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I am not asking how I will know who Moshiach is. My question is how will he know to do those things which will let me know who he is. And specifically, will he know long before his revelation that he is Moshiach (i.e. is it possible some guy is walking around for 20 years knowing that he is Moshiach but can't tell anyone yet) or will he suddenly get a nevuah to go do all those things Moshiach does so well?

As always, please source your answers.

(No, I'm not wondering if I may be Moshiach and just don't know it - I am definitively not of the Davidic line. But maybe you?)

Y     e     z
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  • Midrash/gemara says Josiah could have been moshiach. maybe relevant. – Shmuel Apr 28 '14 at 19:22
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    http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/37570 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/10599 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/26938 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/22271 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/22814 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/8857 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/13359 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/37585 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/35312 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/37449 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/35296 – Baby Seal May 20 '14 at 19:58
  • Similar: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/44031 – msh210 Jul 30 '14 at 19:36
  • @BabySeal Impressive sourcing. You do realize that one of your links takes us back to this question, right? – MTL Jan 01 '15 at 17:52
  • @Shokhet LOL oops! http://meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/a/2044/4682 – Baby Seal Jan 02 '15 at 02:56
  • Not sure how you know you are not of Davidic lineage, unless you are a kohen or Levi. Even then, it is not certain as we generally assume that we don't have "kohanim meyuchasim" these days. That is, we cannot be absolutely sure that kohanim are truly kohanim. – mevaqesh Sep 18 '15 at 22:23
  • "how will he know to do those things..." Maybe he will do them on his own accord... – mevaqesh Sep 18 '15 at 22:25
  • @mevaqesh geirim and their descendants know pretty well... – Y     e     z Nov 02 '15 at 04:35
  • @yEz what are you responding to? – mevaqesh Nov 02 '15 at 06:07
  • @mevaqesh to how someone knows they are not of Davidic lineage, despite being neither a Kohen nor a Levi. – Y     e     z Nov 03 '15 at 02:12
  • @yEz but assuming that the Davidic lineage is patrilineal, while necessity for conversion is matrilineal, I see no obviously compelling evidence that the two are mutually exclusive. BTW you have not resoponded to my primary point that you assume that Messiah will not perform his notable activities based on his own inspiration. Do you have any evidence to back up this assumption? – mevaqesh Nov 03 '15 at 02:44
  • @mevaqesh If one's self or father is a convert, one is not a patrilineal descendant of the Davidic line, and kingship follows patrilineal descent. My assumptions are based on what seems reasonable to me - one would not start fighting wars (Rambam melachim 11:4) based on his "own inspiration." Also, if he is supposed to be awaiting Moshiach's arrival until such time as he comes (melachim 12:2), will he know to stop waiting and start being Moshiach without being told to violate this precept? IAE, I don't need to substantiate my assumptions to ask - if you can refute them, post an answer doing so – Y     e     z Nov 03 '15 at 02:58
  • @yEz "If one's self or father is a convert, one is not a patrilineal descendant of the Davidic line, and kingship follows patrilineal descent." evidence that patrilineal descent sans matrilineal descent would not suffice? (not: I do not think your assumption is unlikely; I just want to make sure we are dealing with a not unlikely assumption, rather than a fact. – mevaqesh Nov 03 '15 at 05:00
  • You think prophets would not know they are prophets? Does God know he is the God? This is an insult to the divine Messiah. He will come soon the second time. You should focus on whether do you know him. – Michael16 May 11 '21 at 17:56

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The Chatam Sofer in his responsa section 6:98 (collected answers) states explicitly that Moshiach will not know that he is Moshiach until the time for the redemption is at hand.

והנה בהא דביאת בן דוד , צריך אני להציע הוצעה אחת והוא, כמו שהיה משה רבינו ע"ה שהיה הגואל הראשון נזדקן שמונים שנה ולא ידע ולא הרגיש בעצמו שהוא יהיה גואל ישראל, ואפילו כשאמר לו הקב"ה לכה ואשלחך אל פרעה (שמות ג ' י') מכל מקום סירב ולא רצה לקבל על עצמו, "כן יהיה אי"ה הגואל האחרון

rikitikitembo
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    This is also what is brought from Sefer Ohr HaChamah of Rabbi Avraham Azulai to Zohar, parshat Shemot 7b quoting Rabbi Chaim Vital. http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21490&st=&pgnum=19&hilite= – Yaacov Deane Sep 02 '16 at 16:09
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    According to what is taught by Rabbi Chaim Vital, Moshiach will become aware that he is Moshiach at the time that he merits to prophecy. This is like Moshe Rabbeinu. To emphasize, tradition teaches that the level of prophecy of Moshiach will rival, but not be as great as Moshe. Since part of the quantification of Moshe's level is how quickly he attained prophecy, it means Moshiach will attain this similar level at or slightly after the time Moshe did. Moshe achieved this when he was 80 years old. – Yaacov Deane Sep 02 '16 at 16:16
  • Um, can you translate it in English? –  Apr 23 '18 at 17:05
  • @yaacov Deane "part of the quantification of Moshe's level is how quickly he attained prophecy" Sources? – Orion Jun 14 '18 at 19:07
  • @Orion We are discussing the level of prophecy related to when Moshe knew for a certainty that he was the redeemer of the Jewish people. That source is in the five books of Moshe discussing when G-d first appeared to him at the burning bush. That was when Moshe was 80 years old. – Yaacov Deane Jun 15 '18 at 01:33
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    @yaacov Deane I'm not asking for a source of when or how fast Moshe recieved prophecy. I'm wondering how you know that Mishiach being almost as great as Moshe means he attains prophecy almost as quickly as Moshe and not just that the clarity/strength of his prophecy will be almost as great. – Orion Jun 15 '18 at 03:46
  • @Orion That is a general principle about the final redemption that was taught in great detail by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in explaining the posuk from Micah 7:15. See also Rabbeinu Bechya to BeMidbar 15:41:2 – Yaacov Deane Jun 15 '18 at 04:07
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Well seeming from the pashut pshat(some may not agree) in the Gemara Sanhedrin 98 which discusses the story of Eliyahu Hanavi and Reb Yehoshua Ben Levi ,where he asked when is Mashiach coming,and Eliyahu answered go ask him yourself and he went to Rome and asked Mashiach himself. See there for more details.

From here it seems clear that Mashiach knows who he is .

sam
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This would probably depend on which approach one takes to how the coming of the Messiah is supposed to unfold. According to Rambam, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot 11, the process will unfold naturally, without any supernatural events. The Rambam even metions in Halacha 8 that there will be a period of time in which, based on his accomplishments, we may assume that he is the Messiah, and then if he continues that will confirm to us that he is the Messiah. All this would seem to indicate that, being that this is a completely non-supernatural process occuring, that the Messiah would be in the same position as us as to whether or not he is actually the Messiah.

However, if you take the approach of Ramban and others of a more Kabbalistic persuasion that the coming of the Messiah will be a supernaturalistic event, that the Messiah himself will preform miracles and the like and will have the qualities of a prophet, presumably he will be told prophetically that he is indeed the Messiah.

Jewels
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