Messiah Ben Joseph Vs. Yeshu
BS"D
What
judaism explains concerning the Messiah Ben Yosef concept? Does it agree on
something with the so called "messiah" of Christians (Messianic and
Nazarenes)?
Let's read
what Jewish literary sources speak about this issue:
A.
HIDDEN AND REVEALED MESSIAH.
Since the
end of the first century of the Christian era (jewish year 3860) onwards, there
was speculation about the term "revealed." Not to say that the
"revelation" of the Messiah demanded prior concealment, was in the
earth or in heaven.
According the
first theory, the Messiah was to remain unknown and hidden in the earth until
the ripen of the divine plan. A rabbinic legend from the third-century of the
Vulgar Era places the messiah outside Rome waiting in order to destroy the city
(Talmud Bavli, Masechet Sanhedrin 98a).
Other legend states that the Messiah
born the day of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 of the Vulgar
Era (3830 year of creation), as it says:
“It happened that as a Jew he tilled the fields, the cow began to moo. An Arab passing by and heard the noise and said, Son of Judah, son of Yehudah, unties your cow, untie your plow, it looks that the Temple is destroyed. Then the cow mooed again and the Arab said, 'Son of Judah, son of Yehudah, tie your cow again, to tie your plow, for the King Messiah is born.” -Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachot 5a.
Another
description of the hidden existence of the Messiah, according to one of the
Fathers of the Church, Justin Martyr in the middle of the second century of the Christian era, to assert his
adversary, the Jew Trypho, that the Messiah himself will have no awareness of
their future dignity until the moment it is actually anointed:
“Although the Messiah is born and lives somewhere, is still unknown. Actually, not even he knows it is, or shall have any power until Elijah comes, who will anoint and will reveal all.” -Dialogue with Tryphon Iudaeo 8.
The second
belief: that the Messiah was hidden in heaven before being revealed to men on
earth, is based on the assertion of an apocryphal text, the book of Baruch 2,
30:1 who says that after crowning his mission on earth, "return to
glory" ... possibly the Gan Eden (cf. Braita De'RiB "AL). More
clearly still, Pseudo-Ezra 4 Ezra 14:19 was to be "taken from among men"
and stay with the Messiah.
Messianic
and Nazarenes may be tempted to see in their “messiah” a "heavenly Christ"
eternally existing, but nothing jewish can give such a conclusion. The sources
that are known only deals in sort of pre-conceptual existence of the Name of
the messiah, not his personality. The name of the Messiah was, according to
rabbinic tradition, one of the seven things created before the world was made,
the others being: the Torah, repentance, paradise, the Gehinam, the Throne of
Glory and the Sanctuary. (Talmud Babli Masechet Nedarim 39 b). The reality of
the Messiah, his concrete existence after this pre-existence of his name, just
begin with his birth on earth (II Baruch 40:1, 72: 2-6, 4 Ezra 12:32). But
before leaving the subject of the hidden Messiah in heaven, is also interesting
to note that in 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra is identified with the son of David and is
not considered a substitute for it (4 Ezra 7:29).
Finally, we
clarify an issue. In Jewish thought the Messiah's name pre-existence does not
affect his humanity. It was assumed that the Messiah preserved in the Garden of
Eden to completion of the times, according to Ezra 4, would share the common
lot of humanity:
'And after these years, my servant the Messiah shall die..."
b) The Dead
Messiah.
There are in
rabbinic literature speculative sporadic relics related to a Messiah who would
die on the battlefield. This image, known as the Messiah son of Joseph
(Mashiach ben-Yosef-משיח בן - יוסף) or the Messiah son of
Ephraim (Messiah Ben-Efraim, משיח בן - אפרים)
projected in the defeated commander in chief of Israel's on the first phase of
the war against Gog, the final enemy.
