We are all well acquainted with Rambam’s 7th article of Jewish faith, poetically rendered in our siddurim as: אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה שֶׁנְּבוּאַת משֶׁה רַבֵּֽנוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם הָיְתָה אֲמִתִּית וְשֶׁהוּא הָיָה אָב לַנְּבִיאִים לַקּוֹדְמִים לְפָנָיו וְלַבָּאִים אַחֲרָיו (I believe with complete faith [emunah] that the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu [our Teacher], may peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the father of the prophets, of those who precede him and of those who succeed him). And, of course, this statement agrees with what is written in the Torah itself (Devarim 34:10): וְלֹא־קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה אֲשֶׁר יְדָעוֹ יְיָ פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים (Never again has there arisen in Yisrael a prophet like Moshe whom Hashem knew face to face).
If it is true that there never has been a prophet comparable to Moshe in the past and that there never will be a prophet comparable to Moshe in the future, then we have a question: What about Mashiach? Isn’t he going to be greater than Moshe Rabbeinu?
Yeshayah was given an extraordinary and extensive prophecy about the Mashiach (see Yeshayah 52:13-53:12). The passage begins with these awesome words (52:13): הִנֵּה יַשְׂכִּיל עַבְדִּי יָרוּם וְנִשָּׂא וְגָבַהּ מְאֹד (Behold! My servant will become wise. He will be exalted, and be lifted up and be very high). Just how great will the Mashiach be? The Midrash explains the meaning of the three-fold praise expressed in this verse (Yalkut Shemoni Remez 476): זה מלך המשיח…ירום מן אברהם ונשא ממשה וגבה ממלאכי השרת (This is the king Mashiach…he will be exalted above Avraham, and he will be lifted up more than Moshe, and he will be higher than the ministering angels).
How can it be that the Mashiach is described in this prophecy as not only being greater than Moshe Rabbeinu but even greater than the angels, and yet, as we have already read, the verse in the Torah itself (Devarim 34:10) and the codified statement of faith from the Rambam clearly say that no one will ever be greater than Moshe Rabbeinu? Let’s examine this intriguing and important question.
Before Yaakov’s passing, he blessed his son Yehudah with the following words (Bereshit 49:10): לֹא־יָסוּר שֵׁבֶט מִיהוּדָה וּמְחֹקֵק מִבֵּין רַגְלָיו עַד כִּי־יָבֹא שִׁילֹה וְלוֹ יִקְּהַת עַמִּים (A scepter will not depart from Yehudah nor a lawgiver from between his feet [i.e., from among his descendants] until Shiloh comes, and the peoples/nations will assemble to him). Based on the Midrash (see Bereshit Rabbah 99:8) and Targum Onkelos, Rashi states unequivocally that Shiloh is מֶלֶךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ שֶׁהַמְּלוּכָה שֶׁלּוֹ (The king Mashiach and the monarchy is his). We read the same thing in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 98b): מה שמו דבי רבי שילא אמרי שילה שמו שנאמר עד כי יבא שילה (What is his [Mashiach’s] name? Those of R’ Shila’s yeshiva said, Shiloh is his name, as it is stated, ‘until Shiloh comes’). But why did Yaakov use the name Shiloh? It is a code word for Moshe since the gematria of both names are identical (משה = שילה = 345).
This gematria is not novel. It is known from many sources, for example, R’ Nachman teaches (Likutei Moharan 2): כָּל צַדִּיק שֶׁבַּדּוֹר הוּא בְּחִינַת מֹשֶׁה מָשִׁיחַ…וּמֹשֶׁה זֶה בְּחִינַת מָשִׁיחַ כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב עַד כִּי יָבֹא שִׁילֹה דָא מֹשֶׁה מָשִׁיחַ (Each Tzaddik in the generation is an aspect of Moshe Mashiach…and this Moshe is an aspect of Mashiach, as it is written, ‘until Shiloh comes’—this is Moshe Mashiach). This idea is elaborated upon in Likutei Moharan 79: וּבְכָל צַדִּיק וְצַדִּיק מִי שֶׁהוּא צַדִּיק בֶּאֱמֶת יֵשׁ בּוֹ הִתְגַּלּוּת מָשִׁיחַ. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ הִתְגַּלּוּת מָשִׁיחַ יֵשׁ בּוֹ מִדָּה שֶׁל מָשִׁיחַ שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת משֶׁה כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (בְּרֵאשִׁית כה:) מָשִׁיחַ דָּא משֶׁה (And in each Tzaddik [of every generation], he who is the true Tzaddik, is a revelation of Mashiach. And even if he is not a revelation of Mashiach, he has in him the attribute of Mashiach, who is an aspect of Moshe, as it is written in the Zohar ha-Kadosh [Bereshit 25b] ‘Mashiach is Moshe’).
