaMelech, when he first became king, also had a battle of a good number of years, where not everybody excepted him. Eventually he became the melech of Klal Yisroel. Moshiach is going to have the same problem, as well. As mentioned already earlier in the program, at first there are going to be the few that are going to latch on to him, and then eventually, im yirtzeh Hashem, the whole world will pick up on this, as well.

Z. Brenner: Rabbi Majeski, based on what I quoted from Rabbi Simon Jacobson, about the Tomchei T’mimim, [who are] in the vanguard of the Rebbe’s directive to conquer the world, do I as an Orthodox Jew have to be brought to the belief that the Rebbe is Moshiach in order for me to be fulfilled? Is that the case, Rabbi Majeski? Am I missing something in my belief if I don’t say the Rebbe [is Moshiach]? If I don’t say, "Yechi Adoneinu"?

Rabbi Majeski: That’s not what it says there. Let me explain what the point is: When the Rebbe Rashab, [that is], the previous Rebbe’s father, the fifth Rebbe of Chabad, spoke about this a hundred years go - in fact it’s precisely a hundred years ago - he said that at that time [i.e., in the second fifty-year period] there will be people who will come out in a negative way, and who will laugh at the talk about Moshiach. [The Rebbe Rashab said that] even though they’ll give all sorts of Torah reasons why they’re doing it, the real reason will be because there will be a weakness in their emuna in Moshiach. In other words, what we’re saying is that if a person has a problem with the subject of Moshiach, he’ll find this reason, he’ll find that reason. But what’s underneath it, what’s really behind it, underlying, is a weakness in the belief in Moshiach. That’s the issue.

For example: The Previous Rebbe, in the 1940’s, during the war, started to speak about Moshiach. There was tremendous opposition. What was the opposition then? The opposition then was - by also certain people who were frum people - they said, "It’s not a Jewish thing to talk so much about Moshiach. It’s more of a non-Jewish thing." That was their point. There’s a famous thing that the Previous Rebbe wrote, where he said that the basis of Judaism is Moshiach. "Why do you want to give this away to the non-Jews," [he asked]. Will we stop talking about Shabbos because there are Seventh-Day Adventists? Would we stop talking about other things because goyim do it?

That was then.

In the 1980’s, when the Rebbe began to speak about Moshiach very strongly - again the same thing: "Jews don’t talk a lot about Moshiach!" The argument then was not about saying that the Rebbe is Moshiach; just the subject [of Moshiach in general]. The argument was: "Moshiach comes b’hesech ha’daas; you’re not supposed to talk about Moshiach."

Then came a time when the Rebbe said to shout "ad masai," and by the farbrengens the Rebbe himself would say, "ad masai," "We want Moshiach now," "Yidden have to demand Moshiach." [Along] came the opposition: "No! You’re not supposed to demand Moshiach. It’s a chutzpa to tell Hashem what to do. Hashem knows what He’s doing, and we’re not supposed to demand it. And the Rebbe brought all the sources - that you are supposed to ask, and how it’s in davening, and how it’s so many times in davening.

In other words, at every stage of the game their was opposition. This opposition indicates that it’s coming from something else. It’s coming from the fact that when a person has a weakness in the belief and doesn’t believe that it’s actually reality, and that it’s happening now, then automatically all sorts of mental blocks will come up, with one reason or another why not to accept it.

[Transcriber’s note: In the above-mentioned sicha of the Rebbe Rashab, he makes it clear that the opposition to Moshiach issues in general will stem from a weakness in the belief in his coming. The current opposition to identifying the Rebbe as Moshiach, therefore, is a symptom of a much larger malady. The past fifty years of opposition have demonstrated this clearly.]

     
 

There is no source in Torah to what Dr. Berger says. This is his own fabricated thing, and there is no basis for it. He writes himself that there is no source for it.

—Rabbi Shloma Majeski
 

 

YECHI ADONEINU MOREINU V'RABBEINU MELECH HA'MOSHIACH L'OLAM VA'ED!

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