The exegetically
idea is related to Zecharyah / Zechariah 12:10-12: "I look, look to those
who have gone through ... the earth will mourn ...", however the
translation more attached to this book says:
“And will
overturn on the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the inspiration
of grace and supplication. And They will look on Me, those who are pierced. And
groan and moan over the death of an only child. And suffer as one who suffers
for his firstborn. In that day there shall be great mourning in Jerusalem, as
the mourning in the valley Hadadrimmon Mygdon. And the earth will mourn, every
family apart: the family of the house of David apart, and their women apart:
the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart.” -Katznelson
Moses, the Bible, Hebrew-Spanish, Sinai Publishing, Tel-Aviv, 1996, Vol II, p.
980.
The Talmud,
masechet Sukkah 52A says:
And the
land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart,
and their wives apart. Is it not, they said, an a fortiori argument? If in the
future when they will be engaged in mourning and the Evil Inclination will have
no power over them, the Torah nevertheless says, men separately and women separately,
how much more so now when they are
engaged in rejoicing and the Evil Inclination has sway over them. What is the cause of the mourning [mentioned
in the last cited verse]? — R. Dosa and the Rabbis differ on the point. One
explained, The cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, and the other
explained, The cause is the slaying of the Evil Inclination. It is well according to him who explains
that the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, since that well
agrees with the Scriptural verse, And they shall look upon me because they have
thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only
son; but according to him who explains the cause to be the slaying of the Evil
Inclination, is this [it may be objected] an occasion for mourning? Is it not
rather an occasion for rejoicing? Why then should they weep? — [The explanation
is] as R. Judah expounded: In the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, will
bring the Evil Inclination and slay it in the presence of the righteous and the
wicked. To the righteous it will have the appearance of a towering hill, and to
the wicked it will have the appearance of a hair thread. Both the former and
the latter will weep; the righteous will weep saying, ‘How were we able to
overcome such a towering hill!’ The wicked also will weep saying, ‘How is it
that we were unable to conquer this hair thread!’ And the Holy One, blessed be
He, will also marvel together with them, as it is said, Thus saith the Lord of
Hosts, If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those
days, it shall also be marvellous in My eyes?
דף נב, א גמרא (זכריה יב) וספדה הארץ משפחות משפחות לבד משפחת בית דוד לבד ונשיהם לבד אמרו והלא דברים ק"ו ומה לעתיד לבא שעוסקין בהספד ואין יצר הרע שולט בהם אמרה תורה אנשים לבד ונשים לבד עכשיו שעסוקין בשמחה ויצה"ר שולט בהם על אחת כמה וכמה הא הספידא מאי עבידתיה פליגי בה רבי דוסא ורבנן חד אמר על משיח בן יוסף שנהרג וחד אמר על יצה"ר שנהרג בשלמא למאן דאמר על משיח בן יוסף שנהרג היינו דכתיב (זכריה יב) והביטו אלי את אשר דקרו וספדו עליו כמספד על היחיד אלא למאן דאמר על יצר הרע שנהרג האי הספידא בעי למעבד שמחה בעי למעבד אמאי בכו כדדרש רבי יהודה לעתיד לבא מביאו הקב"ה ליצר הרע ושוחטו בפני הצדיקים ובפני הרשעים צדיקים נדמה להם כהר גבוה ורשעים נדמה להם כחוט השערה הללו בוכין והללו בוכין צדיקים בוכין ואומרים היאך יכולנו לכבוש הר גבוה כזה ורשעים בוכין ואומרים היאך לא יכולנו לכבוש את חוט השערה הזה ואף הקב"ה תמה עמהם שנאמר (זכריה ח) כה אמר ה' צבאות כי יפלא בעיני שארית העם הזה בימים ההם גם …בעיני יפלא
Is there
any resemblance to Jesus? No. The Talmud states that Messiah Ben Joseph will
die in that future battle. Jesus did not die in battle, much less about the end
times because we’ve been here for more than two millennia after his death and
there is still so much to be done in human history.
