What Do People Ask About Moshiach?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, King Moshiach, taught that the time of the Redemption has arrived and that every Jew must do all he can to bring Moshiach now. The answers to the most common questions about Moshiach come from the Rebbe’s talks, the Rambam and the Talmud.

What does Moshiach mean, and who is Moshiach?

Moshiach means “anointed one,” a king from the House of David who redeems Israel (Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 11:1).

The Rambam rules that King Moshiach will restore the kingdom of David, build the Beis Hamikdash and gather the dispersed of Israel (Hilchos Melachim 11:1). The word Moshiach is the Hebrew title of an anointed king.

The Rebbe taught that Moshiach is not only a hope for the future. In every generation there is “a person from among the descendants of Judah who is worthy of being the Mashiach of Israel,” and were there no obstacles, he would have come already (Sichos In English, “Mashiach in Every Generation,” 5752). The signs by which he is recognized are listed in the Rambam’s laws of King Moshiach (Hilchos Melachim 11:4).

When will Moshiach come?

The Rebbe taught that the time of the Redemption has arrived, citing the Yalkut Shimoni (Yeshayahu 499).

When the Gulf crisis began in 5750, the Rebbe asked that a passage of the Yalkut Shimoni be publicized. Its details matched the events in the Persian Gulf, and it ends with Moshiach announcing to the Jewish people: “Humble ones, the time for your redemption has arrived” (Sichos In English, “On the Threshold of the Redemption,” 5751). The Rebbe linked the miraculous victory to the Yalkut Shimoni’s “year in which the Messianic king will be revealed” (Sichos In English, “The Fulfillment of Our Human Potential,” 5751).

The Rebbe also taught that all the service needed to bring the Redemption has been completed, and there is no valid reason for the exile to continue. Our task is “standing prepared to greet Mashiach” (Sichos In English, “Mashiach in Every Generation”). The Talmud teaches that Moshiach comes “today, if you will listen to His voice” (Sanhedrin 98a). The Rebbe pointed to the Gulf War victory and the ingathering of Jews to the Holy Land as wonders of that year and signs that Moshiach is coming (Sichos In English, “The Fulfillment of Our Human Potential”).

How can we bring Moshiach?

On 28 Nissan 5751 the Rebbe told every Jew: “Do everything you can to bring Mashiach.”

“All that I can possibly do is to give the matter over to you. Now, do everything you can to bring Mashiach, here and now, immediately.... I have done whatever I can: from now on, you must do whatever you can....” (Sichos In English, “Helping to Bring Mashiach,” 28 Nissan 5751)

The Rebbe’s talks of 5751 spell out how to bring Moshiach in practice:

• Add in Torah study, both the revealed Torah and Chassidus (Shabbos Parshas Shemini 5751).
• Keep the mitzvos beautifully and with care, behiddur (Shabbos Parshas Shemini 5751).
• Learn the subjects of Moshiach and the Redemption. The Rebbe called this study the beginning of living with Moshiach (Sichos In English, Shabbos Parshas Balak 5751).
• Give tzedakah, for “great is tzedakah, for it brings the Redemption near” (Bava Basra 10a).

What happens when Moshiach comes?

The Rambam rules that Moshiach builds the Beis Hamikdash and gathers the exiles (Hilchos Melachim 11:4).

The Rambam describes the era: “There will be neither famine nor war, neither envy nor competition, for good things will flow in abundance.... The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know G-d” (Hilchos Melachim 12:5). The Rebbe quoted these words often in 5751 and 5752.

• The Third Beis Hamikdash, already built in heaven, will be revealed in Jerusalem.
• The exiles of Israel will be gathered to the Land.
• All nations will serve G-d together (Tzefaniah 3:9).
• The resurrection of the dead, one of the Rambam’s thirteen principles of faith, will follow.

The Rebbe taught that nothing good done in exile is lost. The Redemption keeps every positive achievement and removes only the concealment of G-dliness (Sichos In English, Shabbos Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim 5751).

Is the Lubavitcher Rebbe Moshiach?

Yes; the Rebbe stated in his own edited talks that the leader of our generation is Moshiach.

The talks of 5751 and 5752 were edited by the Rebbe himself for publication. In them the Rebbe said that the Nasi HaDor, the leader of the generation, is the Moshiach of the generation; that the leader of our generation is Moshiach and is already revealed (Vayeira, Chayei Sarah, Vayeitzei, Vayechi and Mishpatim 5752, and the talk on Beis Rabbeinu Shebebavel); and that the name of Moshiach is Menachem (Tazria-Metzora 5751; Yisro and Tetzaveh 5752). The Rebbe also noted that 770 is the numerical value of “Beis Moshiach,” the house of Moshiach (Yechi HaMelech, N’Shei Chabad, question 16).

The Rebbe encouraged the singing of Yechi HaMelech in public and before cameras, a public declaration that the Rebbe is Moshiach.

What is Gimmel Tammuz, and why do we still say Yechi?

Gimmel Tammuz is the concealment of the Rebbe from our eyes of flesh, not an interruption in his life.

On 3 Tammuz 5754 the Rebbe’s physical presence was concealed. The Rebbe continues to lead. In the words of the Yechi HaMelech booklet: “Gimmel Tammuz did not bring an interruption in the Rebbe’s life, Chas Veshalom, there is a concealment to our eyes of flesh” (question 13).

In the talk of Beis Nissan 5748, the Rebbe explained that proclaiming “Yechi HaMelech” crowns the king, gives life to the king and brings the coming of Moshiach (Sefer HaSichos 5748, vol. 1, pp. 350, 351, 354). During the concealment it is even more important to say it, to remove every concealment (Yechi HaMelech, questions 3 and 13). The words of Yechi Adoneinu proclaim the Rebbe as King Moshiach, to live forever.

What happens to non-Jews and other faiths when Moshiach comes?

The Rambam rules that Moshiach will bring all nations to serve G-d together (Hilchos Melachim 11:4).

The Rambam rules that Moshe was commanded to bring all humanity to accept the Seven Noahide Laws, and that a non-Jew who keeps them as G-d’s command has a share in the World to Come (Hilchos Melachim 8:10–11). The Rebbe called the Noahide Laws “the blueprint which the Almighty gave Moses to allow all men to live in harmony” (Sichos In English, Elul 5751). Knowing G-d and serving Him together is the role of non-Jews in the days of Moshiach.

The Rambam writes that other faiths only prepared the way for King Moshiach by spreading the idea of Moshiach in the world. Their followers will come to realize that they inherited falsehood (Hilchos Melachim 11:4, uncensored). The Torah’s own criteria are why Judaism does not accept the Christian messiah.