 Shalom Aleichem, my sisters and brothers, my friends. Welcome. My name is Yaakov and come sit down and let's have this conversation It's a conversation that's close to my heart and has to do with all of us It's the real Messiah The belief in the Messiah is one of the basic tenets of Judaism We believe that the Messiah will yet come and hopefully anticipate the messianic age But what sort of person will the Messiah be? What sort of age will he usher in? What is the future bringing? There are some pessimists who say that mankind is approaching its end They predict that we will either pollute ourselves off the face of this planet or overpopulate it to the barest marginal existence Others see man doing the job more quickly bringing his civilization crashing down on his head in a nuclear war on the other hand There are optimists who predict a utopian future for mankind They see unlimited energy being generated by thermonuclear furnaces The conquest of man's most dreaded diseases and the solution for all our social problems Leading to a world beyond our fondest present dreams Never before has mankind been faced with such a wide range of possibilities Never before has it had such tremendous power at its disposal to use for good or evil We live in an accelerated age and man of 2,000 years ago Would not find the world of 200 years ago very different But the man of 200 years ago if Transported to today's society would find himself in a world beyond his wildest imagination He would find himself in a world where reaching for the moon is not only a metaphor for the impossible But a well financed government project where atoms are smashed and the secrets of life are being exposed Where the dread plagues the decimated entire civilizations no longer exists Where man communicates instantaneously with all parts of the world and flies in hours to the most distant lands Where beasts of burden are virtually a thing of the past and Man is weighted upon by a host of electrical servants We need not belabor the point but the past hundred years or so have brought about an increase in knowledge unsurpassed in all human history Whether we use it wisely or not These accomplishments are truly amazing What does it all mean? Why is all this happening now in all the thousands of years of human civilization There were many great men of genius Why could they not bring about the revolution of knowledge that we are now experiencing Why did it have to wait until this century and what is all this leading to and in the midst of this Why do we suddenly find a generation that will no longer tolerate war Injustice inequality the poisoning of our environment or any of the other evils that we once felt were inevitable Why the sudden global change of conscience that seems to be shaking the very roots of our civilization Why are more and more people coming to the conclusion that the evils of society are not merely the natural consequences of civilization, but our diseases that call for a cure Is there any relationship between the information explosion and man's increased awareness of social justice? We might dismiss it as mere coincidence However, there is a third ingredient one that already affects the entire world, but it's uniquely related to us as Jews After two thousand years of suffering and prayer We are once again in control of our ancient homeland Again the relationship between this and the other two could be dismissed as mere coincidence Except for one thing It has already been foretold if one looks with an unprejudiced eye at the world today He will see that we are living in an age Where almost all the Jewish prophecies regarding the prelude to the messianic age are coming to pass Even the most doubtful skeptic Cannot help wondering how this could be mere coincidence The man with clear vision can truly see the hand of God at work We who believe in God know that he controls the final destiny of mankind Although each individual has free will God guides the general course of history towards his ends The collective wills of societies are therefore often determined by God Inventions and discoveries come about as a result of the divine will Governments are guided by God to work towards his ends This is what scripture means when it says in Proverbs 21 1 the king's heart is in the hand of God He turns it wherever he wills The ultimate goal of the historic process is the perfection of society Since everything was created by God all must eventually be perfected This is even true of man's mundane world Which was created as an arena for our service towards God The ultimate goal is what we call the messianic age It is the focus of the entire Historical process the coming of the messiah is a basic belief of Judaism This yearning in expectation gives Jews great optimism Concerning the ultimate future of mankind However, if you've ever gone through the many passages in the Bible the Talmud the Midrash and the Zohar that speaks of this messianic age You might become somewhat confused Some traditions seem to contradict others while the line between prediction and allegory Often seem very thin for many of us any attempt to find rhyme and reason in these teachings Seem to be fraught with frustration One of the basic points of contradiction is whether or not the onset of the messianic age will come through miracles Many teachings seem to support the view of the miraculous Such as behold one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven Daniel 713 on the other hand other seem to support a more prosaic view such as behold Your king comes to you lowly and riding on a donkey Zechariah 9 9 the Talmud was aware of this contradiction and Answered it by stating that there are two Basic ways that the messianic age can commence if we are worthy of miracles It will indeed be miraculous if we are not the messianic age will arrive in a natural manner Whether or not we are worthy of miracles God will bring the forces of history to