Q&A: Messiah
Messiah
Question
“The messianic idea, in my opinion, is a blight that attached itself to Judaism” (Yeshayahu Leibowitz)
Do you think the messianic idea really exists? And if so, in what way?
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. Does the idea exist? Go out and see.
Discussion on Answer
Sh., you’re phrasing yourself carelessly and unclearly. If you want an answer, please formulate your question properly.
Are you asking whether I believe in the coming of the Messiah? If so, then what are all these quotations and vague formulations for?
As for your actual question, I don’t know. There is such a tradition, and I don’t know whether it goes back to Sinai or not. Even in the Prophets, the matter is open to different interpretations, as always happens in the Bible and the Prophets. Therefore, I don’t know.
Sh. is claiming that if it were unquestionably anchored in tradition, you would believe in it; it follows, according to Sh., that you also believe in tradition and not only in reason.
Do you believe in it? Meaning, this isn’t exactly an intellectual question where I go by logic, but rather what I received through tradition.