{"id":65323,"date":"2019-11-06T14:10:17","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T12:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=65323"},"modified":"2023-06-01T15:57:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T12:57:51","slug":"the-coming-of-the-messiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-coming-of-the-messiah\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coming Of The Messiah"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our chapter preserves one of the best-known prophecies of Isaiah, which begins: \u201cAnd there shall come forth a shoot out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots\u2026\u201d (Isaiah 11:1). Jesse was the father of King David (see I Samuel, Chapter 16). <\/span><\/p>\n

This curious way of referring to the coming of the Davidic Messiah seems to be reflected in the opening of the 15<\/span>th<\/span> benediction of the Amidah: \u201cSpeedily cause the Offspring of David (Tzemah David), Your servant, to flourish (tatzmiah), and let his Horn be exalted by Your salvation, because we wait for You all day. Blessed are You, O Lord, who causes the Horn of Salvation to flourish\u201d. The conclusion of this blessing is based on: \u201c\u2026I will make a horn sprout for David\u201d (Psalms 132:17). <\/span><\/p>\n

This memorable image is also reflected in the 2<\/span>nd<\/span> century BCE work, Ben-Sirah (51:12): \u201cGive thanks to the One who causes the Horn of the House of David to flourish, for His mercy is forever\u201d. Horns have been a visual symbol of power since pre-historic times. And the \u201cshoot\u201d (hoter<\/em>) that will shoot forth out of the stem of Jesse, mentioned at the beginning of our chapter, is a striking graphic metaphor for the scepter of Messianic kingship (Shevet Malkhut, see Rashi to Isaiah 11:1).<\/span><\/p>\n

Midrash Lamentations Rabbah 1:51 preserves an allusive story about the coming of the Messiah. A man was ploughing when one of his oxen lowed unexpectedly. A passerby told him he could stop ploughing (as a sign of mourning) because the Temple had just then been destroyed. While they were talking, the ox lowed again. The passerby said that the man could begin ploughing again because the Messiah has just then been born. When the man went to seek the Messiah, he met a woman who said she expected troubles for her child because he had been born while the Temple was being demolished. The man told her that just as the Messiah was born while the Temple was falling into ruin, so too the Messiah will return when the Temple will be rebuilt. Some time later the man returned and asked the woman about her son. She replied that he had been miraculously carried up to Heaven in a whirlwind. The man replied that this was a sure sign that soon the Temple would be rebuilt, and that the Messiah would soon come (see 2 Kings Chapter 2, the story of Elijah — the harbinger of the Messiah \u2013 who is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind). <\/span><\/p>\n

This aggadic narrative is followed by foretelling that the Messiah will come following a time of calamity. This is learned midrashically from Isaiah\u2019s doomsday oracle: \u201cThe lofty trees will be felled\u2026\u201d (Isaiah 10:33-34), which is reversed by the prophet\u2019s promise: \u201cAnd there shall come forth a shoot out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots\u2026\u201d (Isaiah 11:1).<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Detail of Jesse from the Stained Glass window of All Saints Church, Hove, Sussex. 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