Sometimes G-d sends good to the wicked for the following reasons:


1. A previous good deed he did, to pay him in this world, as written "And He repays those He hates to their face, to destroy them" (Deuteronomy 7:10) which the Targums render: "He pays those He hates for their good deeds during their lives to destroy them".


2. As a temporary deposit, until G-d gives him a righteous son who is worthy of it, as written "he prepares but the tzadik will wear it" (Job 27:17), and "to the sinner He has given a preoccupation to gather and to accumulate, to give to him who is good in G-d's sight" (Ecclesiastes 2:26).


3. Sometimes the money is the chief cause of his evil (in the next world) or death (in this world), as written "There is a grievous evil that I saw under the sun; riches kept by their owner for his harm." (Ecclesiastes 5:12) 


4. Sometimes it is to give him time to repent and become worthy of it, as you know of the story of Menashe.


5. His father did good and it is fitting to benefit him in the merit of his father, as said to Yehu ben Nimshi "four generations of your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel" (2 Kings 10:30), and "He who walks innocently is righteous; fortunate are his sons after him." (Proverbs 20:7), and "I was young, and have aged, and I have not seen a righteous man forsaken nor his descendants begging bread." (Psalm 37:25).


6. Sometimes it is to test those who are deceptive or have an evil interior. When they see the wicked prosper, they quickly stray from the service of G-d and hasten to win the favor of the wicked and to learn from their actions. In this way it will be clarified the pure men to G-d and it will be demonstrated who was faithful to G-d in bearing at a time when the wicked rule and persecute him. He will receive reward from the Creator for this, as you know of the story of Eliyahu and Isabel or Yirmiyahu and the kings of his generation.


If one asks: Behold we see some tzadikim (very righteous people) which do not receive their livelihood except after hard and strenuous toil, while many transgressors are at ease, living a good, pleasant life?


We will say: The prophets and the chasidim (extremely pious) already investigated this matter. One of them said "(Righteous are you, O L-rd, when I plead with You: yet let me talk with You of your judgments:) Why does the way of the wicked prosper? why are all they happy that deal very treacherously?" (Jeremiah 12:1), and another "Why do You show me iniquity and look upon mischief; and plunder and violence are before me; and the one who bears quarrel and strife endures." (Habakkuk 1:3), and "for a wicked man surrounds the righteous; therefore, justice emerges perverted." (Habakkuk 1:4), and "Why should You be silent when a wicked man swallows up one more righteous than he?" (Habakkuk 1:13), and another one said "Behold these are wicked, yet they are tranquil in the world and have increased wealth." (Psalm 73:12), and "But for naught I cleansed my heart and bathed my hands with cleanliness" (Psalm 73:13), and another said "And now we praise the bold transgressors, those who work wickedness are built up, they tempt G-d, and they have, nevertheless, escaped." (Malachi 3:15), and many more like this.


Moshe Rabeinu commented on this in the torah saying (Deuteronomy 29:28) "the hidden things belong to G-d"..and the wise man said in connection to this "If you see the oppression of the poor, and perverting of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter" (Ecclesiastes 5:7), and the verse says: "the Rock, His deeds are perfect for all His ways are justice" (Devarim 32:4).


Reasons why we suffer according to R Bachya 


1. A previous sin for which it is necessary to pay him for it, as written "the tzadik will pay in the land" (Mishlei 11:31) 


2. In the way of exchanging, to pay him more good in Olam Haba (the afterlife), as written "to benefit you in your end" (Deuteronomy 8:16) 


3. To demonstrate his good bearing and good acceptance of suffering in the service of G-d, so that others will learn from him, as you know from the matter of Job. 


That he receives everything with a good countenance, and he does not rebel in sufferings so that others will learn from him and see him and notice him and desire to serve G-d even though they don't have all their lusts, and even though they are in poverty, hardship or in painful sicknesses as we find with Iyov (Job) and many other sages, who were in suffering yet did not stop from torah and service, and as is known of Hillel who was extremely poor, and others who needed to labor for their livelihoods and nevertheless studied the torah.


Also, to show the world that the Tzadik bears the bad of this world, with good patience and a good countenance, and despite his suffering, he does not budge away from the service of his Creator in order to ease the bad. Unlike the wicked, that even for something he is forced to bear, he bears it with an angry heart, and therefore he throws off the yoke of service in order to ease his troubles.


He bears his sufferings and is not begrudging towards G-d and accepts them with a good countenance)


Due to the wickedness of his generation, G-d tests him with poverty, hardship, or sickness to demonstrate/contrast his piety and service of G-d unlike them, as written "Indeed, he bore our illnesses, and our pains he carried them" (Isaiah 53:4). won't learn from him and they will get no benefit from this. Nevertheless, G-d tests him in order to demonstrate his level and worth and contrast it with them. That even though they are in enjoyment and he is in a life of suffering, they are ungrateful towards G-d while he is good with Him and serves Him in truth and wholeheartedly. The intent in this is so that they will acknowledge G-d's justice in the end of days when they will see the exceedingly great reward of the Tzadik. And like our sages said in Pirkei Avot 5:3, "Avraham was tested with ten trials..to show his high esteem."