Also, in an
early example of rabbinic interpretation of Tehillim / Psalm 2, when the
Messiah son of David, "to be revealed speedily in our days," he
witnesses the death of the Messiah son of Joseph Di asks "s that will save
the life:
שאל ממני ואתנה
גוים נחלתך וכיון שראה משיח בן יוסף שנהרג אומר לפניו רבש"ע איני מבקש ממך אלא
חיים
"Ask me and I will give the nations for an inheritance, "O L-rd of the universe, I ask only to live." -Talmud Bavli, Sukkah 52 A
Likewise,
the Targum of Zechariah 12:10 says:
“Then the Messiah son of Ephraim (Messiah bar Ephraim-משיח בן - אפרים) will go to battle with Gog uMagog and will be killed at the gates of Jerusalem.”
So, the
main rabbinical tradition of the Messiah includes the chronological priority
item on the Davidic Redeemer, along with planned military failure in the war
against the last enemy (Gog uMagog). Although the origin of this ideology is
totally uncertain, due to there’s no
evidence of their existence before the Jewish War against Rome, it is
reasonable to assume that the tragic fate of Shimeon bar Kosiva (שמעון בר - כוכבא), who died in 135 CE (3895
Year of Creation), is the cause, or causes, that would create such an image of
a murdered messiah.
B. SEFER ZERUBBABEL:
The second
piece of literature that talks about messiah ben joseph is the the Sefer
Zerubbabel, a sixth-century book that describes the eschatological battle
between Armilus (the leader of Rome and universal Christianity) against the
Messiah Ben Joseph who is killed in battle, but prepares things for the Messiah
Ben David. The author of this book believed that this would happen in his
imminent future, but fail in his predictions, so, subsequent editions of the
text were published without dates that had been placed by its author (Silver,
Abba Hillel. History of Messianic Speculation in Israel. Kessinger Publishing.
p. 49.)
In the
book, Zerubbabel (the protagonist of the series) said that the angel Metatron
led to a market in Nineveh (representative of Rome) and there, a man named
Menahem ben Amiel revealed himself as the Messiah. Zerubbabel asked the angel
Metatron when the Messiah would come and he was told it would be 990 years
after the destruction of the Temple (in about 1059 of the Common Era), but five
years before an anointed (messiah) would come, his name is Nechemiah Ben Hushiel
and he would be "Mashiach Ben Yosef " who would die in the battle
against Armilius (chief general of Gog uMagog):
"He [Armilius] will come against the holy people of the Most High and he will have ten kings ... and he will battle against the sacred [Jews]. He shall prevail against them and will kill the Messiah of the lineage of Joseph, Nechemiah Ben Ḥushiel, and will kill also sixteen righteous who were with him. "
An the end,
the Messiah Ben David, Menachem Ben Amiel, comes and resurrects from the dead to
Nechemiah Ben Ḥushiel (Mashiach Ben Yosef).
Does Jesus
or Yehoshua have any resemblance to this "Ben Joseph”? No. The character
of Christians, Messianic and Nazarene is NOT named Nechemiah Ben Ḥushiel but
Yehoshua(Yeshua). He was not a senior general of the Israeli army and also, according
to the book, the "Messiah Ben Joseph” resurrection is opposed to the so
called “resurrection” of Jesus (Yeshua) because in Sefer Zerubbabel, the
Mashiach ben Yosef is not revived until the coming of Ben David, while in the
Christian myth, Jesus "resurrected" almost twenty centuries ago! More than two millennia away of the arrival, future
arrival, of Mashiach Ben David.
C. EMUNOT VEDEOT:
Saadia Gaon
in Emunot VeDeot, art. 8 Ch. 6 says:
משיח בן יוסף יהיה כשליח לפניו"The Messiah Ben Joseph will be anointed as a messenger before him [Messiah Ben David]"
So, the
book is saying that Messiah Ben Joseph comes before Messiah ben David, so we
could ask: how long?. Sa'adia Gaon
explains (Emunot VeDeot, art. 8 ch. 5) that before the coming of Ben David, the
anointed Ben Yosef will come and make war against Armilius which fight against
the army led by General Messiah Ben Joseph: http :/ / ww.daat.ac.il/daat/mahshevt/kapah/8-2.htm # 5
"Then
he wil, fight against a man named Armilius who will fight against them and
occupy the city and kill and destroy, and he will be the man that will
annihilate the seed of Joseph... then Eliyahu hanavi will come and salvation
will come. "
We see that
Sa'adia Gaon explicitly mention the following facts in chronological order:
- 1. Messiah Ben Joseph comes and will die in the battle against Armilius.