eventually bring about the messianic age if However, we merit miracles we can bring it about before the historical process has paved the way Miracles are not something to be taken lightly Man's free will is one of the prime ingredients of creation if man would lose his free will To act or believe then he obviously obviously could not be held responsible for his actions or beliefs That responsibility is the vital human ingredient of man, and it is essential that his free will Be at all times preserved Witnessing a miracle can destroy one's freedom to believe therefore miracles almost Always occur under such circumstances Where faith is so strong that they do not affect it at all in Order to merit a miracle Man must have such great faith in God that it will in no way be affected by Witnessing the miracle although some of our sages try to bring about the miraculous coming of the messiah Many were resigned to wait for God's own time when the forces of history would bring about this age Without recourse to miracles That's the Amorah Shmuel taught there is no difference between now and the time of the messiah except with respect to our servitude We also find many places where our sages teach us that the redemption will not come all at once but gradually in a natural manner of Course many of the traditions that we find regarding the messianic age are either Allegorical or contingent on factors known only to God Therefore not all are necessary conditions for the redemption For this reason the messiah can come at any time totally without warning In order for a perfect society to exist Such things as disease will have to be eliminated Tracit has been predicted the eyes of the blind will be opened the ears of the death shall be Unstopped then shall the lame man leap as a heart and the tongue of the dumb shall sing Isaiah 35 5 similarly Other forms of work will be eliminated in order that man Devotes himself totally towards his ultimate goal many such miracles are predicted such as grapes as large as a hen's eggs and grains of wheat as big as a fist as We now know all this can be possible with the technology not too far removed from that of today Indeed when Raban Gamliel spoke of these Predicted miracles he stated that they would not involve any change in the laws of nature But our allusions to a highly advanced technology Thus so little labor will be needed to process Agricultural products that clothing and loaves of bread will seem to grow on trees Similarly as we learn the secrets of life processes. It will become possible to make trees bear fruit continually when we think of the miracles of the messianic age as being Technological rather than manifest then we have no trouble understanding traditions that predict such things as space flight and interstellar colonization in the messianic age Even according to those who believe that it will not be a time of manifest miracles Of course, all of this would be mere conjecture and even forced interpretation If it were not for the fact that our present technological revolution has also been predicted With an approximate date as to its inception Almost 2,000 years ago the zoo are predicted in the 600th year of the 6,000 The gates of wisdom on high and the wellsprings of lower wisdom will be opened This will prepare the world to enter the 7,000 just as a man prepares himself Towards sunset on a Friday for the Shabbat. It is the same here and an mnemonic for this is in the 600th year all the foundations of the great deep were split Genesis 7 11 Here we see a clear prediction that in the Jewish year 5600 or 1840 the wellsprings of lower wisdom would be opened And there would be a sudden expansion of secular knowledge Although the year 1840 did not yield any major scientific breakthrough The date corresponds with almost uncanny accuracy to the onset of our present scientific revolution The tradition may have even anticipated the tremendous destructive powers of our modern technology Thus we have the teaching of Rabbi El Azar That the messianic age will begin in a generation with the power to destroy itself If the technological miracles of the messianic age will be dramatic The social revolution will be all the more profound On an international scale it will mean the total end of all war as the prophet Isaiah predicted Nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they practice war anymore Isaiah 2 4 According to many commentaries the allegory The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid Isaiah 11 6 Also refers to the peace and harmony between nations Rabbi Nachman of Breslov states that man will realize the foolishness of war Just as he has already realized that of pagan idolatry On an individual level the changes will be even greater When nations beat their swords into plowshares The hundreds of billions of dollars now used for war and defense will be diverted to the perfection of society There will be a standard of social justice exemplified by the prophecy The Lord has sworn surely I will no more give your corn to be food for your enemies and Strangers will not drink your wine for which they have not labored Isaiah 62 8 this is also the spirit of the prophecy To bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and untie those who are bound Isaiah 61 1 Some of the most radical changes will be a result of the nullification of the curse of Adam The technological revolution will largely eliminate the curse With the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread Genesis 3 19 But this change will be even more far-reaching with respect to women Many of women's disadvantages are a result of Eve's curse In pain you shall bear children and you shall desire your man and he shall rule over you Genesis 3 16 Woman status will change profoundly when this curse is eliminated and this may well be the meaning of the prophecy For God will create a new thing a woman shall court a man Jeremiah 31 22 the rapid changes on both