Excerpt from interview from 1992:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2944/jewish/Belief-in-Moshiach.htmHANDELMAN:
Here again, one might also think of these events as just part of another cycle in history. That is, there are always periods of great reform and progressive hope, and then a regression to oppression and war. Hearing about this new emphasis on Moshiach, some people fear that you're setting yourself up for disappointment, and that it's very dangerous to read into these events some impending arrival of the Moshiach, because it hasn't happened for the last several thousand years.
FRIEDMAN:
That's exactly true, and that's why it has to happen now. This fear of disappointment, I think, is a very invalid and insubstantial argument. There's always a chance that we might fail in the things we hope for, the things we work hard for. But that is not an argument against doing it.
HANDELMAN:
Nevertheless, in the past in Jewish history, when Messianic movements have arisen, such as Bar-Kochba or Shabbetai Zvi, the resulting disappointment was disastrous for the Jewish people. This disappointment is not a simple thing, it's not like being disappointed in love --
FRIEDMAN:
The stronger the virtue, the greater is the damage if it doesn't work. But we should distinguish between today and the past failures of Bar-Kochba and Shabbetai Zvi. Really the two are very different: Bar-Kochba didn't turn out to be a disaster; he just didn't accomplish the goal.
Shabbetai Zvi turned out to be a disaster. But what they all have in common, all the past Messianic fervor, is that they happened in a time of great trouble, when people were really desperate, when they had reached the bottom of the cycle, and the only way to go was up; and it had to be Moshiach - which is understandable. When things are that dark, you have to hope for something, you have to look forward to something.
On the other hand, it is still a virtue and a compliment to the Jewish people that our faith is so strong that for 3,000 years we have been consistently confident of his arrival. And what's unique about this time around is that we're doing very well. There is no great trouble. Things are relatively good for Jews today.
HANDELMAN:
Many people agree that the concept of Moshiach is important in Judaism, but point to passages in the Talmud which say that we mustn't speculate about these things -- that we can anticipate Moshiach, but we're not supposed to inquire into whom it is or talk about signs of the times.
FRIEDMAN:
On the one hand, the Talmud in Sanhedrin says that the Sages were very unhappy with people who set dates and made predictions about the time of Moshiach's arrival. But on the other hand, anyone who doesn't expect Moshiach every day is a heretic. So how do we reconcile this?
HANDELMAN:
How do we?
FRIEDMAN:
If the average person were to start making predictions and say, "I think according to the signs, to the stars, to the this, that, and the other, that Moshiach is coming tomorrow," that is wrong. Moshiach is coming today, always today, never tomorrow, never next week or next month, because we're not supposed to rely on signs. We're supposed to believe and trust that G-d said that He's going to send Moshiach, and G-d will send him today. That's the only resolution to this kind of conflict.
So on the one hand, yes, it's true that we shouldn't play around with predictions. But on the other hand, if somebody says, "I know Moshiach and he's alive today," that's great --
HANDELMAN:
You just said a minute ago that it's wrong for every Tom, Dick, and Harry to start making these predictions.
FRIEDMAN:
We're not talking about predictions. The predictions are not kosher. But if somebody says, "Moshiach is here; I know someone, and he is Moshiach," that's fine.
HANDELMAN:
In the passage you quoted earlier, Maimonides says you can "assume" someone is Moshiach, but you don't know it for sure unless certain conditions are met.
FRIEDMAN:
Right. Assume it, and hope it, like Rabbi Akiva did. He went and carried Bar Kochba's armor for him.
HANDELMAN:
But as with Shabbetai Zvi, we have seen that when people do get very worked up about Moshiach and they're wrong, the consequences are bad.
FRIEDMAN:
But how can you reconcile this fear of a false Moshiach with your belief in Moshiach? What does your belief in Moshiach consist of if you're afraid that he might be a false Moshiach?
When the real Moshiach does come, what are we going to say? Who's going to believe him? Are we going to say, "Got to be careful -- remember Shabbetai Zvi?"
HANDELMAN:
Still people find finger-pointing very unsettling. They feel that it's very dangerous to point to someone and claim that he is the Moshiach.
FRIEDMAN:
If people can point a finger to someone and say, "This is Moshiach," that simply shows how alive and vibrant their faith in Moshiach is. Whether this person is or is not Moshiach is irrelevant.
HANDELMAN:
Would you say that it is irrelevant even if, for example, we decide on the wrong person? New religions have been formed as a result of the belief that certain persons were the Moshiach, and Judaism suffered considerably when these other religions persecuted the Jews for refusing to accept these "Messiahs."
FRIEDMAN:
The same is true of belief in G-d: The belief in G-d has been the cause of a lot of suffering, too. If you believe in the wrong god, or you start fighting over who G-d is, it also causes trouble.
But you can't use the abuse of something as an argument against it. And the same thing holds true for attributing great powers to an individual. Just because there was a Jim Jones and a Jim Swaggart, are you going to say that you shouldn't believe in anybody? It's because we don't believe in the right people that these charlatans find their way into those positions. If we're open to the idea that somebody alive today is Moshiach, whether it's some Kabbalist in Israel or a Rosh Yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey, that would indicate that our belief in Moshiach is alive and healthy and well. Then when Moshiach comes, there'll be no problem.
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