Q&A: Messiah
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Messiah
Question
When Isaiah Leibowitz was asked whether he believes in the Messiah, he said that he believes in the Messiah who will come, and not in the Messiah who has come, because the whole essence of the Messiah is that he will come, and the moment he comes he is no longer the Messiah. Do you think there is any sense to this argument? Thanks in advance.
Answer
If you have a question, please formulate it.
If Y.L. wants to argue that there is no Messiah and that the whole thing is false—let him say so. If he wants to say that the Elders of Zion maintained the illusion of the Messiah in order to cultivate general optimism in the heart of the people, and therefore the point is always to keep believing that he will come—let him say that. But the deliberate vagueness of his position, together with a childish play on words, is pointless. A Messiah who will come means that there is a time when he has already come.