Who Is the Messiah in Judaism?

Every day, three times a day, millions of Jews pray that “the offshoot of David” may soon flourish. The word “Messiah” itself comes from Hebrew, and it was Judaism that gave this idea to the world. But who is the Messiah for Jews? What is he meant to accomplish, where does this hope come from, and why does Judaism not recognize Jesus as the Messiah? Here is a complete answer, with the verses, the Talmud, Maimonides and history.

In short: the Mashiach (Hebrew for “the one who has been anointed”) is, according to Jewish tradition, a man, descended from King David through his father, who will come at the end of days to restore the kingship of David, rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, gather the scattered Jewish people back to their land and open an era of universal peace in which all humanity will recognize G-d (Yeshayahu [Isaiah] 2:4 and 11:1-12; Yechezkel [Ezekiel] 37:24-28). He is neither a divine being nor a savior who atones for people’s sins in their place, but a king and a leader. Believing in his coming and awaiting it is one of the thirteen principles of faith formulated by the Rambam (Maimonides). Judaism does not recognize Jesus as the Messiah because, by its criteria, the Messiah is recognized by what he accomplishes: as long as the Temple has not been rebuilt, the exiles have not been gathered in and peace has not settled on the earth, the Messiah has not yet come (Rambam, Hilkhot Melakhim 11:4).

What does the word “Messiah” mean?

The English word “Messiah” comes, through Greek and Latin, from the Hebrew Mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), meaning “anointed”, that is, “the one who has received anointing”. The Greek word “Christos” is simply its translation. In the Hebrew Bible, anointing means pouring olive oil on someone’s head to consecrate him to a role.

The high priest was anointed: the Torah calls him “the anointed priest”, hakohen hamashiach (Vayikra [Leviticus] 4:3). Above all, kings were anointed. The prophet Shmuel pours the flask of oil on the head of Shaul, the first king of Israel (Shmuel I [I Samuel] 10:1), then takes “the horn of oil” and anoints the young David in the midst of his brothers (Shmuel I 16:13). David himself refuses to raise his hand against Shaul, because he is “the L-rd’s mashiach” (Shmuel I 24:7). The prophet Yeshayahu even calls Cyrus, the Persian king who allowed the exiles to return to Jerusalem, “His anointed” (Yeshayahu 45:1).

So in the Bible, “mashiach” is not yet a proper name. It is a title: the one whom G-d has chosen and consecrated for a mission. Over time, the expression Melekh HaMashiach, “the King Messiah”, came to designate one particular king, the last and greatest of the line of David, the one who will bring history to its completion. It is in this sense that Jewish tradition speaks of “the” Messiah.

What the Torah and the prophets foretell

The Written Torah, the five books of Moshe, does not speak explicitly of a “Messiah”. But tradition reads several allusions into it, two of which are quoted by the Rambam himself (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:1).

The first is Yaakov’s blessing to his son Yehuda: “The scepter shall not depart from Yehuda […] until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Bereshit [Genesis] 49:10). Targum Onkelos, the classic Aramaic translation of the Torah, renders “Shiloh” as “the Messiah, to whom the kingship belongs”, and the Talmud counts Shiloh among the names of the Messiah (Sanhedrin 98b). The kingship of Israel belongs to the tribe of Yehuda, and it is from this tribe that the last king will come.

The second is the prophecy of Bilam: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come forth from Yaakov, and a scepter shall rise from Israel” (Bamidbar [Numbers] 24:17). Each time, the Rambam reads the first half of the phrase as an allusion to King David, and the second as an allusion to the King Messiah. The third, also quoted by the Rambam, is the promise of return: “The L-rd your G-d will bring back your captives […] and will gather you again from all the peoples; even if your exiles are at the end of the heavens, from there the L-rd your G-d will gather you” (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 30:3-4).

It is above all the prophets who paint the portrait of the messianic age. Five features stand out.