Due to the wickedness of the generation, sometimes G-d sends suffering to a Tzadik to atone for the sins of the generation (to avert disasters or the like), and without a doubt, his reward will not be withheld and the wicked will be paid what they deserve, as Rashi explained on the verse he cited)


5. Due to his not being sufficiently zealous in standing up for G-d, and exacting justice from men of his generation, as you know from the story of Eli and his sons, as the verse says "And it will be that everyone who is left in your house, will come to prostrate himself before him for a silver piece and a morsel of bread" (Samuel 2:36). As the talmud says (Shabbat 54b): 


"Whoever can forbid his household [to commit a sin] but does not, is seized (held accountable) for [the sins of] his household; [if he can forbid] the men of his city, he is seized for [the sins of] the men of his city; if the whole world, he is seized for [the sins of] the whole world")


There is another general purpose to suffering for everyone including children as explained in Bachya’s Duties of the Heart. Here is an excerpt:


Later on he is subjected to illnesses and meets with painful incidents so that he recognizes the world, and that its nature is not concealed from him. Thus he is put on his guard against trusting in this world thereby permitting his lusts to rule over him, in which case he would become like the animals that neither think nor understand; as it is written "Be ye not as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding" (Psalm 32:9).


"illnesses" - such as chicken pox and measles. "painful incidents" - many weaknesses come in the boyhood years. 


"Be ye not as the horse or as the mule" - they need to be leashed and muzzled, so too man. The painful incidents humble his lusts. "so that he recognizes the world" - how a person's situation can change swiftly from contentment to pain so that he realizes not to trust in it and its tranquility - rather to always be afraid and to seek refuge in G-d's shadow.


If a human being had only constant good in this world, he would forget and not recall the matters of his final end, and he would trust (hope) in this world and follow the musings of his heart and his lusts for all of his days. Therefore, it was among the divine plan to send him sometimes bad illnesses, even during his youth in order that he recognize and know that there is no complete good in this world. And even if he is currently in a very good situation, the bad illnesses can come and ruin his joy, so that he won't trust in this world.


Another reason for suffering explained by the kabbalists is to rectify something done in the past. So for example, someone born into a life of misery and suffering for no apparent reason whatsoever - this may be in order to rectify something from previous generations. 
​

The premise of a divine Messiah, one may think, stems originally from Christian theology. However, one must ask, was it Yeshua’s charisma, or the fact that he could do healings and miracles, is that the qualification to put his deeds within the constructs of inerrant text and theology in a book that is commonly known as the “Word of G-d”? Let us look to the words of the Torah.

“If a prophet will arise from among you, a person who has a vision or a dream, and he indicates to you a sign in the heavens or a miracle upon earth, and then that sign or miracle which he told you happens, and he says, ‘Let’s go after other gods which are unacquainted to you, and let’s worship them!’ You should not listen to the words of that prophet, or to the person, who had a vision in his dream, for G-d, your G-d, is testing you, to know whether in fact you do love G-d, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul. You should follow only G-d, your G-d, and fear Him. You should keep His commandments, that were given through Moshe, listen to His voice, through genuine prophets, worship Him, and adhere to His ways of kindness. That prophet, or that person who had a vision in his dream should be put to death because he spoke falsehood about G-d, your G-d- who brought you out of the land of Egypt, who redeemed you from the house of bondage – to lead you astray from the path in which G-d, your G-d, commanded you to go. By killing him you will eliminate the evil from your midst.” 
(Deuteronomy 13:2-6, The Gutnick Chumash Translation of the Targum)


Therefore, given the criteria for a prophet we see that the Bible has strict rules in who it is we follow. Now, Yeshua resided in Israel, he was among the Jewish people. His disciples (Judah, Yochanan, Matisyahu etc) had Jewish names, and were Jewish. In John chapter 4 verse 22 it says:

“You bow down unto something that you know not, but, we bow down unto The One whom we know, because Khaye {Life} is from the Yehudaye {the Judeans/the Jews}.”
(John 4:22, The Rabbinic Gospel of John, Translation of the Peshitta).

