What of the messiah?

'Tis the season when many Christians around the world begin their annual commemoration of the belief in the birth of their messiah. Many a well-intentioned Christian has asked me about why I reject Jesus the messiah or said to me something along the lines of, "I know you are still waiting for the messiah..." It is not true that I am still awaiting a messiah, nor are most Jews.

It might come as a surprise, but 99% of what most Christians have been told about Jews and a belief in a messiah is not correct, so today I seek to bring a bit of clarity to the issue of the concept of a messiah, since it is the season for such discussions.

Belief in the eventual coming of a mashiach (the Hebrew word often translated "messiah" but actually meaning "one who is anointed') is usually stated as “a basic and fundamental part of traditional Judaism” and that the messianic idea has “always been a part of Judaism.” Rambam (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon and also commonly known as Maimonides, a very famous Rabbi who is often quoted, and who wrote and lived in the mid- to late-12th century) wrote, in his "13 Principles of Faith",  about belief in a messiah yet to come. YET, the concept is not mentioned in the Torah. I will note that the Torah contains several references to the "End of Days," (acharit ha'yamim), but not specifically about a messiah. Most scholars acknowledge that the messianic concept was introduced later in the history of Judaism, during the age of the prophets, long after the Torah was written. And that's because it was turbulent times politically, and the Jews hoped for a more favorable political climate in which to live peacefully, just as any minority, oppressed group would wish.

Over the millennia, there has been a confusion of Hebrew words used to convey the notion of messiah. As mentioned, the Hebrew word often translated as messiah, Mashiach, ONLY means "anointed one." It does NOT mean "saviour." "Anointed one" refers to the ancient practice of anointing kings with oil when they took the throne. The mashiach is said to be the one who will be anointed as king in the End of Days. Again, the word "mashiach" does not mean "savior."

The notion of a divine or semi-divine being who will save us from the consequences of our own sins is a purely Christian concept that has no basis in Jewish thought nor Jewish scriptures. Unfortunately, this Christian concept has become so deeply ingrained in the English word "messiah" that this English word can no longer be used to refer to the Jewish concept. This is how far off the mark the Christian use of the term "messiah" has become in terms of Jewish scripture.

The Hebrew word "moshiah" means savior. Some think that the word "mashiach" is related to the Hebrew word "moshiah" because they sound similar. Yet they are two very, very different words in Hebrew. The Hebrew word "mashiach" comes from the root Mem-Shin-Chet, which means to paint, smear, or anoint; hence, the anointed one. However, the word "moshiah”, comes from an entirely different root, Yod-Shin-Ayin, which means to help or save, which is where the confused notion of savior comes into play. The only letter these roots have in common is Shin, the most common letter in the Hebrew language. The "m" sound at the beginning of the word moshiah (savior) is a common prefix used to turn a verb into a noun. One source gave me chuckle, noting that "claiming 'mashiach' is related to 'moshiah' is a bit like saying that the word 'ring' is related to the word 'surfing' because they both end in 'ing'."That's how disparate these two Hebrew words are, and yet Jews are often accused of rejecting "their moshiah" when Jews have never held such a belief.

So, what of this concept of mashiach, of an anointed one at the End of Days? Orthodox views have generally held that a mashiach is supposed to bring about the political redemption of the Jewish people by restoring Jerusalem, establishing a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government--both for Jews and gentiles, rebuild the Temple and re-establish its worship, restore the court system of Israel, and establish Jewish law as the law of the land, and furthermore, that he will be a descendant of King David.

As you can see, it is all about a political redemption and reign, not a spiritually salvific event, and furthermore, that this is a purely strict orthodox Jewish view, and does not at all reflect anything close to the view of 90% of Jews, especially in the U.S.

Obviously, Jews do not believe that Jesus was the mashiach, the anointed one to reign as king in a new political environment. Assuming that Jesus existed, and assuming that the Christian scriptures are accurate in describing him, Jesus simply did not fulfill the mission of the mashiach as it is described in the Torah passages. Throughout Jewish history, many have claimed to be the mashiach, or whose followers have claimed they were: Shimeon Bar Kokhba, Shabbatai Tzvi, Jesus, and many others too numerous to name. Leo Rosten reports some very entertaining accounts under the entry for mashiach in his book, The New Joys of Yiddish.

As mentioned, Orthodox Judaism maintains that Jews are obligated to accept the 13 Principles of Faith as formulated by Maimonides, which include a statement about the messiah.This includes the community of Hasidic Jews, who tend to have a particularly strong and passionate belief in the coming of a POLITICAL messiah (anointed one). This is an extreme and very small minority view among Jews worldwide.

Conservative Judaism states that since no one can say for certain what will happen in the "messianic era", each of us is free to fashion personal speculation. Some of us accept these speculations as literally true, while others understand them as elaborate metaphors. Both Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism generally do not accept the idea that there will be "a" messiah. Some believe that there may be some sort of "messianic age" in the sense of a "utopia", which all Jews are obligated to work towards.

There are as many speculative beliefs about an anointed one or a messianic age as there are Jews. It is far easier to say what actual Jews worldwide do not believe, and that is in a concept of a messiah or messianic age that is anything similar to what Christians have said we Jews believe, or that they themselves believe.

As you can see, Jewish ideas about the concept of a messiah/messianic age are all over the map. I haven't even mentioned all of them here, for brevity. There is no standard, because the Bible never makes the definitive statements that Christians have retroactively read into our holy scriptures. It seems that Christians hold a certain belief in a messiah, and then judge Jews for not believing in this Christian messianic concept they have created from Jewish scriptures which have never supported such a concept.

So no, I am not still waiting for a messiah. I believe all the anointed kings and queens have come and gone, and that Israel will not and should not rule the world in a political way. But then, neither should certain people who are currently residing in top levels of government.

It is important to note:

(1) There are many messiahs in the Bible.  Since every King and High Priest was anointed with oil, each may be referred to as “an anointed one” (a mashiach or a messiah), because that is the ONLY meaning of the word messiah in Hebrew.

(2) The Hebrew word “HaMashiach” (literally, THE Messiah) describing a specific anointed person yet to come does not appear anywhere in the Bible.  Since the Bible makes no explicit reference to the messiah, it is unlikely that it could be considered the most important concept in the Bible. Indeed, in Jewish thought, the messianic idea is not critical at all, much less the most crucial.  While in Christian thought, the messiah is paramount, the messianic concept as put forth by Christians is conspicuously absent from Jewish scripture.

(3) The Bible never speaks about “believing in” the messiah. If there is a messiah who comes to reign, it will be an historical, political event, and therefore, self-evident. It won’t require belief or faith.

For Christians who will soon be commemorating the birth of your messiah, I wish you happy celebrations! I also encourage you to understand more fully the Jewish perspective of belief in a messiah, an anointed one. We must live in this world together, and only by understanding one another's perspectives can we do so peacefully and without offending one another.

Shalom and peace to you!