BRINGING GIFTS TO MOSHIACH
Yaakov summoned all his sons to give them his final blessings before he was ready to leave this world. These blessings were not just good wishes but they were also pregnant with prophetic allusions to their futures.
In addressing his son Yehudah, Yaakov states:
The scepter shall not depart from Yehudah, nor a scholar from among his descendants between his feet, until Shiloh arrives and his will be an assemblage of nations.
The reference of the arrival of Shiloh, Rashi explains, “refers to Moshiach to whom kingdom belongs.” It is interesting to note that the words for “yavo shiloh-arival of Shiloh” have the numerical equivalency of the word Moshiach.
Rashi then cites a Midrashic source that explains that the word Shiloh is a composite of two words shi and lo, which means: “a gift to him.” This is a reference to Moshiach to whom all nations will bring gifts.
We must try to understand why Yaakov refers to Moshiach as “the one to whom nations will bring gifts.” Isn’t Moshiach a far more important person? Aren’t there far more consequential accomplishments of Moshiach and the impact he will have on the world than just getting people to bring him gifts? Doesn’t Moshiach embody the unparalleled combination of a powerful monarch, builder of the Bais HaMikdash, great spiritual leader, preeminent teacher of Torah, liberator of Israel from all its enemies, gatherer of all scattered and lost Jews, and the ultimate peace maker, who will bring universal peace?
Yet, incredibly, notwithstanding these and many other attractive attributes, Moshiach is simply depicted here as one to whom nations will bring gifts!
Second, why does Moshiach need or want the gifts of the nations of the world? For Moshiach, material possessions are meaningless. Moshiach possesses the most sublime G-dly soul. Yet, surprisingly, the Torah attempts to impress us with Moshiach’s arrival by the gifts that the nations will bring him!
MONARCHY WITHOUT BRUTE FORCE
Upon deeper reflection we can see that the title “Shiloh” is indeed a most fitting and noble description of Moshiach. The following explanation is based on the commentary of the Maharal. The Maharal explains that the title Shiloh (“one to whom the nations will bring gifts”) describes Moshiach’s unique and unprecedented form of monarchy.
In the Maharal’s own words:
Other kings rule over others with brute force and a mighty hand. The King Moshiach, however, is not like that. He will not reign with a mighty hand and brute force. Rather, everyone will be as a gift to him; i.e., they will all be drawn to him, in the manner that one brings a gift to another. Similarly, the entire world will subject themselves to the rule of the King Moshiach. He is therefore called Shiloh, meaning “a gift is brought to him.” That will insure universal peace because everyone will be under his jurisdiction.
The Maharal’s explanation suggests that the reference to the nations bringing gifts is only a metaphor. It really means to convey the idea that the nations will be drawn to Moshiach just as it is when one brings a gift to another.
The Maharal, however, does not explain why the nations of the world will be so drawn to Moshiach.
If we were to take the words of the Midrash literally, that the nations will actually bring gifts, we could argue that Moshiach’s power would compel them to pay homage to him with gifts. But, if bringing gifts is meant figuratively, in other words, that they will be drawn to him, a question remains: what will Moshiach’s appeal be to the nations of the world that will draw them to him?
Another question can be raised. The Maharal also stated that Moshiach will insure universal peace because everyone will be under his jurisdiction. This statement is puzzling. It appears to contradict the Maharal’s first point that Moshiach will not be a conventional monarch who uses force to subjugate his nation. How then will he remove all of the obstacles to peace? How will all the warring nations give up their arms if there is no powerful military force to make it happen?
WHY PRAY FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY
To better understand the appeal of Moshiach we must first explain why we have been hoping and praying for millennia that Moshiach come and redeem us. Haven’t we had our fill with kings? Haven’t we “evolved” to appreciate that the best form of government is one that ensures everyone’s freedom, such as in a democracy? Indeed, as Jews—whose very name, derived from Yehudah, means gratitude—we have always expressed our profound gratitude to our host nations that have guaranteed us freedom to live and practice as Jews.
Why then would we want to go back to the time when we were governed by absolute monarchs, most of whom were less than virtuous, to put it mildly?
The truth of the matter is that Moshiach’s influence and appeal is based on the power he wields to empower us.
THE SOURCE OF LEADERSHIP
We have seen evil individuals unleash the evil in millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens. They did not necessarily need brute force or the force of logic to sway their constituents to engage in murderous actions. Leadership, good or evil, is a power of the soul that few people possess. This power of leadership is rooted in the Divine attribute of Malchus and has the capacity to move mountains. The Talmud expresses this sentiment when it states: “The king speaks and a mountain is uprooted.”
Jewish law gives a king the right to break through physical boundaries to make his trip shorter. This can be interpreted figuratively as well. The power of royalty is such that it can break through the otherwise impenetrable layers of our personalities to uncover hidden powers we possess, whose presence was unbeknownst even to ourselves.
If the leader is evil, he will be empowered to dig beneath the surface of our personalities and discover any latent, subconscious evil we may possess, even if it has never been exposed or translated into evil behavior.
Conversely, a good leader will be able to dig beneath the surface of our personalities and discover the latent good and holiness we definitely possess.
An effective leader is like a drill and a pump; a drill that discovers the subterranean resources and a pump to bring those newly discovered resources to the surface.
Now, the degree to which a leader can dig into our psyche and extract our subconscious forces of goodness and holiness is commensurate to the leader’s leadership powers and own goodness and holiness. Not all holy people have been leaders, and not all leaders were holy.
Moshiach is the ultimate synthesis of the greatest power of leadership and the ultimate level of goodness and holiness. Moshiach is called Peretz because, as the word suggests, he can break through all barriers. He can therefore penetrate even the toughest personality and excavate that individual’s goodness.
UNPRECEDENTED LEADERSHIP
We can now understand why the nations of the world will be drawn to Moshiach. His unprecedented leadership capacity will reveal the heretofore hidden goodness that all of humanity possesses but which has not been allowed to surface. Moshiach does not have to use brute force to control the world; he will reveal that the world has the ability to control itself.
This explains the Maharal’s comment that the reason there will be universal peace is because we will all be under his jurisdiction. This does not suggest that Moshiach will have to exercise brutal force to keep us from fighting wars, for that would not entail true peace.
Rather, the Maharal’s point is that under the influence of Moshiach our innate true peaceful nature will be revealed. Even the most discordant individual has a peaceful and peace-loving core. Under normal circumstances it will not affect that individual’s personality or behavior because it is so deeply suppressed.
However, under the influence of Moshiach, each and every individual will be able to be who he or she truly is at their core level, where their G-dly souls reside. Peace will be the greatest beneficiary because at the core level, everyone wants peace.
We can now reconcile the figurative explanation of the gift of the nations with its literal meaning. Figuratively, the nations will be drawn to Moshiach’s leadership and charisma. As a result, they will discover heretofore hidden reservoirs of goodness and holiness. This then is the gift they will bring to Moshiach. They will show him their newly discovered gifts of self-discovery and the spiritual and G-dly energy they will generate.
A TWO-WAY STREET
But the Messianic process is a two-way street. While the reference to Moshiach as Shiloh defines Moshiach’s influence over us, we too must work diligently at revealing our hidden traits and virtues. We too possess a “regal” power to dig deep into our psyches and discover our latent and suppressed virtues and then reveal them. This is the power of simcha-joy. When we are in a state of joy, we possess the same royal powers of a monarch. We can break through the barriers of our personalities and discover our true inner cores.
This connection between Moshiach and joy is hinted in the very word Moshiach, the letters of which, when rearranged, spell the word yismach-he will rejoice, or yisamach-he will cause others to rejoice.