Jewish Naysayers of Moshiach

Naysayers of the present, unfolding Era of Redemption can come in an unusual form; They can be FOR Redemption, but AGAINST the Redeemer. Yes, they'll say, we're into or very near to the Era of Redemption, but Chabad, who thinks "their" Rebbe is Moshiach, is way off base!

These want to choose their own Moshiach.

By not knowing WHO Moshiach is, they get off the hook. They need not probe a particular person's expressional history, nor do they need commit themselves to follow him.

That they accept the period we find ourselves in as uniquely Redemptive - is on target, to be sure. But the last step, the one that requires commitment, here they'd rather go by their "instincts" - rather than follow the Rambam.

The Rambam specifically lays out a list of requirements to identify Moshiach. He did this apparently because these qualifiers serve a halachic purpose. Ah, but he gave them to Jews with the smarts to weave their own conclusions, despite the good efforts of the Rambam.

I speak not of those who argue a point or two FROM the Rambam. Most naysayers avert this Rambam or any notion that interferes with their own choice for the exalted position of Moshiach.

Most probably this is what the Rambam meant when he characterized the opening of the Era of Redemption as one wherein things will go on "as usual" (עולם כמנהגו נוהג). Is it not "usual" for Jews to pick and choose for themselves, even in halachic matters, where the slightest doubt can obscure the truth that would bind commitment?

Naysaying Jews therefore will concur we are into the Era of Redemption - but NOT because THE REBBE SAID SO! Not because the Rebbe in 1991 invoked the Midrash of Yalkut Shimoni as referencing our very own era! Chabad literature be damned. They have their own "talmudic" sources. They - themselves - want to pin the tail on the donkey.

While they too will come around, these people, meanwhile, suppress the Era of Redemption from accelerating forward. Why? For the same reason a "somewhat Jewish" Jew waxes problematic more than an "ultra" religious Jew. The former thinks he's fully genuine and "kosher", giving him the ability to "dance at two weddings at the same time"; When asked if he keeps to halachah, he can say "Yes". This person fools himself, which makes his decontamination all the more resistant.

Recall when Eliyahu the Prophet chastised the Jews at the improvised alter. He cried out - not against those who served the Ba'al! No! He singled out those who worshipped the Ba'al AND ALSO served God. Against these partial believers he excoriated! (See also "Eliyahu Tears into Reform Judaism")

They seek convenience. On the one hand they see something real evolving, but, consistent with their myopia, with their blinders, they also believe in UFOs.

The same silliness we find when two ladies find themselves, somewhere, in the very same dress, and one gets angry with the other. Hey, you can't be waving YOUR Moshiach in my face, when MY Moshiach is someone else!