We also see in Matthew 5:17-19 it says:

“Don’t think that I have come to loosen The Namusa {The Law}, or The Nabiye {The Prophets}, I haven’t come to loosen, but rather to fulfill. For, amiyn {truly} I say unto you, that until the Shmaya {the Heavens} and the Ara {the Earth} passes away, one yud {the smallest Aramaic letter}, or one serta {a small stroke, or line dash in Aramaic} will not pass away from The Namusa {The Law}, until all comes to pass {i.e. is fulfilled}. All who therefore might loosen from one of these smallest commandments, and should teach thus unto the sons of mankind, will be called the zure {the little ones} in The Malkutha d'Shmaya {The Kingdom of the Heavens}, but, all who might do, and should teach this, will be called a raba {a great one} in The Malkutha d'Shmaya {The Kingdom of the Heavens}.”
(Matthew 5:17-19, The Rabbinic Gospel of Matthew Translation from the Peshitta).

So we see that Yeshua and his followers operated within a Biblical framework. He does not fit the model of the false prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy. It wasn’t his charisma, his intellect, or simply that he said “enah nah” (“I AM) claiming to be G-d. In today’s time we see people make this claim, are they given credence by massive amount of followers like Yeshua did and still does today, through the reading and application of his words from 2,000 years ago? G-d forbid. So what makes THIS Messiah different that Bar Kokba or Mohammad, or Krishna, or David Koresh?

The difference is, he fit the profile within Judaism. Have you ever read the Bible all the way through, looking for that divine passage from the old testament, looking for the words, in a plain literal sense of a Messiah or Christ or Savior coming in the form of a human being, with the divine soul of the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

Have you ever wondered, where our interpretation comes from that we have today that Isaiah 53 for instance is talking about a Messiah, when Jewish anti-missionaries like Tovia Singer today teach, “you fools, it is not talking about a Messiah coming, it is talking about the nation of Israel and the Jewish people.” Do you ever wonder, if their interpretation is ancient or even correct?

You will be surprised to realize the framework of a Messiah coming and dying and resurrecting and even coming twice was a long established idea within Judaism from way before the time of the birth of Yeshua. We are going to take a journey through the ancient literatures that established this Biblical truth and how Yeshua of Nazareth was recognized as the Divine Messiah which would come based upon Jewish interpretation. But first we need to learn the history of an ancient text known as Talmud.

The word Talmud is the Hebrew word for “study” a student of a Jewish teacher or “moreh” is called a “Talmid”. Conspiracy theories have swirled about this ancient text in the internet age, most of it is propagated by what the text actually says, but what an anti-semitic writing known as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which was written in the 1800s and later used as a propoganda document by the Nazis in Germany. Internet theologians today, many of which, have never picked up a tractate of Talmud or read from it’s pages yet quote what the Protocols of the Elders of Zion says the Talmud says. Most of these quotations are out of context or simply note true. We are going to look at the real history of the Talmud and where it comes from and what it says about the Messiah.

In the book of Deuteronomy, in chapter 17, we see G-d tells Moses to form the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin’s job was to rule on legal issues. They were a counsel assembled, not like the courts in America, but rather their rulings were based on torts and damages as well as religious law, and application of religious law. Now, this counsel was not a bunch of individuals with kooky ideas, for the Bible says that Hashem was in their midst and influenced the rulings. He goes on to say in chapter 17 to listen to their decrees or the death penalty. G-d really meant business when he said to listen to them. These rulings were passed down orally, and they were referred to as Torah She Be’al Peh, or “The Torah which is spoken” (aka The Oral Torah), it is still called The Oral Torah today even though now it is in written form. We even see the Sanhedrin convening in what is called “The Jerusalem Counsel” in Acts 15 and an early version of the Laws of B’nei Noach being passed with the talmidim of Yeshua.

During the time of the 2nd Century, because of the dispora and the Babylonian Exile what is happening is the “Oral Law” is being lost, these rulings from the Sanhedrin are being lost because they were not written down, they were to be strictly oral. But, by a slim vote by the coming to be disbanded Sanhedrin, it was voted on to be finally written down at the risk of losing it. It took 4 centuries for it to be completed, after a tedious time of interviewing religious leaders and members of congregations to make sure that the arguments and rulings were written down correctly and compared, it went from generation to generation until it was finally completed during the 6th Century. Many of these rulings were passed down from the time of Yehoshua ben Nun (Joshua son of Nun). Can we authenticate the accuracy and unbroken chain of tradition after so much time has passed? As good scholars, we can say it may not be 100% accurate, but we can atleast put it into the framework of how Judaism operated within the 2nd to 6th Century, and for the most part it has been and unbroken chain of interpretation since then within Judaism.