• A king from the house of David. “A shoot shall come forth from the stump of Yishai, and a branch shall grow from his roots. The spirit of the L-rd shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding” (Yeshayahu 11:1-2). Yishai is David’s father. Yirmeyahu likewise announces: “I will raise up for David a righteous branch; he shall reign as king, act wisely and execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Yirmeyahu [Jeremiah] 23:5).
• The ingathering of the exiles. “He will raise a banner for the nations, gather the outcasts of Israel and assemble the scattered of Yehuda from the four corners of the earth” (Yeshayahu 11:12). Yechezkel sees it in the vision of the dry bones that come back to life: “I will open your graves […] and I will bring you back to the land of Israel” (Yechezkel 37:12).
• The rebuilt Temple. “My servant David shall be king over them […] and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forever” (Yechezkel 37:24-26). “It shall come to pass at the end of days that the mountain of the L-rd’s house shall be established at the top of the mountains” (Yeshayahu 2:2).
• Universal peace. “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore” (Yeshayahu 2:4; Mikha [Micah] 4:3). “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb” (Yeshayahu 11:6).
• Knowledge of G-d throughout the world. “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L-rd, as the waters cover the sea” (Yeshayahu 11:9). “The L-rd shall be King over all the earth; on that day the L-rd shall be One and His Name One” (Zekharia [Zechariah] 14:9).

The prophets add a touching detail: this king will come “humble, riding on a donkey” (Zekharia 9:9), and he will be preceded by the prophet Eliyahu, who “will turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to their fathers” (Malakhi [Malachi] 3:23-24).

What the Talmud says

The Talmud devotes a long passage to the Messiah in the chapter “Chelek” of tractate Sanhedrin (Sanhedrin 97a-99a), where the Sages debate, sometimes taking opposite views.

When will he come?

The Talmud reports a teaching from the school of Eliyahu: the world is to last six thousand years, two thousand of “tohu” (emptiness), two thousand of Torah and two thousand of “the days of the Messiah” (Sanhedrin 97a). But other Sages refuse to make calculations. Rabbi Yonatan utters a harsh sentence: “May the bones of those who calculate the end be crushed!” For, he says, when the calculated date passes and the Messiah has not come, people conclude that he will never come (Sanhedrin 97b).

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi points out a contradiction in a verse: “I, the L-rd, will hasten it in its time” (Yeshayahu 60:22). Is it “in its time”, or “I will hasten it”? The answer: if they are worthy, I will hasten it; if they are not worthy, it will come in its time (Sanhedrin 98a). So the redemption has a deadline, but it can come sooner.

The Messiah at the gates of Rome

The Talmud tells that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi met the prophet Eliyahu and asked him when the Messiah would come. “Go and ask him yourself,” Eliyahu replied. He is at the gates of Rome, sitting among the sick poor; all the others unbind and rebind their bandages all at once, but he unbinds them one at a time, so as to be ready if he is called. Rabbi Yehoshua went to see him and asked: “When will you come, master?” He answered: “Today.” The day passed, and he did not come. Eliyahu explained: he meant “today, if you will listen to His voice” (Tehilim [Psalms] 95:7; Sanhedrin 98a). The Messiah is ready; it is we who are not.

The “birth pangs of the Messiah”

The Sages also describe a difficult period before his coming, the chevlei Mashiach, the “birth pangs of the Messiah”. The Mishna, at the end of tractate Sota, depicts a generation in which “insolence will increase”, in which “the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog”, in which “sons will not be ashamed before their fathers” (Mishna Sota 9:15). Some Sages, frightened by these descriptions, said: “Let him come, but may I not see him!” (Sanhedrin 98b).

A world that remains a world

One of the most important teachings is that of Shmuel: “There is no difference between this world and the days of the Messiah except for the end of subjugation to the kingdoms” (Berakhot 34b; Sanhedrin 99a). In other words, the messianic age is not a magical world: it is our world, but freed from oppression, a world in which Israel lives freely in its land and humanity lives in peace.

Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David

The Talmud also mentions a second figure, Mashiach ben Yosef, a Messiah from the tribe of Yosef, who is to die in battle and be mourned, according to one reading of a verse in Zekharia (Zekharia 12:10; Sukkah 52a). In tradition, he prepares the ground, and it is Mashiach ben David who completes the work. Rav Benizri, as we will see, offers a profound reading of these two figures.

Finally, the Talmud teaches that the name of the Messiah is one of the seven things that were created before the world (Pesachim 54a). The hope of repair is written into the very plan of creation.

What the Rambam writes: the portrait of the King Messiah

It was the Rambam (Maimonides, 1138-1204) who gave the clearest and most widely followed definition of the Messiah, in the last two chapters of his code of law, the Mishneh Torah (Hilkhot Melakhim, chapters 11 and 12).

A fundamental belief

He writes first: “The King Messiah will arise and restore the kingship of David to its former sovereignty. He will build the Sanctuary and gather the dispersed of Israel.” And he adds: whoever does not believe in him, or does not await his coming, denies not only the prophets but the Torah and Moshe himself (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:1). This is why the Rambam makes it the twelfth of his thirteen principles of faith (Commentary on the Mishna, Sanhedrin, chapter 10). It is summed up in the formula many recite every morning: “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nevertheless I will wait every day for him to come.” It draws on the prophet Chavakuk: “Though it tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come” (Chavakuk [Habakkuk] 2:3).

No miracles required

The Rambam specifies: “Do not think that the King Messiah must perform signs and wonders, bring about new things in the world or revive the dead.” He gives a historical proof: Rabbi Akiva, the greatest Sage of his time, regarded Bar Kokhba as the King Messiah and asked him for no miracle (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:3). The Torah, he continues, does not change: its laws are eternal, and the Messiah comes neither to add to them nor to take away from them.

The criteria for recognizing him

The Rambam then gives precise criteria, which are the heart of the Jewish position (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:4):

• If a king arises from the house of David who studies Torah and observes the mitzvot (commandments) like David his ancestor, who brings all Israel back to following the Torah and who fights the wars of G-d, he is presumed to be the Messiah.
• If he succeeds, builds the Temple on its site and gathers the dispersed of Israel, then he is certainly the Messiah. He will repair the entire world so that all serve G-d together, as it is said: “For then I will give the peoples a pure language” (Tzefania [Zephaniah] 3:9).
• If he did not succeed, or if he was killed, it is clear that he was not the one.

The Messiah is therefore defined by a mission, and he is recognized by what he accomplishes in his lifetime.

The wolf and the lamb

In the following chapter, the Rambam explains that the order of nature will not change in the messianic age. The prophecy of the wolf dwelling with the lamb is an image: the nations, compared to beasts of prey, will live in peace with Israel (Hilkhot Melakhim 12:1). No one knows exactly how these things will happen until they happen; one should therefore not dwell on the details or calculate dates (12:2).

The true purpose

Finally, the Rambam says why the Messiah is awaited: “The Sages and the prophets did not long for the days of the Messiah in order to rule the world, nor to dominate the nations, nor to be honored by them, nor to eat, drink and make merry, but to be free to devote themselves to the Torah and its wisdom, with no oppressor and no disturber” (Hilkhot Melakhim 12:4). He concludes his entire great code of law with the verse: “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L-rd, as the waters cover the sea” (12:5).

Awaiting the Messiah in Jewish life

Awaiting the Messiah is not an abstract idea: it is woven into prayer and into the festivals.