These sources reveal the hidden meaning of Yaakov’s blessing to Yehudah. On the surface, it appears to be a promise of a single future event, but it is not. Rather, it is a promise that has been and is being fulfilled on an ongoing basis. Yaakov promised Yehudah that there will always be someone from among his descendants, i.e. the true Tzaddik of each generation, who will be an aspect or ‘spark’ of Moshe himself, and that this person has the potential of becoming the Mashiach (if the generation merits). But there are still more things we can learn from our Sages of blessed memory.
In the passage from the Zohar referenced above, more secrets are revealed (Zohar Bereshit 25b): לא יָסוּר שֵׁבֶט מִיהוּדָה דָּא מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד. וּמְחוֹקֵק מִבֵּין רַגְלָיו דָּא מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן יוֹסֵף. עַד כִּי יָבוֹא שִׁיל”ה דָּא משֶׁה חֻשְׁבַּן דָּא כְּדָא. וְל”וֹ יִקְהַ”ת עַמִּים אַתְוָון וְלֵוִ”י קְהָ”ת (‘A scepter will not depart from Yehudah’—this is Mashiach ben David—‘nor a lawgiver from between his feet [i.e., from among his descendants]’—this is Mashiach ben Yosef—‘until Shiloh comes’—this is Moshe, the same gematria as Shiloh—‘and the peoples/nations will assemble to him [וְלוֹ יִקְהַת]’—the letters are the same as ‘and Levi Kehat [וְלֵוִי קְהָת]’). This last bit is very fascinating because it means that Yaakov was also alluding to the origins of the soul of Mashiach, i.e., even though he will be a descendant of Yehudah, the soul comes from Moshe through his father Amram, his father Kehat and his father Levi (Yaakov’s son). In other words, the final redeemer will be a combination of Mashiach ben Yosef, Mashiach ben David and Moshe Rabbeinu himself!
R’ Natan elaborates in Likutei Halachot (Yoreh Deah, Yayin Nesech 4:12): וְאִתְפַּשְׁטוּתָא דְּמֹשֶׁה בְּכָל דָּרָא וּמְתַקֵּן אֶת יִשְֹרָאֵל בְּכָל דּוֹר וּמְתַקֵּן הַכָּאַת הַצּוּר שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ כָּל הַמַּחֲלֹקֶת…וְעִקַּר גְּמַר הַתִּקּוּן יִהְיֶה עַל-יְדֵי מָשִׁיחַ שֶׁהוּא מֹשֶׁה בְּעַצְמוֹ (The [soul] of Moshe is spread out in every generation, to rectify the Jewish People in each generation, and to rectify the sin of striking the rock from which emanates all opposition [against him]…and the ultimate rectification will come through Mashiach, who is Moshe himself).
These sources have answered our question how it can be that Mashiach is greater than Moshe Rabbeinu while the Torah itself says that no one will ever be greater than Moshe Rabbeinu. Mashiach is Moshe—literally! Notice these awesome words from Kochavei Ohr (Introduction to Chochma u’Binah): מוּדַעַת זאת בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ כִּי אָמְנָם לא קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמשֶׁה אֲבָל הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ עוֹד יָקוּם לְגָאֳלֵנוּ גַּם מֵהַגָּלוּת הַזֶּה כִּי מָשִׁיחַ דָּא משֶׁה וּמַה שֶּׁהָיָה הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה בְּיֶתֶר שְׂאֵת וְיֶתֶר עָז (‘Let this be made known throughout the whole world’ [Yeshayah 12:5]—Because indeed ‘Never again has there arisen in Yisrael a prophet like Moshe’ [Devarim 34:10], but he himself will arise again, to redeem us also from this exile because Mashiach is Moshe, and he will be mightier and more powerful than he ever was before).
Why will he be so much greater than he was before? Because each time his soul was reincarnated throughout time from generation to generation, it received double from the soul of the Tzaddik from the previous generation. We learn this principle from Elisha the prophet. Just before Eliyahu ha-Navi was taken up to heaven in the fiery chariot, he asked Elisha to make one final request of him (2 Melachim 2:9): וַיְהִי כְעׇבְרָם וְאֵלִיָּהוּ אָמַר אֶל־אֱלִישָׁע שְׁאַל מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה־לָּךְ בְּטֶרֶם אֶלָּקַח מֵעִמָּךְ וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלִישָׁע וִיהִי נָא פִּי־שְׁנַיִם בְּרוּחֲךָ אֵלָי (And as they were crossing [the river], Eliyahu said to Elisha, Request what I should do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, May a double-portion of your spirit come upon me). And this doubling would have taken place over and over again with respect to the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu in each generation!
Hopefully now, we can begin to appreciate just how awesome the potential Mashiach must be in our generation.
May our righteous Mashiach be revealed speedily soon in our day to redeem us from this long and painful exile, to sweep away rebellious and arrogant authorities and governments, to restore the sovereignty of the Jewish People in our land, to rebuild our Holy Temple in its place, and to usher in an everlasting age of peace, prosperity and enlightenment for all mankind.
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