The Talmud is made up of two main parts. The Mishna and the Gemara. The Mishna holds the ruling from the Sanhedrin, or it poses a question that will be answered in later Mishna quotations. The Gemara is the part of the Talmud that is constantly being added to, because over time, technology changes, the status of the Jewish people changes, thus fulfillment of commandments ruled on by the Sanhedrin have to change. The Gemara is not official rulings, but the best way to put it is, strong suggestions for later generations to build upon so that the chain does not become broken. It is essentially modernizing something ancient. When the Temple was destroyed, obviously to fulfill religious law things had to be done. With the invention of the lightbulb and electricity we then had to revisit “what does it mean to not start a fire on the Shabbat?” for modern times. So clarification and addition tends to come to the Gemara, sometimes, in more modern times the intention of the Mishna may not be so clear, so the Gemara codifies the intention of the Mishna.

It is important to note that the Talmud, made up of Mishna and Gemara, is not considered Scripture in Judaism. But it is our gateway to the first century, and shows the study by religious leaders at the time. The Babylonian Talmud is made up of 37 “tractates” or books. When we say “books” these books can be up to 500+ pages long. A person who owns a set of Talmud is making an investment of $300 to $5,000 usually, because they can stem from 22 individual thick books to 28. There are other books codified as books of Jewish Law as well, such as the Tosefta, the Midrashim, the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar among others. The main ones tend to be the Talmud, and sets of just Mishna as well as the later texts of Kabbalah known as the Zohar.

Now, don’t get fearful by hearing the word “Kabbalah”, don’t be thinking of the crazy things that Madonna talks about when she mentions Kabbalah. There is kosher Kabbalah and there is unkosher Kabbalah. Infact, Kabbalah is a Jewish hermeneutic, the book of Ezekiel, Zechariah, John, and Revelation are written in the hermeneutic level of Kabbalah. There are indeed unkosher forms of Kabbalah that deal with magic and the occult, and we will only touch on the kosher Kabbalah of Judaism, but not too much, as it is very complicated to understand. But to understand Jewish culture, these documents are indeed important because of their historical significance. Us Jews use these texts as religious texts to help us to continue the unbroken chain of tradition, and it’s application. For this class however, it’s citation is for the historical reasons in understanding the culture through Jewish texts, so it is important that we put it’ significance in the proper filing cabinet when it is taught to non-Jews. A good scholar will go to the texts used at the time to understand the culture of the people in a given region or sect of religious belief. So, let me be clear, I am not advocating for you to try and use the Talmud as a religious text like I do, for you we will compartmentalize it as a historical text as well as the other Jewish texts cited through this course.

Ressurection of the Dead

Have you noticed that a certain sect of Jews didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, angels or the kingdom of Heaven in the New Testament?

“For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.”
(Acts 23:8 ESV)

“And the Zaduqaye {the Sadducees} came to Him, (those who say that there is no Qayamtha {Resurrection}…..”
(Mark 12:18, The Rabbinic Gospel of Mark Translation from the Peshitta)

The Sadducees were a sect that denied the existence of the Torah She Be’al Peh (The Oral Torah). The New Testament doesn’t mention this, but they also didn’t believe in the concept of a Messiah because they were hyper literalist. They rejected the spiritual significance of the Scripture. For instance when it comes to Jacobs dream in Genesis, the sadducees shrug it off and say, “it was just a dream it had not spiritual significance.” So, therefore the significance of the Resurrection was not in their theology because it is not in the written Word of the Tanach (Old Testament). The idea of the resurrection of the dead, actually comes from the Oral Torah.

Resurrection of the dead is one of the fundamental principles in the Torah of our master
Moses. (Rambam)

There is neither Jewish faith nor any attachment to the Jewish faith, for an individual who does not believe in this. (Introduction to Perek Helek).

The Talmud gives the analogy of the resurrection of the dead:

A king chose two guardians to protect his garden. One was blind and the other a midget. What did they do? The blind man put the midget on his shoulders and through this they were able to eat all the fruits of the garden. The king returned, furious, and questioned them as to what had happened to his fruit. Each one explained to the king how he could not have eaten the fruits on his own due to his own deficiency. What did the king then do? He put the stout man on top of the blind man and judged them as one (Sanhedrin 91a-91b).

The Talmud says this to those who do not believe in a resurrection:

Any change that reverts back to its original condition is not considered to be a change at all. (Bava Kamma 67a)

All Israel have a portion in the world to come. For it is written: Thy people are all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever. The branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. But the following have no portion therein: He who maintains that resurrection of the dead is not a biblical doctrine ], the Torah was not divinely revealed. (Sanhedrin 90a)

When the sword touched Isaac’s throat his soul flew clean out of him. And when He let His voice be heard between cherubim, “Lay not thy hand upon the lad,” the lad’s soul was returned to his body. When his father unbound him and Isaac rose, knowing that in this way the dead would come back to life in the future; whereupon he began to recite “Blessed are You, L-rd, who resurrects the dead.” (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31)