• In the Amida, the central prayer recited three times a day, several blessings ask for it: the ingathering of the exiles, the restoration of the judges, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and this one: “Cause the offshoot of David Your servant to flourish soon […] for we hope for Your salvation all day long.”
• In the Kaddish, many communities, notably Sephardic and Hasidic ones, add: “May He cause His salvation to sprout and bring His Messiah near.”
• In Birkat Hamazon, the blessing after meals, we ask for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and mention “the kingship of the house of David, Your anointed”.
• At the Pesach Seder, a cup is filled for the prophet Eliyahu and the door is opened: the one who is to herald the Messiah is expected in every home. And the evening ends with “Next year in Jerusalem!”, like the closing prayer of Yom Kippur.
• Every day, the Mishna recalls, we mention the Exodus from Egypt “to bring the days of the Messiah” (Mishna Berakhot 1:5): the past redemption heralds the future one.
• On the 9th of Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple, a tradition relates that it was on that very day that the redeemer was born, named Menachem, “the comforter” (Jerusalem Talmud, Berakhot 2:4; Eikha Rabba 1:51). The mourning already contains its consolation.

The Talmud also teaches that at the judgment a person is asked: “Did you hope for redemption?” (Shabbat 31a). Hope is not an optional emotion; it is a responsibility.

History: false messiahs and Jewish caution

Over the centuries, men have claimed to be the Messiah. These episodes explain the great caution of Jewish tradition.

Bar Kokhba (132-135)

Sixty years after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans (70 CE), Shimon bar Koziba led a revolt against Rome. Rabbi Akiva saw him as the Messiah and called him “Bar Kokhba”, “son of the star”, in reference to the verse “a star shall come forth from Yaakov” (Bamidbar 24:17). But another Sage, Rabbi Yochanan ben Torta, answered him: “Akiva, grass will grow from your cheeks and the son of David will still not have come” (Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 4:5; 68d). The revolt was crushed in 135 at Betar; Jerusalem became a pagan city forbidden to Jews. In line with the Rambam’s criteria, Bar Kokhba, having been killed, was not the Messiah.

Shabbetai Tzvi (1665-1666)

In the 17th century, after the massacres of 1648 in Poland and Ukraine, a kabbalist from Smyrna, Shabbetai Tzvi, proclaimed himself the Messiah, backed by his “prophet”, Nathan of Gaza. The fervor swept through a large part of the Jewish world, from the Ottoman Empire to Amsterdam; some sold their possessions to set out for the Holy Land. Arrested by the Ottoman authorities at the beginning of 1666, he converted to Islam in September of that year to save his life. The shock was immense. Ever since, rabbis have been wary of any hasty messianic proclamation.

The letter to Yemen

As early as the 12th century, the Rambam had to answer the Jews of Yemen, who were unsettled by a man presenting himself as the Messiah. In his famous Iggeret Teiman (Epistle to Yemen, around 1172), he encourages them to keep their faith and their hope, while explaining how to recognize an impostor: a Messiah who calls for changing the Torah or who does not fulfill his mission is not the Messiah.

This history teaches a double balance: never stop waiting, and never let oneself be carried away by impatience.

Why don’t Jews recognize Jesus as the Messiah?

Many people ask this question, often without any hostility at all. Judaism answers it with respect for Christians: the answer does not rest on a judgment of the person of Jesus, but on the Jewish definition of the Messiah as it follows from the prophets.

He did not fulfill the messianic mission

For the prophets, the Messiah is recognized by what he does: he rebuilds the Temple, gathers the exiles, brings universal peace and the knowledge of G-d to the whole earth. Yet some forty years after the death of Jesus, the Temple was destroyed (70), the Jewish people went into a long exile, and the world did not see the end of wars announced by Yeshayahu (2:4). The Rambam writes it explicitly: one who did not succeed, or who was killed, is not the Messiah (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:4). The idea of a “second coming”, in which the Messiah would later accomplish what he did not do the first time, does not exist in Jewish texts.

At the Disputation of Barcelona in 1263, before King James I of Aragon, the Ramban (Nachmanides) made this argument: the prophets announce a world in which war will no longer be learned; yet the world has not changed. He added that, for Judaism, the essential thing is not the Messiah but the Torah and the mitzvot.