a Technological and sociological level will result in a great social upheaval The cataclysmic changes will result in considerable suffering Often referred to as the heavily Mashiach or birth pangs of the Messiah if the Messiah comes with miracles These may be avoided But the great changes involved in this coming in a natural manner may make these birth pangs Inevitable since in a period of such accelerated change Parents and children will grow up in literally different worlds Traditions handed from father to son will be among the major casualties This will be especially true of the values of religion in such a rapidly changing world People will naturally be enamored with a new and dissatisfied with the old Thus our sages teach us the neither parents nor the aged will be respected The old will have to seek favors from the young and a man's household will become his enemies Insolence will increase people will no longer have respect and none will offer reproof Religious studies will be despised and used by non-believers believers to strengthen their cause The government will become godless academies places of immorality and the religious will be denigrated Judaism will suffer greatly because of these upheavals There is a tradition that the Jews 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 many will leave the fold of Judaism completely This is how our sages interpret the prophecy The wicked shall do wickedly and not understand Daniel 12 10 Of course, there will be some Jews who remain true to their traditions They will realize 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 the based ways of the premacianic age This is the meaning of the prophecy He who departs from evil will be considered a fool Isaiah 59 15 One of the most important traditions regarding the messianic age Concerns the in-gathering of the diaspora and the resettlement of the land of Israel It will begin with a measure of political independence and according to some with the permission of the other nations There are numerous traditions that Jews will begin to return to the land of Israel as a Prelude to the messiah There's also a tradition that the land will be cultivated at that time based on the prophecy But you mountains of Israel you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people of Israel For they are at hand to come Ezekiel 368 There's also a tradition that the messiah will reveal himself in the land of Israel There's even evidence that the majority of the Jews will have to return to their homeland Before the messiah comes in a non miraculous manner One of our important traditions regarding the advent of the messiah is that it will mark the return of prophecy Furthermore according to many traditions the messiah will be preceded by the prophet Elijah and Furthermore he himself will be a prophet However, there is a basic teaching that prophecy can only exist in the land of Israel and then only when the majority of Jews Live there thus unless we assume that this rule is to be broken The majority of Jews will have to live in the land of Israel before the messianic age commences Another important consideration is the tradition that the baked amigdash or holy temple will be rebuilt Before the onset of the messianic age However, there is also a tradition that Jerusalem cannot be rebuilt before the in-gathering of the diaspora This was also seen to indicate that Israel will be settled Before the messianic age, however, it is possible that the messiah himself will accomplish these things Before he is actually recognized for what he is. We will discuss this point later Into a world prepared to receive him the messiah will then be born He will be a mortal human being born normally of human parents tradition states that he will be a direct descendant of King David and Indeed, there are numerous Jewish families today that can claim such lineage We all know of leaders who have literally changed the course of history We have seen for example, how an evil genius like Hitler Literally hypnotized an entire nation Bringing it to do things that normally would be unthinkable in a civilized society If such power exists for evil, it must certainly exist for good Now imagine a charismatic leader greater than any other in man's history Imagine a political genius surpassing all others With a vast communication networks now at our disposal He can spread his message to the entire world and change the very fabric of our society Now imagine that he is a religious Jew at Sadiq It may have once seemed far-fetched that it's Sadiq to assume a role in world leadership But the world is becoming increasingly more accustomed to accepting leaders of all races religions and ethnic groups We may soon have reached the stage where it is not far-fetched to picture at Sadiq in such a role One possible scenario could involve the Middle East situation This is a problem that involves all the world powers Now imagine a Jew at Sadiq solving this thorny problem It would not be inconceivable that such a demonstration of Statement ship and political genius would place him in a position of world leadership The major powers would listen to such an individual Let us go one step further with peace established in the land of Israel He couldn't use many more Jews to emigrate to Israel Perhaps he would negotiate with the Russian government to allow all of its Jews to leave Things might by then have become uncomfortable enough for American Jews to induce them to emigrate as well Witness the decay of the large cities where the majority of Jews live and work in such an Unassuming manner the in-gathering of the exiles could take place. The Jewish people have always had a profound respect for those who assume roles of world leadership This Sadiq would naturally be a most respected leader in all Jewish circles He might even make religion respectable It is just possible that all Jewish leaders would agree to name him their leader and confer upon