Rabbi Simai said, “From where in the Torah do we learn the resurrection of the dead? From Exodus 6:4, ‘I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan.’ It does not say ‘to give you’; it says ‘to give them.’ Therefore since Abraham Isaac and Jacob have not yet received the land the resurrection of the dead is proved from the Torah....Sadducees once asked Rabban Gamilel, “from where is it derived that the Holy One, blessed be He, will resurrect the dead?” He answered them from the Torah...but they did not accept it. “For it is written in Deuteronomy 31:16, ‘The L-rd said to Moses: Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers, and rise up.” The Sadducees replied, “But perhaps the verse says, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers, and this people will rise up.” (Sanhedrin 90b)

The House of Shammai says, “There are three groups, one for eternal life, one for shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2) these are those who are completely evil. And intermediate group go down to Gehenna and scream and come up again and are healed....”And the House of Hillel says, “Great in mercy” (Exodus 34:6)- he inclines the decision toward mercy. The Israelites who sinned with their bodies and gentiles who sinned with their bodies go down to Gehenna and are judged there for twelve months. And after twelve months their souls perish, their bodies are burned, Gehenna absorbs them, and they turned into dirt. But heretics, apostates, traitors, Epicuureans, who deny the Torah, those who separate from the ways of the community, those who deny the resurrection of the dead, and whoever both sinned and caused the public to sin- Gehenna is locked down behind them, and they are judged there for generations. (Sanhedrin 13:3-5)

The School of Rabbi Yishmael taught, “G-d’s power to resurrect the dead can be deduced from glassware. If glassware, which is created by the breath of human beings can be melted down and remade when broken; then how much more so can a human being, which is created by the breath of the Holy One, blessed be He, be remade. (Sanhedrin 91a)

The Messiah and 2 Comings of the Messiah

Better is a neighbor that is near, than a brother far off. This neighbor is the Middle Pillar of the sefiros, which is the Son of G-d. (Zohar 2:115)

The Middle Pillar [of the godhead] is Metatron, Who has accomplished peace above, According to the glorious state there. (Zohar 3:227)

May it be your will that at the sounding of the shofar that we blow today, we will be as a sewed fabric that is filled with fear of the one in charge, Tartiel. As you accepted Elijah, blessed be his name, and Yeshua the “prince of the face” (Sar Hapanim) who is the Prince Metatron, may you fill us with mercy. Blessed be your name, O Lord of mercies. (Machzor for Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur)

The Rabbis make note in Zohar 2:115 that the middle pillar of the sefiros (often shown in Kabbalah) is the “son of G-d”. The sefiros, in most diagrams, is likened to a human body. The Maharal of Prague, makes note in the Derech Chaim, in terms of Pirkei Avos 1:1 “why did they need to say, 'and they said three things' for we could easily count them for ourselves”. The Maharal goes on to show the systematic balance between three kinds of Torah law, mitzvos, chukim, and mispatim, as well as the three patriarchs of the Jewish faith (Avraham, Issac and Jacob). The Maharal says that, “a complete entity is made up of three parts, no more is required and no less is adequate......a complete entity consists of two extremes and an intermediary that combines the two extremes together in a unified whole.” Considering that G-d, the Father, encompasses the strict male attributes of the godhead and the Ruach Hakodesh, the feminine attributes through comfort (Isaiah 66:13, John 14:16-17, John 14:27 and John 16:17). The systematic balance of the left and right side of the godhead that bring about the unified one, and whole, found in the Shema is indeed Yeshua, the middle pillar of the godhead,

“Who is this that has revealed My secrets to mankind?”... He further sought to reveal by a Targum the inner meaning of the Ketuvim, but a bat kol went forth and said, “Enough!”. What was the reason? Because the date of the Messiah is foretold in it.” (b.Megillah 3a)

It must be granted him that says, for Messiah the Son of Joseph that shall be slain as it is written, And they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced. (Sukkah 52a)

There was a question asked of Rabbi Joshua concerning the coming of the Messiah. It was asked of him whether the Messiah would come "with the clouds of heaven" as Daniel said (Dan. 7:13), or "Lowly and riding upon the ass" as Zechariah said (Zech 9:9). Rabbi Joshua responded, "If they are meritorious, he will come with the clouds of heaven; if not, lowly and riding upon an ass" (Sanhedrin. 98a)

Rabbi Hillel said, 'there shall be no Messiah for Israel, because they have already enjoyed him in the days of Hezekiah.' Rabbi Joseph said, 'may G-d forgive him (Hillel) for saying so. Now, when did Hezekiah flourish? During the First Temple. Yet Zechariah, prophesying in the days of the second, proclaimed, 'rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9)" (Sanhedrin 99a)

They shall govern themselves using the original precepts by which the men of the God began to be instructed, doing so until there come the Prophet and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel. (Manual of Discipline 1Qs Col. 9 lines 10-11)