The Messiah is a man, not G-d

In Judaism, G-d is One, without body or image, and He does not become a man: “Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One” (Devarim 6:4); “G-d is not a man” (Bamidbar 23:19). The Messiah, according to all Jewish texts, is a human being, born of a father and a mother, great in wisdom and piety, but he is not divine and no worship is offered to him.

The line of David passes through the father

The Messiah must be a descendant of David. Yet in the Torah, membership of a tribe is passed down through the father (Bamidbar 1:18: “by their fathers’ houses”). The Christian account of a virgin birth means, on its own terms, that Jesus had no human father descended from David; the criterion of lineage is therefore not met according to Jewish law.

No one dies for another’s sins

In Judaism, each person answers for his own deeds, and forgiveness is obtained through teshuva (returning to G-d), prayer and making amends. “Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor sons for fathers; each shall die for his own sin” (Devarim 24:16; see also Yechezkel 18:20). The Messiah’s role is not to atone for the sins of humanity, but to lead a repaired world.

The Torah does not change

Finally, the Torah says: “Everything I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Devarim 13:1). The Rambam deduces from this that no prophet and no Messiah can abolish the commandments (Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah 9:1; Hilkhot Melakhim 11:3). Yet Christianity, over time, abandoned Shabbat, circumcision and the dietary laws.

What about the “suffering servant”?

Christians often read chapter 53 of Yeshayahu, which describes a despised and suffering “servant”, as a prophecy of Jesus. The traditional Jewish reading, notably that of Rashi, sees in it the people of Israel itself, humiliated by the nations, whom the nations will recognize at the end of days. Indeed, the prophet calls Israel “My servant” several times (Yeshayahu 41:8; 44:1; 49:3). The Christian theologian Origen, in the 3rd century, already reports that the Jews of his time read the passage this way (Against Celsus 1:55).

A serene outlook

The Rambam, in a passage of his Mishneh Torah that was long censored, takes a surprisingly broad view of this history. He writes that, even though Christianity and Islam do not correspond to the truth of the Torah, they have helped to “prepare the way for the King Messiah” by spreading the ideas of the Torah, of the commandments and of the hope for the Messiah throughout the world, even to distant islands (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:4). For him, when the true Messiah comes, everyone will understand. Judaism asks no one to become Jewish: it teaches that the righteous of the nations, who keep the seven Noahide laws, have a share in the World to Come.

What Rav Raphaël Benizri teaches

Rav Benizri has addressed the question of the Messiah several times in his lectures, often starting from the narratives of the Torah. Here are his main ideas, faithfully summarized.

Messianism and Mashiach

To a participant from Tiberias who had been told that fires and floods were heralding the coming of the Messiah, the Rav replies, in his lecture Yom Kippur: the Book of Jonah and teshuva, that he is not a prophet. First, one must distinguish between messianism and Mashiach: “there are different messianisms, but there is only one Mashiach”, even if he bears different names and different attributes. And he warns: if the Messiah came now and we were not ready to help him, to embrace his demands, he would have come for nothing.

A unifier, not a perfect being

In Vayetze: Rachel and Leah, two faces, a participant wonders why we never hear about the Messiah’s faults. The Rav answers that it is a mistake to define him as a perfect being: the Mashiach is the one who manages to bring about a perfection within humanity, by uniting under a single banner elements that remain independent and autonomous.

He returns to this idea in Lech Lecha: Lot, our neighbor. Mashiach ben Yosef carries the idea that everything must be placed under a single banner, that of the Creator; but he gives way to Mashiach ben David, who makes sure that each person keeps what characterizes and individualizes him. Neither logic is to be excluded: it is their sum that makes up the messianism of the Jewish people.