him the mosaic ordination the chain of this ordination was broken some 1600 years ago and must be renewed before the Sanhedrin the religious supreme court and legislature of the Jews can be Re-established if this Sadiq was so ordained by the entire community He could then re-establish the Sanhedrin This is a necessary condition for the rebuilding of the temple as we find and I will restore your judges as at first And your counselors as at the beginning Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness the faithful city, Isaiah 126 Such a Sanhedrin would also be able to formally recognize the Messiah in his position of leadership Through direct negotiation and perhaps with the concurrence of the world powers This Sadiq might just be able to regain the temple mount for the Jewish people With a Sanhedrin to iron out the many halakhic questions It might then be possible to rebuild the Bessamidash the holy temple However, if this is accomplished, we will already have fulfilled the essential part of the messianic promise Thus the Rambam Maimonides writes if there arises a ruler from the house of David Who is immersed in Torah and Mitzvot like David his ancestor Following both the written and oral law who leads Israel back to the Torah Strengthening its laws and fighting God's battles Then we may assume that he is the Messiah if he is further successful in Rebuilding the temple on its original site and gathering the dispersed of Israel Then his identity as the Messiah is a certainty It is very important to know that these accomplishments are a minimum of our acceptance of an individual as the Messiah There have been numerous people who have claimed to be the Messiah But the fact that they did not achieve these minimal goals proved them to be false Of course, none of this precludes a miraculous advent of the Messiah or any other scenario It is a foundation of our faith that messianic age can miraculously begin any day When Rabbi Yoshua Ben Levy asked Elijah, when would the Messiah come? He answered with the verse Today if you hearken to his voice songs 95 17 as both a genius and it's a dick The Messiah will see through the sham and hypocrisy of this world. That's the prophet foretold He will sense the fear of the Lord and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes Nor decide after the hearing of his ears Isaiah 11 3 as the Messiah's powers develop so will his fame The world will begin to recognize his profound wisdom and come to seek his advice as it's a dick He will teach all mankind to live in peace and follow God's teachings That's the prophet Isaiah foretold and it shall come to pass in the end of days That the mountain of God's house shall be set over all other mountains and let high above the hills and all nations Shall come streaming to it and many people shall come and say Come let us go up to the mountain of God to the house of the God of Jacob and he the Messiah Will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion Shall go forth the Torah and God's word from Jerusalem and he the Messiah will judge between Nations and decide between peoples and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks Nations shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they practice war anymore Isaiah 2 2 to 4 Although the Messiah will influence and teach all mankind His main mission will be to bring the Jews back to God Thus the prophet said for the children of Israel shall sit many days without king or prince Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king in the end of days Hosea 3 4 to 5 Similarly and my servant David shall be king over them and they shall all have one shepherd And they shall also walk in my ordinances and observe my laws as Echiel 37 24 As society reaches towards perfection and the world becomes increasingly godly Men will begin to explore the transcendental more and more The prophet said for all the earth shall be full of the knowledge of God as the water Covers the sea Isaiah 11 9 More and more people will achieve the mystical union of Prophecy as foretold and it shall come to pass Afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters Shall prophesy although man will still have free will in the messianic age He will have every inducement to do good and follow God's teachings It will be as if the powers of evil were totally annihilated and as man approaches this lofty level He will also become worthy of a divine providence not limited by the laws of nature What is now manifestly miraculous will ultimately become part of the nature of things This wedded to the man's newly gained powers to bring forth the best that untainted nature has to offer Will bring man to his ultimate destiny which is the world to come Living on the threshold of the messianic age as we do should be the most exciting experience for any Jew Other generations have expected the messiah's imminent appearance on the basis of the forced interpretation of one or two prophecies Whereas we are living through the entire range of messianic tradition Often coming to pass with uncanny literalness If you keep your eyes open You can almost see every headline bringing us a step closer to this goal But as also predicted it is a time of great challenge We live in a time of snares and temptations lying in wait for the unwary trying them away from the truth As one great rabbi said it is very easy to be a Jew But difficult to want to be A true Jew but imagine a time during which the messiah has already come The truth has been revealed The entire world recognizes what Judaism really is and the Torah is acknowledged as God's true teaching to the world Those who have followed God's ways are now the teachers and leaders of a generation Desperately trying to make up for lives wasted on vanity and foolishness There are two groups Those who have lived by the truth of Torah and those who have not now desperately wishing to become a part of it To which group will you belong?