My beloved is like a gazelle: Israel, explained R. Isaac, said to the Holy One, blessed be He: 'Sovereign of the Universe! Thou hast told us that Thou wilt come to us first.’ ' My beloved is like a gazelle ‘; as the gazelle appears and then disappears, so the first redeemer appeared and then disappeared. R. Berekiah in the name of R. Levi said: Like the first redeemer so will the final redeemer be. The first redeemer was Moses, who appeared to them and then disappeared. For how long did he disappear from their sight? R. Tanhuma said: Three months; accordingly it is written, And they met Moses and Aaron, etc. The final redeemer will also appear to them and then disappear. (Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar 11:2)

Our rabbis taught, The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to the Messiah, the son of David (May he reveal himself speedily in our days), 'Ask of Me anything, and I will give to Thee,' as it is said (Psalm 2:7,8): 'I will tell of the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, 'Thou art My son; this day I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me and I will give the nations for Thine inheritance. (Sukkah 52a)

...it is the Son, of whom it is written, 'Kiss the Son'; Thou art the Son, the faithful shepherd; of Thee it is said, 'Kiss the Son.' Thou art the Governor of the universe, the Head of Israel, the Lord of the ministering angels, the Son of the Highest, the Son of the Holy and blessed One, yea the very Shechinah. (Zohar 3:307)

Rabbi Nathan said that God spoke to Israel saying, 'As I made Jacob firstborn, for it is written Israel is My son, even My firstborn" (Exodus 4:22) So also will I make Messiah My firstborn as it is written, " I will make Him My firstborn.' (Pslam 89:27 Midrash Rabbah Shebot)

The Spirit (which hovers over the waters) [Genesis 1:2] is none other than the Mashiach (Genesis Rabbah 1:2)

"The Messiah --what is his name?...The Rabbis say, The Leper Scholar, as it is said, `surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of G-d and afflicted...'" (Sanhedrin 98b).

"When will the Messiah come?" And "By what sign may I recognize him?" Elijah tells the rabbi to go to the gate of the city where he will find the Messiah sitting among the poor lepers. The Messiah, says the prophet, sits bandaging his leprous sores one at a time, unlike the rest of the sufferers, who bandage them all at once. Why? Because he might be needed at any time and would not want to be delayed. Elijah says he will come "Today, if you will listen to his voice." (Sanhedrin 98a).

“One day the Baal Shem Tov was riding with a young student. He stopped his wagon at the hut of an old leper, horribly affected by the disease. The rabbi climbed down and spent a great deal of time with the poor man. When he returned to the wagon and recommenced his journey, the puzzled student asked the rabbi who it was that the rabbi had visited with. The rabbi replied that in every generation there is a Messiah who will reveal himself if the generation is worthy. The leper he had been meeting with was that Messiah, but the generation was not worthy, so the Messiah would depart. (The Messiah Texts; Patai, p 31.)

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi met Elijah while the prophet was standing at the entrance to the cave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. Rabbi Yehoshua asked him, “Do I have a place in the world to come?” Elijah replied, “If the master desires it.” As Elijah spoke, Rabbi Yehoshua looked about in wonderment. Perhaps it was only the echo from the cave before which he stood, but later on when he would speak of this meeting with Elijah, he would say, “I saw two of us but I heard the voice of a third.” Rabbi Yehoshua asked Elijah another question about the future time: “When will the Messiah come? Elijah answered, “Go and ask him, himself.” Rabbi Yehoshua was amazed: “You mean I could find him, talk to him—now? Where is he?” Elijah said, “You can find him at the gates of Rome.” “How will I recognize him at the gates of Rome?” asked Rabbi Yehoshua. Elijah told him, “There he sits among the lepers whom you will find unwinding all of their bandages at the same time and then covering their sores with clean bandages. The Messiah is the only one who unwinds and rewinds his bandages one at a time, thinking, ‘I want to be ready at a moment’s notice if I am called’.” Rabbi Yehoshua traveled from the cave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai all the way to Rome—a journey that seemed to take him only a few steps. He was not frightened by the strong gates of the enemy nor the pitiful condition of the lepers. Keeping in mind Elijah’s advice of how to identify the Messiah in the most unlikely of places among the most wretched of people, he quickly spotted the one poor sufferer who was unwrapping and rewrapping only one sore at a time. Rabbi Yehoshua approached him and said, “Peace be upon you, my master and teacher.” The leper looked knowingly at him and replied, “Peace be upon you, son of Levi.” Rabbi Yehoshua
asked him, “When will the master come?” “Today,” said the leper. Rabbi Yehoshua returned to Elijah in the blink of an eye. Elijah said to him, “What did the Messiah say to you?” Rabbi Yehoshua replied, “He said, ‘Peace be upon you, son of Levi’.” Elijah said, “Ah! As to your first question of me, he assured you that both you and your father have a place in the world to come.” Rabbi Yehoshua said, “But he lied to me, saying, ‘Today I will come.’ But he has not come.” Elijah said, “No, he did not say that he would come ‘today’. Rather, he was quoting a Psalm verse to you: Today— if only you will listen to His voice (Psalm 95:7). (Sanhedrin 98a)

