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I was wondering if the Messiah who is prophesied by many has already to come or are we to continue looking?

Christian Sirolli
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  • The Rambam's 12 principle of faith :I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming. – sam Nov 05 '15 at 16:00
  • This is a perfectly valid question to ask on this site. The answer is that the Messiah has not yet come, and sources can be brought, but the question itself is valid and does not deserve to be downvoted. – Seth J Nov 05 '15 at 16:11
  • This question would be stronger if it included some substantiation (e.g. citations) of the concept "Messiah who is prophesied by many." – Isaac Moses Nov 05 '15 at 16:29
  • @IsaacMoses I could use some help with that. Think you could help? – Christian Sirolli Nov 05 '15 at 16:30
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    @AChildofGod it's best if the question is stated from the point of view of the initial curiosity that prompted it. Where did you hear of the Jewish concept of Messiah, and what Jewish prophecies were you thinking of when you said "prophesied by many"? – Isaac Moses Nov 05 '15 at 16:32
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    @IsaacMoses I think dupe of http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/26938/759 – Double AA Nov 05 '15 at 17:02
  • (related to older version of this post http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/8857/why-dont-jews-think-jesus-is-the-messiah) – Double AA Nov 05 '15 at 17:02
  • "@IsaacMoses I think dupe of judaism.stackexchange.com/q/26938/759 – Double AA♦" I would agree that that the link answers my question. My question would be a duplicate of that one. – Christian Sirolli Nov 05 '15 at 17:27

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According to Rabbi Hillel, the Messiah has already come, and it was king Hezekiah.

Sanhedrin (99a):

Rabbi Hillel said: There is no messiah for Israel for he was consumed in the time of Chizkyahu. Rav Yosef said: May Rabbi Hillel’s Master forgive him. Chizkiyahu lived during the First Temple while Zechariah prophecied during the Second Temple.

You can read more about this here: http://www.torahmusings.com/2010/06/was-rabbi-hillel-a-heretic-2/

Aaron
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  • -1 for a misleading answer. – Daniel Nov 05 '15 at 17:16
  • It is still useful for seeing the beliefs of Jews, no matter if they are correct or not. – Christian Sirolli Nov 05 '15 at 17:17
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    The answer is the equivalent of answering a question whether chicken can be eaten when cooked with cheese by quoting the opinion in the Talmud that it can. – Yishai Nov 05 '15 at 17:24
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    No, because i said "According to Rabbi Hillel." i did not say "Yes the Messiah has come!" Putting forth one specific opinion and saying that it is specific to that person is not misleading – Aaron Nov 05 '15 at 17:26
  • @Aaron It is misleading when the question asks whether the messiah has already come and you quote a source saying that the messiah has come even though that opinion is not accepted as correct. L'havdil, It's like if someone were to ask "Have aliens visited earth?" and you were to respond, "According to Dr. Wacko, yes aliens have visited earth." – Daniel Nov 05 '15 at 17:29
  • There are lots of opinions that are not accepted as correct. But this question is a matter of opinion. Many thought that Bar Kochba was the Messiah. That was their opinion. They in the end turned out to be wrong because Bar Kochba failed to free Judah. – Aaron Nov 05 '15 at 17:32
  • Many people also believed that Shabtai Tzvi was the Messiah and were proven wrong. Because in the case of Shabtai and Tzvi, things ended in a way people weren't expecting, and so their opinions changed. In the case of Rabbi Hillel, King Hezekiah was long since dead, and there is no evidence that Rabbi Hillel ever changed his mind. There might have been many people who agreed with him. – Aaron Nov 05 '15 at 17:34
  • @Aaron So you're saying the answer to the question is "Yes, the messiah has come?" If not, then why are you implying it to be the case? – Daniel Nov 05 '15 at 18:20
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    @Daniel i'm answering that according to one Rabbi, he has come. But have also included the comment of Rabbi Yosef who immediately responds unfavorably to Rabbi Hillel's statement. If someone asked the question "Is the universe static and fixed" there is no shortage of answers that say "No! so and so and so and so say it's expanding!" But it's still fair to answer that "According to Einstein, the Universe is fixed" (even though many claimed he went back and forth on this) – Aaron Nov 05 '15 at 18:27
  • That would not be an appropriate response on its own unless the answer indicates that this position is not accepted as correct. – Daniel Nov 05 '15 at 18:28
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    Rashi already explains what Rav Hillel meant:אין להם משיח לישראל. אלא הקב"ה ימלוך בעצמו ויגאלם לבדו: there are many more commentaries which explain the difficulty of going against a basic principle of our faith and rectify it – sam Nov 05 '15 at 18:33
  • @Sam The link i provided already cites Rashi as well as others. Is there something wrong with my link? – Aaron Nov 05 '15 at 18:48
  • The answer appears to be neutral on the opinion of @Aaron . It does give the opinion of a Rabbi. It is useful to understanding the opinions of others on whether the Messiah has come or not. – Christian Sirolli Nov 05 '15 at 21:46
  • @AChildofGod - Rabbi Hillel is not saying the Messiah already came. His opinion is that the concept of the messiah was "consumed" (nullified) during the reign of Hezekiah. – ezra Jun 02 '17 at 17:14
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    @sam But numerous other Rishonim such as Ramah understand his opinion at face value. If there is a problem with this post it isn't that it follows the Rishonim who understand the Gemara simply. – mevaqesh Dec 08 '17 at 20:25