The Messiah at the Gates of Rome
Encyclopedia
"The Messiah
at the Gates of Rome" is a traditional story
, Mashal
or parable
in the Jewish
tradition, from the Babylonian Talmud
, Sanhedrin
98a.
(who lived in the first half of the third century), while meditating near the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, was visited by the Prophet Elijah. "When will the Messiah
come?" asked Joshua. "Ask him," replied the Prophet. "The Messiah is at the gates of Rome
, sitting among the poor, the sick and wretched. Like them, he changes the bindings of his wounds, but does so one wound at the time, in order to be ready at a moment's notice."
Then Joshua went to Rome and met the Messiah and greeted him, saying "peace upon thee, Master and Teacher" and the Messiah replied "peace upon thee, O son of Levi." Joshua then asked "When will you be coming?" and was told "Today!". Joshua went back to Elijah and was asked what the Messiah said. 'Peace upon thee, O son of Levi', Joshua replied, and Elijah told him that that meant that he and his father would have a place in the world to come. Joshua then said that the Messiah had not told him the truth, because he had promised to come today but had not. Elijah explained "This is what he said to thee, To-day, if ye will hear his voice", a reference to Psalms 95:7, making his coming conditional with the condition not fulfilled.
interpreted 'Rome' as meaning not the physical city but the part of paradise overlooking Rome. This neutralised and spiritualised the story and reconciled it with legends of the Messiah being carried alive to paradise.
Later, Samuel Eidels
went further and suggested that Rome wasn't mentioned at all as 'de Romi' should be read 'deromi', southern, referring to the Messiah being found in the southern part of paradise.
In the early 16th century the Kabbalist Abraham ben Joseph ha-Levi suggested that the 'Rome' in the story was a small town in Galilee with the same name, and a bit later Moshe Alshich
put the Messiah in paradise overlooking this town.
Concern about being seen as anti-Roman also led to translations of the Talmud replacing the word 'Rome' in this story to 'the city', 'Karta'.
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
at the Gates of Rome" is a traditional story
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, Mashal
Mashal
A Mashal is a short parable with a moral lesson or religious allegory, called a nimshal. "Mashal" is used also to designate other forms in rhetoric, such as the fable and apothegm.-Biblical Parables:...
or parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
in the Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
tradition, from the Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin (Talmud)
Sanhedrin is one of ten tractates of Seder Nezikin . It originally formed one tractate with Makkot, which also deals with criminal law...
98a.
Synopsis
Rabbi Joshua ben LeviJoshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi was an amora who lived in the land of Israel of the first half of the third century. He headed the school of Lydda in the southern Land of Israel. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and Resh Lakish, who presided over the school in Tiberias...
(who lived in the first half of the third century), while meditating near the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, was visited by the Prophet Elijah. "When will the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
come?" asked Joshua. "Ask him," replied the Prophet. "The Messiah is at the gates of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, sitting among the poor, the sick and wretched. Like them, he changes the bindings of his wounds, but does so one wound at the time, in order to be ready at a moment's notice."
Then Joshua went to Rome and met the Messiah and greeted him, saying "peace upon thee, Master and Teacher" and the Messiah replied "peace upon thee, O son of Levi." Joshua then asked "When will you be coming?" and was told "Today!". Joshua went back to Elijah and was asked what the Messiah said. 'Peace upon thee, O son of Levi', Joshua replied, and Elijah told him that that meant that he and his father would have a place in the world to come. Joshua then said that the Messiah had not told him the truth, because he had promised to come today but had not. Elijah explained "This is what he said to thee, To-day, if ye will hear his voice", a reference to Psalms 95:7, making his coming conditional with the condition not fulfilled.
Reception
Medieval Jews saw the story as possibly anti-Roman, and RashiRashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
interpreted 'Rome' as meaning not the physical city but the part of paradise overlooking Rome. This neutralised and spiritualised the story and reconciled it with legends of the Messiah being carried alive to paradise.
Later, Samuel Eidels
Samuel Eidels
Samuel Eidels , was a renowned rabbi and Talmudist famous for his commentary on the Talmud, Chiddushei Halachot. Eidels is also known as Maharsha .-Biography:The Maharsha was born in Kraków, Poland...
went further and suggested that Rome wasn't mentioned at all as 'de Romi' should be read 'deromi', southern, referring to the Messiah being found in the southern part of paradise.
In the early 16th century the Kabbalist Abraham ben Joseph ha-Levi suggested that the 'Rome' in the story was a small town in Galilee with the same name, and a bit later Moshe Alshich
Moshe Alshich
Moshe Alshich, also spelled Alshech, , known as the Alshich Hakadosh , was a prominent rabbi, preacher, and biblical commentator in the latter part of the 16th century....
put the Messiah in paradise overlooking this town.
Concern about being seen as anti-Roman also led to translations of the Talmud replacing the word 'Rome' in this story to 'the city', 'Karta'.