“The Messiah- What is his name? The house of Rabbi Judah and the Holy One says: ‘The Sick One’ (Isaiah 53:4) surely he has born our sickness. (Sanhedrin 98a)

Rabbi Jose the Galilean says, “Great is peace for at the hour the Messiah reveals himself unto Israel, he will begin in no other way than with peace as it is written: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good news, that announces peace (Isaiah 52:7) (Perek HaShalom on Numbers Rabbah)

Regarding the mission by which Messiah will present himself, Isaiah states: ‘He grew like a tender plant and as a root out of dry land. At him will kings shut their mouths, for what had been told unto them shall they see, and what they never heard shall they understand.” (Rambam on Isaiah 52:15-53:2)

In the Garden of Eden there was a hall called “the hall of the afflicted”. Now it is into this hall that the Messiah goes and summons the afflictions and pains and suffering of Israel to come upon him. And had he not eased the children of Israel of their sorrow, and taken the burden upon himself, there would be none who could endure the suffering of Israel in penalty of neglecting the Torah. Thus it is written: “Surely our disease he did bear and our pains he carried” (Isaiah 53:5). As long as the children of Israel dwelt in the Holy Land they averted their afflictions and suffering from the world by the service of the sanctuary and by sacrifice. But now it is the Messiah who is averting them from the habitats of the world. (Zohar 2:212a)

The Holy One brought forth the soul of the Messiah, and said to him...Art thou willing to...redeem my sons...? He replied, I am. G-d replied, If so, thou must take upon thyself chastisements in order to wipe away their iniquity, as it is written, “Surely our sicknesses he hath carried.” The Messiah answered, I will take them upon me gladly. (Peskita Isaiah 53:3)

Like Moses, Messiah will be revealed, then hidden, then revealed again. (Bamidbar Rabbah, referring to Isaiah 53:5)

R. Hillel said: There shall be no Messiah for Israel, because they have already enjoyed him in the days of Hezekiah. R. Joseoh said: May G-d forgive him for saying so. Now when did Hezekiah flourish? During the first Temple. Yet, Zechariah, prophesying in the days of the second, proclaimed, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, thy king cometh unto thee! He is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Sanhedrin 99a)

“His foal” and “his donkey colt” [in Genesis 49:11] refer to the time when he will come of whom it is written [In Zechariah 9:9], “Humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Genesis Rabbah 98:9)

Rabbi Berekiah said in the name of Rabbi Yitzhak: “The latter redeemer will be like the first redeemer. What does [Exodus 4:20] say about the first redeemer? “So Moses took his wife and sons and mounted them on a donkey.” In the same way the latter redeemer will come, as it is stated, “Humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:28)

Abraham arose early in the morning...and saddled his donkey” (Genesis 22:3). Upon this donkey Abraham rode. This donkey was the offspring of the donkey, which was created during the twilight (of the sixth day of creation). The same donkey was also ridden by Moses when he came to Egypt, as it says [in Exodus 4:20] “So Moses took his wife and sons and mounted them on a donkey.” The same donkey will be ridden upon in the future by the Son of David. (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31)

Rabbi Yodan said in the name of Rabbi Acha bar Chanina: “In the time to come, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will seat the Messiah King on his right and Abraham on his left. Then the face of Abraham will become jealous, and he will say, “My grandson sits on the right ad I sit on the left?” Then the Holy One, Blessed be He, will appease him, saying, “Your grandson sits on your right and I on your right. According to the very meaning of the term [Messiah] is completely David’s son- that is, in according to the flesh but according to the Spirit he is the Son of G-d. (Yalkut Shim’oni II.869)

The year in which the King Messiah will be revealed, al the kings of the nations of the world will provoke each other....and pangs will take hold of them like unto the pangs of a woman in childbirth. And Israel will tremble and fear, and they will say: “Where shall we come and go, where shall we come and go?” (Peskita Rabbah 35)

R. Nahman asked R. Isaac, “Have you heard when Bar Nafle will come?” R. Isaac said, “Who is Bar Nafle?” “The Messiah.” You call the Messiah Bar Nafle?” “Indeed” explained R Nahman, “as it is written, ‘In that day I will rise up the tabernacle of David that has fallen.” (Amos 9:11) (Sanhedrin 96b- 97a)

