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Mashiach

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1992

855-5887

in 1492 (which turned out
to be the year of the Expul-
sion from Spain) and in
1648 (major pogroms in
Poland and the Ukraine).
When these dates passed
and the Messiah still had
not appeared, believers ex-
plained it away. Jews, they
said, were not deserving of
his presence.
Since the Middle Ages,
ideas about Mashiach have
been, for the most part,
based on the Kabbalah,
Jewish mysticism. False
messiahs — including
Jacob Frank and Shabbtai
Zevi (see related story) —
were numerous, appealing
to Jewish communities suf-
fering terrible persecu-
tions.
Orthodox Jews today
continue to include in their
daily prayers hope for the
coming of Mashiach. The
fact that some rabbis
believe the Messiah alone
is to reestablish an in-
dependent Jewish state has
prompted certain right-
wing Jews, such as the
Neturei Karta, to be
fervently anti-Zionist.
Rabbi Avraham
Jacobovitz, director of
Machon L'Torah, the Jew-
ish Learning Network of
Michigan, said one of the
keys to knowing Mashiach
is that all Jews will recog-
nize him as the Messiah.
"Maimonides said that
when the real one comes
along, there will be no
doubt. The signs will be so
sharp and clear-cut there
can be no denial.
"Like King David, he
must be wise and immers-
ed in the study of Torah,"
Rabbi Jacobovitz said. "He
also must have enough
leadership ability to con-
trol the entire Jewish peo-
ple. Then he will lead
fights against the enemies
of Israel, turn Jews to
Torah observance and im-
prove the moral standards
of everyone."
The world is said to be
scheduled just as the week,
with each 1,000 years rep-
resenting one day of crea-
tion, Rabbi Jacobovitz said.
Some sages believe
Mashiach will not appear
until some time after the
year 7,000 on the Jewish
calendar, on what would be
the world's Sabbath
millennium. The current
year is 5752.
At the same time, man

must always hope for
Mashiach. "Even a man
sentenced to jail for a cer-
tain number of years can
get out for good behavior,"
Rabbi Jacobovitz said. So,
too, Jews can hasten the
coming of Mashiach by
what they do.
"What makes us deserv-
ing?" he said. "Proper be-
havior. We must return to
Torah observance."
When Mashiach comes,
Maimonides said, the focus
of humanity will change
from materialism to the
search for wisdom.
Other details of the world
after his arrival are sket-
chy.
"Many things are
unclear," Rabbi Jacobovitz
said. "And speculation
about details is counter-
productive because the
beauty is that we don't
know what it will be like. It
would be like reading the
last few pages of a novel
before the rest of the book.
"As Jews, we focus on the
now," Rabbi Jacobovitz
said. "We know the future
will come. We take it for
granted. It's in our con-
tract."

❑

I

I—

LOCAL NEWS h

Bais Chabad
Lecture Series

Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg
of Bais Chabad Torah Center
will deliver a lecture on "The
Commandments of Pidyon
Haben" 8:15 p.m. Jan. 6 at
the Torah Center. The lecture
is part of the Monday night
lecture series on Basic
Judaism. For information,
call the Torah Center,
855-6170.
CHAI (Chabad Adult Insti-
tute of Birmingham/Bloom-
field) will host a lecture on
"The Reflections Of The
Lubavitcher Rebbe On Faith
And Belief' 8 p.m. Jan. 7 at
the Chabad Center, 211
Lowell Court. For informa-
tion, call the Chabad Center,
646-3010.
Bais Chabad Torah Center
will hold a lunch and learn
Torah series beginning 12:30
p.m. Jan. 9 at the offices of Ar-
thur Liss, 1400 N. Woodward,
Suite 200, Bloomfield Hills.
For' information, call the
Torah Center, 855-6170.

During the 1973 Yom
Kippur War, the only Euro-
pean country that granted
refueling rights to U.S. air-
craft bringing military and
medical supplies to Israel
was Portugal.

