In honor of the new year, 5777, Beis Moshiach presents a new weekly column, “MOSHIACH Q&As” questions and answers about the coming of Moshiach and the Redemption.
By Rabbi Menachem Harpaz
Q. Will the world believe in Moshiach when he comes? Will they accept his authority?
Short answer: Not necessarily.
Comprehensive Answer:
The Midrash (BaMidbar Rabba 11:2) states that Moshiach will reveal himself and then hide himself. The Midrash continues that before Moshiach is revealed again, “Whoever believes in him and follows him (will be) content to eat the roots of the broom and leaves of plants…, [while] he who does not follow him [will] make peace with the nations …”
Another Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Yeshayahu, remez 499) states that after “the nations of the world provoke one another” and “the king of Persia provokes the Arab king,” Moshiach will stand on the roof of the Beis HaMikdash and inform the Jews, “Modest ones, the time of your redemption has arrived!”
The reader of this Midrash would assume that at that point, with Moshiach’s grand proclamation “the time of your redemption has arrived,” everyone will believe in him, but the midrash continues with Moshiach’s pronouncement, “If you do not believe, see my light that I shine upon you.” This implies that Moshiach’s coming and declaration will be met initially with disbelief. To counter that, he will show us some kind of “light,” as the Midrash continues, “At that moment G-d causes the light of the Moshiach and of Israel to glow.” Only after we encounter that “light” will all Jews believe that he has truly arrived.
More starkly, the Zohar (Vol. 2, pg. 7B) says, “Some depraved Jews will turn and will band together with the non-Jews against the king Moshiach.” In other words, even when Moshiach has arrived and people are certain that he is the one, there may still be opposition to him. In a similar vein, in the seifer Ohr HaChama (by the Moroccan Kabbalist, Rabbi Avraham Azulai (1570-1644), it is explained that even after the arrival of Moshiach “there will still be wars and he will still be ‘a pauper and riding on a donkey’ … even after the advent of the Redemption….” (R’ Azulai adds that the solution to these problems is children’s Torah study.)
The Rebbe (Likkutei Sichos Vol. 24, P. 19) however explains that these wars do not necessarily involve bloodshed. If we are meritorious, Moshiach will simply stand firm against the gentile nations until they surrender.
Ultimately, whether Moshiach will be accepted with open arms may depend on whether Moshiach comes “with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13), i.e., in a supernatural way, or if he comes “lowly and riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9), i.e., naturally and gradually. If the Geula unfolds in the former way, we may circumvent all the difficulties and challenges mentioned in the above sources. If, however, it unfolds in the latter fashion, there may be challenges and disbelief upon Moshiach’s arrival.
May we merit Moshiach’s coming in a supernatural way, immediately, and may we open our eyes and see the light that Hashem is surely shining upon us.