We bring the Messiah

In The 3 Patriarchs: mirrors of our lives, the Rav insists: it is not enough to wait for a Messiah coming from outside; messianism unfolds in stages, on the personal as well as the collective level, and “we bring him”. For that, even when “the hands are the hands of Esav”, the voice must remain “the voice of Yaakov” (Bereshit 27:22): the voice of study, of prayer and of dialogue between all the components of the people. Isolating a single aspect of Jewish thought while relegating everything else to the background is what he calls a “messianic miscarriage”. In Bereshit: the foundations of the human being, he specifies that no one needs to claim to be the Messiah, but that each of us carries a part of him, in the care we take of others, and above all of those smaller than ourselves.

In Tisha BeAv: rising above oneself, he explains why, according to tradition, the Messiah is born on the day of the Temple’s destruction. On Yom Kippur, we rely on G-d’s forgiveness; on Tisha BeAv, the people realize that everything depends on them, on their ability to overcome their weaknesses. It is from this awareness that every rebuilding is born.

A lineage open to the world

In Yehuda and Tamar: the scandal that prepares redemption, the Rav shows that the Messiah’s lineage is prepared in an unexpected story. Of Tamar’s twins, Peretz “bursts forth” first: from him will come David, who confronts Goliath, liberates the land and plans the site of the Temple. But Zerach, “the rising of the sun”, is a reminder that a promise is not imposed by force alone: the recognition of the nations is needed as well. The Rav also notes that the name of Shela, Yehuda’s third son, is close to “Shiloh”, one of the names of the Messiah.

In Shavuot: the Book of Ruth and chesed, he recalls that David descends from Ruth, a Moabite woman who came from a foreign world: “a Torah without a messianic dimension, without a national dimension, without a social dimension, without a universal dimension has no reason to exist”. And in Pesach: where to begin the Haggadah?, he teaches that in the messianic age humanity will adopt the seven Noahide laws on the basis of the recognition of G-d, and that the Messiah will have a “nose” for the truth, like the ant that turns away from a grain already taken by its neighbor: not coveting what belongs to another.

Common misconceptions about the Messiah

• “Jews are waiting for a supernatural savior.” No. The Messiah is a man, a just and wise king. The Talmud teaches that the days of the Messiah differ from our world only in the end of oppression (Berakhot 34b).
• “The Messiah will do everything for us.” No. Tradition insists on the human part: the redemption can be hastened through merit (Sanhedrin 98a), and the Messiah is waiting for us to “listen to His voice”.
• “The messianic age is the end of the world.” No. It is the fulfillment of history, in a world that goes on. The resurrection of the dead and the “World to Come” are distinct notions, linked but different.
• “The Messiah will be for Jews only.” No. The prophets announce peace and the knowledge of G-d for all nations (Yeshayahu 2:2-4; Zekharia 14:9).
• “You need to know the date.” No. The Sages warned against calculations (Sanhedrin 97b), and the Rambam asks us not to dwell on them (Hilkhot Melakhim 12:2).

Frequently asked questions about the Messiah

Who is the Messiah for Jews?

He is a man, descended from King David through his father, who will become king of Israel, bring the people back to the Torah, rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, gather the exiles and open an era of universal peace. He is not divine. He will be recognized by what he accomplishes (Rambam, Hilkhot Melakhim 11:4).

Are Jews still waiting for the Messiah?

Yes. Believing in his coming and awaiting it every day is one of the Rambam’s thirteen principles of faith, and this hope is expressed three times a day in the Amida. Observant Jews pray for his coming “speedily, in our days”.

What is the difference between Mashiach and Messiah?

None: “Messiah” is the English form of the Hebrew word Mashiach, which means “anointed”. The word “Christ” is its Greek translation. These are three languages for one and the same title, but the religions give it different content.

What will happen when the Messiah comes?

According to the prophets and the Rambam: the restoration of the kingship of David, the rebuilding of the Temple, the return of the exiles to the land of Israel, the end of wars and the knowledge of G-d spread over the whole earth. The Rambam specifies that no one knows exactly how these things will unfold until they happen.

Will the Messiah perform miracles?