R. Alexandri said: R. Joshua ben Levi pointed out a contradiction, it is written, in it’s time [will the Messiah come], whilst it also written, I the L-rd hasten it! - if they are worthy, I will hasten it: if not, he will come in due time. R Alexandri said: R. Joshua opposed two verses: it is written, And behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven whilst elsewhere it is written, behold thy king cometh unto thee...lowly, and riding upon an ass!- if they are meritorious he will come with the clouds of heaven; if not, lowly and rding upon an ass. (Sanhedrin 98a)

The Messiah — as it is written, And the spirit of the L-rd shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge of the fear of the Lord. And shall make him of quick understanding [wa-hariho] in the fear of the Lord. R. Alexandri said: This teaches that he loaded him with good deeds and suffering as a mill [is laden]. Raba said: He smells [a man] and judges, as it is written, and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, yet with righteousness shall he judge the poor. (Sanhedrin 93a)

“Come near, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in vinegar” (Ruth 2:14). “Come near” means come near to the Kingdom. “Eat the bread” refers to the bread of Messiah’s royalty. “Dip your bread in vinegar,” refers to Messiah’s sufferings, as it said [in Isaiah 53:5], “He was pierced for our transgressions.” (Ruth Rabbah 5:6)

‘The world will exist 6000 years. 2000 years of desolation (meaning from Adam to Abraham), 2000 years of the Torah (meaning from Abraham to somewhere around the beginning of the Common Era), and 2000 years of the Messianic era (roughly the last 2000 years); but because our iniquities were many all this has been lost (i.e. the Messiah did not come at the expected time).’ (Sanhedrin 97a-b).

The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who said that the lament is for Messiah ben Yosef who was killed, this would be the meaning of that which is written in that context: “And they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son” (Zechariah 12:10).....Once the Messiah ben David saw Messiah ben Yosef, who was killed, he says to the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, I ask of you only life; that I will not suffer the same fate. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to him: Life? Even before you stated this request, your father, David, already prophesied about you with regard to this matter precisely, as it is stated: “He asked life of You, You gave it to him; even length of days for ever and ever” (Psalms 21:5). (Sukkah 52a)

Modern day anti-missionaries, as we see from just a few of the citations in Jewish tradition and Oral Law, are required to systematically abandon Jewish tradition of old, and the very religious texts held as sacred in Judaism to make a case that Yeshua is not the Messiah. Essentially, they have to morph into Sadducees (now known as Karaites; yet modern day Karaites are predominantly not “Jewish” but “Islamic). The virgin birth is also proven in Jewish tradition.

The Virgin Birth

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin (almah ) shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
(Isaiah 7:14, ESV)

This highly contended verse by anti-missionaries cite that the word “almah” means “young woman”, as opposed to virgin. The Hebrew word “betulah” is the word for “virgin”. The word betulah, does not appear in this verse, instead it has “almah”. So why does the 16th century sage Rashi say this?:

“Behold, the almah shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanu’el.’ This means that our Creator will be with us. And this is the sign: the one who will conceive is a girl (na’arah) who never in her life has had intercourse with any man. Upon this one shall the Holy Spirit have power.” (Rashi)

There are several reasons for this, the first is the rendering of the Greek Septuagint which renders “patheos” the greek word for virgin; which the Hebrew equivalent is “betulah” the reason for this is the verse in Isaiah 9:5-7 which reads:

“For a child has been born to us, A son has been given us. And authority has settled on his shoulders. He has been named “The Mighty G-d is planning grace; The Eternal Father, a peaceable ruler”— In token of abundant authority And of peace without limit Upon David’s throne and kingdom, That it may be firmly established In justice and in equity Now and evermore. The zeal of the L-rd of Hosts Shall bring this to pass. The word that the L-rd has sent for Jacob will befall Israel.“ (Isaiah 9:5-7, Jewish Publication Society)

Yeah, so what? The key is in the Hebrew, the first word in verse 7 should read לְמַרְבֵּה (lamarbeh) but instead it reads לְםַרְבֵּה . You may be saying, “so what?” Well in Hebrew we have classification of letters known as the letters of otiyot sofit, meaning they have one form when a letter is at the beginning or within a word and it takes a different form when it appears at the end of a word. The letter מ is one of the letters of otiyot sofit. And it’s ending form at the end of a word is ם. Yet in the scrolls of Isaiah, we find the sofit form ( ם) near the beginning of the word, which is a textural anomaly. Therefore by connecting the concepts in Isaiah 7:14 with the continuation in Isaiah 9:5-7 we see a “closed mem” which in Jewish tradition signifies “virgin” because of
the impossibility of becoming pregnant because of a womb that has not been “opened” or penatrated.

Thus, even Rashi in the 16th Century concluded the text is talking about a “virgin” as opposed to a young woman. We see this theology in the 2nd Century as well with the Greek Septuagint that has remained unbroken till the time of Rashi, because the Septuagint (which is a Greek translation, not a “Christian” document, it is a Jewish document) even renders it as virgin.

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