When I first got started with the website and before I created any videos, this was one of the first things that I started researching. I wanted to see what an every day Jewish person believed about the Messiah in this day and age. Below is my finding. Most of this information was found on Sefaria.org, as well as a few other locations online. If you have any questions or would like the opportunity to comment on this post, please created an account and I will see about getting you added.
- The messiah has not come yet
- Over the years, times have changed, and many have seemed to relegate the messiah to folklore.
- Because redemption is no longer necessary according to some, they feel that Messiah will show up after all the work has been done.
From Text written from the 3rd century onward
- He will be from the line of David, well versed in the Torah and engaged in commandments, will guide in Written and Oral Torahs, will fights the wars of God. He will defeat all enemies and build the temple in its proper place and gather the dispersed of Israel. (Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 11:4)
- Will come for a generation that is entirely innocent or entirely guilty. If they merit redemption through repentance and good deeds I will hasten the coming of the Messiah. If they do not merit redemption, the coming of the Messiah will be in its designated time. (Sanhedrin 98a:11,12)
- The benefit of the messiah will be rest of non subjugation to Non-Jewish governments, which is preventing us from fulfilling all the 613 laws, wisdom will increase, war will cease, ultimate perfection and we will merit the life of the world to come. (Rambam on the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10)
- Messiah will re-establish the monarchy of David, sacrifices will be offered, as well as sabbatical & jubilee years. (Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 11:1)
- There will be no famines, no wars, no envy, and no competition. The world will only be engaged in knowing God. Then there will be very wise people who will understand deep, sealed matters. They will then achieve knowledge of the Creator to as high a degree as humanly possible, as stated in Isaiah 11:9 (Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 12:5)
In other writings
- From an 8 point list for Jews to adopt a modern approach to the practice of their faith: At that time they no longer considered themselves a nation, but a religious community. They did not expect a return to Palestine, a sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron, nor the restoration of any of the Laws concerning the jewish state. (Pittsburgh Platform, 1885)
- Perhaps the most powerful reason to jettison traditional messianic belief, the Reformers argued, was that it was simply not needed anymore. Human beings – guided not by a Messiah but by their own intellect – had already begun the work of redemption. Reform Judaism abolished the concept of a divinely-sent Messiah and promised instead that humanity would accomplish its own redemption. (The Messiah and the Jews: Three Thousand Years of Traditions, believe & hope) *
- The 1885 Pittsburgh Platform rejected the traditional Jewish hope for an heir of King David to arise when the world was ready to acknowledge that heir as the Messiah… The cataclysmic events of the first half of the 20th Century smashed that belief, and most Reform Jews saw the messianic age as a time that would probably be far off. we express the hope in the first paragraph of the Kaddish that God’s sovereignty will be established in our days. (Commentary on the Principles for Reform Judaism) **
- Instead of bringing about the onset of redemption, Messiah will herald its completion. The actual work of redeeming the world is turned to us in history, and is done by all of us, day by day. Messiah has been waiting in the wings, as it were, since the very beginning of history, ready to come forth when the time is right. Only when redemption is about to be completed will Messiah be allowed to arrive. Rather than messiah redeeming us, we redeem Messiah. (Seek My Face, Speak My Name) ***
Summary
Reformed Jews didn’t believe in the old ideas about the Messiah because they wanted their religion to make sense in the modern world. They didn’t think the Messiah would come with big battles or bring people back to life. Instead, they focused on being smart, fair, and treating everyone equally. They also didn’t think Jews needed to go back to Israel or rebuild the old Temple. Reformed Jews believed that people could make the world better on their own, without waiting for a Messiah.
Current Sources
- *Rabbi Elaine Rose Glickman Adjunct Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Sarasota, Florida
- **Rabbi Richard N. Levy (died June 2009)
- ***Rabbi Arthur Green rabbinical seminary @ Hebrew College but had to step down in Feb 2024
