Chabad of Central Florida
 
Monday, November 25, 2024 - 24 Cheshvan 5785
 
About us | Donate | Contact us
News & Events
Parsha - Weekly Torah Portion
Magazine
Holidays
Torah Study
Ask The Rabbi
Jewish Calendar
Upcoming Events
Yartzeit
Find a Chabad Center
Audio
Videos
Photo Gallery
Donate to Bais Menachem Chabad
Chai Club
Chabad on Campus
Friendship Club
Archives
Jewish Women's Circle
Membership Form
Youth Programs
The Shul & Guests Info
Kosher Food
Links
Contact Us
 
Email EMAIL UPDATES
Join our e-mail list
& get all the latest news & updates
 
Email CANDLE LIGHTING
5:16 PM in Tampa, FL
Shabbat Ends 6:11 PM
Friday, 29 Nov 2024
Parashat 
»   Get Shabbat Times for your area
 
 
Email DONATE
Help support Chabad of Central Florida by making a donation. Donate today!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share |
Specific Place for Moshiach

Is there a specific, designated place where Moshiach will appear?

The Talmud relates that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi met Moshiach at the entrance of Rome, ready to reveal himself as Moshiach.

The question is, why was Moshiach precisely in that place? Of all places in the world, why did Moshiach choose to be revealed in Rome? According to Rashi's interpretation, the "entrance to Rome" referred to in the story is allegorical, not literal. However, the question still stands. What is the symbolism of Moshiach revealing himself at the entrance of Rome?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains: In Maimonides, in his monumental halachic work Mishneh Torah, describes the future Moshiach as a king who will teach Torah and lead the Jewish People, repairing any breaches in mitzvah observance. It naturally follows that Moshiach will reside in the place where the majority of Jews live in his day, in order to influence the maximal number of people.

This explains why, in the time of Rabbi Yehoshua, Moshiach chose to make his symbolic appearance near the entrance of Rome. In that generation, the majority of Jewish people were under Roman rule. So, too, in every generation there is an individual who is worthy of being Moshiach, who lives in the place with the greatest concentration of Jews and puts forth all his effort to draw the Jewish People close to Torah.

[There are sources that negate the possibility of Moshiach appearing outside of the land of Israel; however, they are not decisive halachic works. The only work of halachah that deals with this issue is Maimonides, who does not mention that Moshiach can appear only in the land of Israel. Therefore, we can assume that it is a possibility that Moshiach will appear somewhere in the United States, since that is where the majority of Jews reside, at present.]

(Sanhedrin 98:1, See Rashi's commentary. Shmos Rabba, section 1:26. Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim, 11:4. Toras Menachem, 5752, vol. 1, p. 422)
 

 


About us | Donate | Contact us | The Rebbe | News | Parsha | Magazine | Holidays | Questions & Answers | Audio | Video

 
 

©Copyright Merkos Chabad Lubavitch of Central Florida
2001 W. Swann Ave. Tampa, FL 33606 - Rabbi Lazer Rivkin, Regional Director - 813-966-8770
Email: info@chabadofcentralflorida.com

Powered by ChabadNJ.org © All rights reserved.