There is a tradition that the Jewish people will begin to despise the values of their religion in the generations preceding the coming of the Messiah. Since in a period of such accelerated change parents and children will grow up in literally different worlds, traditions handed down from father to son will be among the major casualties.
BY RABBI ARYEH KAPLAN
Our sages thus teach us that neither parents nor the aged will be respected, the old will have to seek favours from the young, and a person’s household will become his enemies. Insolence will increase, people will no longer have respect, and none will offer correction. Religious studies will be despised and used by non-believers to strengthen their own claims; the government will become godless, academies places of immorality, and the pious denigrated.
Judaism will suffer greatly because of these upheavals. There is a tradition that the Jewish people will split up into various groups, each laying claim to the truth, making it almost impossible to discern true Judaism from the false. This is the meaning of the prophecy, “Truth will fail” (Isaiah 59:15).
It has also been predicted that a great wave of atheism would sweep the world. As a result, many would leave the fold of Judaism completely. This is how our sages interpret the prophecy, “Many will purify themselves… and be refined. But the wicked will do evil; not one of them will understand. Only the wise will understand” (Daniel 12:10). That is, only the wise will understand that this is a test from heaven and that they must stand firm in their faith.
Jews will return to the true values of Judaism after having been estranged.
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Of course, there will be some Jews who remain loyal to their traditions. Still others will return to the true values of Judaism after having been estranged. They will realise that they are witnessing the death throes of a degenerate old order and will not be drawn into it. But they will suffer all the more for this, and be dubbed fools for not conforming to the debased ways of the pre-Messianic period. This is the meaning of the prophecy, “He who departs from evil will be considered a fool” (Isaiah 59:15).
There is an apparent tradition that there will be a population explosion prior to the coming of the Messiah.
There is a tradition that if Israel does not repent, God will raise up a king like Haman who will want to annihilate the entire Jewish people. This may be the reason for Hitler’s almost incomprehensible career.
One of the most important traditions regarding the Messianic Era concerns the ingathering of the diaspora and the resettlement of the Land of Israel. There are numerous traditions that the Jewish people will begin to return to the Land of Israel as a prelude to the Messiah. The ingathering will begin with a measure of political independence, and according to some, with the permission of the other nations.
As the holiest spot in the Land of Israel, Jerusalem is the most important city that must be rebuilt there. There is a tradition that the ingathering of the exile and the rebuilding of Jerusalem will go hand in hand as the two most important preludes to the coming of the Messiah. According to this tradition, first a small percentage of the exile will return to the Holy Land, and then Jerusalem will come under Jewish control and be rebuilt. Only then will the majority of Jews in the world return to their homeland. It is thus written, “God is rebuilding Jerusalem; [then] He will gather the dispersed of Israel” (Psalms 147:2).
There is a tradition that the Land of Israel will be cultivated at that time, after a long period of desolation. This is based on the prophecy, “O mountains of Israel, let your branches sprout forth; yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are at hand to come” (Ezekiel 36:8).
There is another important reason why the ingathering of the exile must precede the coming of the Messiah. One of our traditions regarding the advent of the Messianic Era is that it will mark the return of prophecy among the Jewish people. Furthermore, according to the final words ever spoken by a prophet, Elijah will return as a prophet and announce the coming of the Messiah, as it is written, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of God” (Malachi 3:23). This is necessary because the Messiah will be a king, and a king can be anointed only by a prophet. Besides this, the Messiah himself will be a prophet, the greatest of them all, second only to Moses.
Thus, the restoration of prophecy is very important in the unfolding of the Messianic drama. This, however, requires a number of conditions. First of all, prophecy can usually take place only in the Land of Israel, and not in any other land. The land of Israel, however, is not conducive to prophecy at all times. Before prophecy can exist in the land of Israel, it must be inhabited by the majority of Jews in the world. Thus, unless we assume that this rule is to be broken, more than half of the Jewish people will have to live in the Land of Israel before the Messianic Era commences.
One of the most important events in the Messianic Era will be the rebuilding of the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash). Indeed, according to Maimonides, it is the act of building the Temple which will establish the identity of the Messiah beyond any shadow of a doubt. There are, however, many things involving the temple which can only be ascertained prophetically, such as, for example, the precise location of the Altar. When Ezra rebuilt the temple after the Babylonian exile, the place of the altar had to be revealed prophetically, and the same will apparently be true when the temple is rebuilt in the Messianic Ages.
Regarding the conquest of the Land of Israel, the Torah states, “Clear out the land and live in it” (Numbers 33:53). Many authorities maintain that this commandment remains in full force today.
- From The Handbook of Jewish Thought (Vol. 2, Maznaim Publishing).