Not necessarily. The Rambam writes that one should not think the Messiah must perform wonders or revive the dead in order to be recognized; he cites Rabbi Akiva, who regarded Bar Kokhba as the Messiah without asking him for a miracle (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:3).

What is Mashiach ben Yosef?

He is a messianic figure mentioned in the Talmud (Sukkah 52a), from the tribe of Yosef, who is to precede Mashiach ben David and fall in battle. For Rav Benizri, these two figures represent two complementary logics: the unity of all under a single banner, and respect for the identity of each.

Why don’t Jews recognize Jesus as the Messiah?

Because, according to the prophets and the Rambam, the Messiah must accomplish in his lifetime the rebuilding of the Temple, the ingathering of the exiles and universal peace, which did not happen. Moreover, the Messiah is a man and not G-d, he descends from David through his father, and he does not change the Torah.

Further reading

• Yom Kippur: the Book of Jonah and teshuva
• Lech Lecha: Lot, our neighbor
• Vayetze: Rachel and Leah, two faces
• Yehuda and Tamar: the scandal that prepares redemption
• Tisha BeAv: rising above oneself
• Tisha BeAv: why the 9th of Av is a day of mourning
• What does “chosen people” mean in Judaism?
• What happens after death according to Judaism?
• What is the Talmud?
• Glossary of Hebrew words in Judaism

Sources and references

• Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:3 (the anointed priest); Shmuel I (I Samuel) 10:1; 16:13; 24:7 (anointing of Shaul and David); Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:1 (Cyrus)
• Bereshit (Genesis) 49:10 and Targum Onkelos on that verse (Shiloh); Bamidbar (Numbers) 24:17; Devarim (Deuteronomy) 30:3-4
• Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 2:2-4; 11:1-12; 41:8; 44:1; 49:3; 52:13 to 53:12 and Rashi on that passage; 60:22; Mikha (Micah) 4:3
• Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 23:5; Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 37:12 and 24-26; Chavakuk (Habakkuk) 2:3; Tzefania (Zephaniah) 3:9; Zekharia (Zechariah) 9:9; 12:10; 14:9; Malakhi (Malachi) 3:23-24; Tehilim (Psalms) 95:7
• Devarim 6:4; 13:1; 24:16; Bamidbar 1:18; Bamidbar 23:19; Yechezkel 18:20; Bereshit 27:22
• Mishna Berakhot 1:5; Mishna Sota 9:15
• Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a-99a (six thousand years; “may the bones of those who calculate the end be crushed”; “in its time / I will hasten it”; the Messiah at the gates of Rome; names of the Messiah; “let him come, but may I not see him”)
• Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 34b and Sanhedrin 99a (teaching of Shmuel); Sukkah 52a (Mashiach ben Yosef); Pesachim 54a (the name of the Messiah created before the world); Shabbat 31a (“did you hope for redemption?”)
• Jerusalem Talmud, Berakhot 2:4 and Eikha Rabba 1:51 (Menachem born on the 9th of Av); Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 4:5 (68d) (Rabbi Akiva and Bar Kokhba)
• Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Melakhim 11:1-4 and 12:1-5; Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah 9:1
• Rambam, Commentary on the Mishna, Sanhedrin chapter 10 (Chelek), twelfth principle of faith; Iggeret Teiman (around 1172)
• Ramban (Nachmanides), Vikuach (account of the Disputation of Barcelona, 1263)
• Origen, Against Celsus 1:55
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Yom Kippur: the Book of Jonah and teshuva
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Vayetze: Rachel and Leah, two faces
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Lech Lecha: Lot, our neighbor
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, The 3 Patriarchs: mirrors of our lives
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Bereshit: the foundations of the human being
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Tisha BeAv: rising above oneself
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Yehuda and Tamar: the scandal that prepares redemption
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Shavuot: the Book of Ruth and chesed
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Pesach: where to begin the Haggadah?

Article by the Pensées Juives editorial team. Passages attributed to Rav Raphaël Benizri are taken from his lectures published on this site.