Q&A: Messiah and the Temple.
Messiah and the Temple.
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I saw that the Rabbi does not believe in the World to Come, (at least if we put it on the table without filters). So I’d be glad to know the Rabbi’s position on the subject of the Messiah: does the Rabbi believe that the Messiah can come any day, etc.?
And I’d be glad to know the Rabbi’s opinion on the subject of the Temple: is there an obligation upon us every single day to build it?
Thank you very much.
Answer
I don’t know where you saw that, or what filters you’re talking about. My position is that nothing can really be known about these matters. As for the Temple, that is a halakhic / of Jewish law commandment, so it is not connected to future metaphysical or theological beliefs.
Discussion on Answer
No, it doesn’t. There are sources in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), but they can be interpreted in different ways. So there is no way to know.
When the Rabbi says, “I’m not sure about it, because I don’t know where the Sages got this whole idea of reward and punishment in the World to Come” (not an exact quote),
which means it has no source in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh).
And on the other hand, the only way God can command us with commandments, and tell us things, is only through the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) (and not through divine inspiration or anything of that sort).
So doesn’t that mean, in other words, that the Rabbi doesn’t believe in the World to Come?