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Triennial Cycle III: Lev. 8:1-36
Humash Etz Hayim, page 621
Haftarah: Malakhi 3:4-24, page 1295
- (8:1-36) The ceremony installing Aaron and his sons as priests, and the ritual of initiation into their new holy vocation.
Opening The Door for Elijah: Welcoming The Messianic Message
Question: Is the messiah a super hero, a concept and does it matter? What should we be thinking about as we open the door for Elijah towards the end of our seder?
He (Moses) poured some of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. Leviticus 8:12
The verb translated as “anointed” (va-yimshah) is related to the noun mashi-ah (messiah), which originally meant “anointed one.” It referred to a priest, and later a king who had been consecrated for special responsibility. Throughout the Bible, it refers only to a human priest or king. The prophet’s vision of the Messiah was of a good and benevolent king who would earn peace and prosperity for the people by serving God wholeheartedly (See Isaiah 11:1-9). Biblical and Rabbinic Judaism as a rule did not conceive of the Messiah as a superhuman redeemer. Etz Hayim Commentary, 622
Most significantly, Jewish tradition affirms at least five things about the Messiah. He will: be a descendant of King David, gain sovereignty over the land of Israel, gather the Jews there from the four corners of the earth, restore them to full observance of Torah law, and, as a grand finale, bring peace to the whole world. Concerning the more difficult tasks some prophets assign him, such as Isaiah’s vision of a messianic age in which the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the calf with the young lion (Isaiah 11:6) Telushkin, Jewish Literacy 546
I believe with a full heart in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may tarry, I will wait for him on any day that he may come. One of Maimonides 13 Principles of Faith (commentary on Mishnah Sanhedrin, end of chapter 10)
…the subject of the Messiah has become increasingly central to many religious Zionists in Israel, particularly to many disciples of the late Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. The event that helped set the stage for a revived interest in the Messiah was the Six-Day War of 1967, in which Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem and, for the first time in over two thousand years, achieved Jewish rule over the biblically ordained borders of Israel. Telushkin, Jewish Literacy 547
May the Merciful One bless the State of Israel, the beginning of the flowering of our redemption. Birkat Hamazon
An old Jewish story tells of a Russian Jew who was paid a ruble a month by the community council to stand at the outskirts of town so that he could be the first person to greet the Messiah upon his arrival. When a friend said to him, “But the pay is so low,” the man replied: “True, but the job is permanent.” Telushkin, Jewish Literacy, 545
Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai said: If you are in the middle of planting a tree and word comes that the messiah has arrived, finish planting the tree, then go seek the Messiah Avot D’Rabbi Natan, 33b-34a
Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi met the prophet Elijah standing at the entrance to Rabbi Shimon b. Yochai’s tomb…. Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi asked Elijah, “When will Mashiach come?” Elijah repleid, “Go and ask Mashiach himself” “And where is he sitting?” “At the gate of the city of Rome (Gra).” “And by what feature can I recognize him?” “He is sitting among the poor people suffering from tzaraat [a leprous disease). All of them untie and tie their bandages at the same time, but Mashiach unties his bandages one by one, for he says: I might be needed any moment, and I don't want to delay my coming [by having to re bandage more than one sore (Rashi)). Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi went to Mashiach and said, "Peace be upon you, Master and Teacher!" Mashiach replied, "Peace be upon you, son of Levi." Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi asked Mashiach, "When are you going to come, master?" "Today," Mashiach replied. Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi went back to Elijah who asked him, "What did Mashiach say to you?" …Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi then said to Elijah, "He lied to me because he said, 'I am coming today.— Replied Elijah, "This is what he had in mind, [I will come) 'Today, if you obey his voice!' (Psalms 95:7)." Ein Yaakov, Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a
The Hassidic rebbe Naftali Tzvi Horowitz used to invite all of the participants of the seder- in order of their place at the table- to pour from their personal cup into Elijah’s cup. This symbolizes the need for everyone to make their own personal contribution to awaken the divine forces of redemption by beginning with human efforts. Hartman, A Different Night, 139
By the third century if not before, midrash linked the night of the Seder with messianic redemption: “In that night they were redeemed [from Egypt] and in the night they will be redeemed in the future.” But it wasn’t until the early Middle ages that sources explicitly connected this night with Elijah, applying an earlier midrash: “And on that night [interpreted now as Passover] the messiah and Elijah will be made great (Exodus Rabbah 18:12). The Rabbis of the Mishnah (Eduy. 8:7) differed as to just what Elijah, herald of the messiah, would do upon his return…The dominant view held that Elijah would come “neither to push away nor to bring near, but to make peace in the world, as it says, ‘Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of Adonai. He shall turn the heart of parents to the children, and the heart of children to their parents… (Mal. 3:23-24). Peace in the world begins in the family. Arnow, My People’s Passover Haggadah, Vol. 2, 139-140