- 2. Eliyahu Hanavi comes.
- 3. Messiah Ben David arrives.
This line
of thought is diametrically opposed to Christianity because for them:
- 1. First came John the Baptist as Elijah.
- 2. Then came Jesus as Ben Yosef.
- 3. Finally: Jesus will return as Ben David.
There’s nothing
to do. For the third time we found that
the concepts of Christians (Messianic and Nazarenes) are OPPOSED to the original
Jewish concept of "Messiah Ben
Joseph.”
D. MIDRASH
VAIOSHA AND MIDRASHIM K'TANIM:
Small
midrashim result in the same way about the anointed (messiah) Ben Joseph and what
we can found on them is very scarce. The Midrash Vaiosha tells the same of
Sefer Zerubbabel, and when it comments about parashat Beshalach, it says:
Messiah Ben Joseph, the Israeli army commander, is killed in the battle against
Armilus, sixteen righteous among their
peers will die and at the end he will be resurrected by Menachem Ben Amiel
(Messiah ben David).
Nor the Midrash
Vaiosha nor the other midrashim allow that the crazy idea that Jesus(Yeshua)
can be “Messiah ben Joseph”. The
differences between them are many, completely different stories, the links are
missing from every point of view: theoretical and pragmatic.
E. KOL HATOR
Kol Hator, written
by Rabbi Hillel Rivlin, a disciple of the Gaon of Vilna, exposes the mystical
meaning of Messiah Ben Joseph.
On Chapter
1 is inferred that Messiah Ben Joseph cannot be other than Israel, all the
people united as one man, an awakening from below that attracts redemption from
above (ben David). The next chapter says:
"The unification of Yesod and Malchut - this is a major mission of Mashiach ben Yosef, to unify above and down ... a rebuilt Yerushalayim. Then it will be a unified city. "
Throughout
Chapter 6 explains its mission:
- To Gather the exiles: "We [Jews] emissaries of Gd to the time of redemption, forced to commit to bring the exiles."
- To Rebuild Yerushalayim: "Our sages said that in the future Yerushalaim expand as far as Damascus. In the future Yerushalaim extend as widely as the Great Sea. The process will be gradual ... and Israel's settlements will be gradual ... the continued construction will be performed even in [periods of] poverty ... Our job is to fulfill the commandment that says, 'expands the place of thy tent.' "
- To Appoint faithful people to sanctify the truth and sanctify the name of G-d: "Accordingly, our work to bring together and build Yerushalayim exiles will not be successful unless we appoint loyal and faithful people ... among the people of Israel."
- Eradicating the spirit of impurity from Eretz Israel -planting the earth: "The land must be planted until there is no desolation, until the earth take their fruits. Planting land is one of the duties of Moshiach Ben Yosef ... the Gaon [of Vilna] delegated to students, they directly carry out the mission, with the help of G-d. "
- To Promote the spread of Torah from Zion.
- To Make war against Amalek, "explained the Gaon: entrusted to us to inherit the land by force ... in the war against those who dispute construction in Yerushalayim, against sanbalatim and those who are erev rav... May Gd save us in that war! He Who dwells in Zion will help us. "
- To Heal Tzion.
I believe
that there is no much to say, the mere reading is actually the Messiah Ben
Yosef is the Jewish people, not a single man. Regarding Jesus there is no point
of comparison, and again, Christians remain without foundation that allows them
to twist and manipulate the concept "ben joseph" for use in their
dark purposes.
All sources
listed are those that expose the existence of Mashiach ben Yosef and nothing agrees
with the “messiah” of the Christians, Messianic and Nazarenes. Again, Jesus is
unmasked, he’s a totally false messiah in every possible way.
