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Why Not Ms. Moshiach?

by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

"Why do we always refer to Moshiach as a man? Why can a woman not be the Moshiach who will take the Jews out of Golus. Are women considered to be inferior to men?

This question can be divided into two parts, reflecting the two different points of view from which it is asked.

Firstly, the questioner who believes that Moshiach is a concept conceived of by people - most likely men - and therefore, the obvious question follows, why can't we offer the job to a woman? Is there anything inherently wrong with a woman?

The answer for this person is to state that Moshiach is, in fact, an idea taken from and conceived by the Torah which is G-d’s word. In the Torah, Written ¹ and Oral ², Moshiach is described as a male descendent of King David. One either accepts the notion of Moshiach or doesn't. However, one cannot accept it as a Torah concept but then decide how one would prefer that G-d bring Moshiach and whom G-d should choose to be the Moshiach.

The second part of the question is "why." Why did G-d leave women out of the selection for this most important task of liberating the Jewish people from exile?

This question can be extended. Why can't Moshiach be a Cohen - descendent from the family of Aaron? Moshiach cannot be from the tribe of Levi - or from any tribe except Judah. Even within the tribe of Judah there are restrictions. Jewish law declares that Moshiach must be a descendent of one man - King David. ³

Clearly, the law determining who can be Moshiach has a different basis from the civil laws of modern society. The rules and regulations of a modern democratic country have specific purpose - to create a balanced society. In this way individuals can pursue their personal goals without harming the community. In such a context, excluding women - or any group or individual for that matter - from certain activities seems no more that an attempt to maintain or seize power from others. Naturally, this is seen as unjust.

But Torah has a different basis. The laws of the Torah do not serve an individual or group quest for power; they do not balance conflicting interests. The laws of the Torah come from G-d, and they help all humanity fulfill G-d' purpose which is a spiritual purpose. According to the Torah, all humanity serves the same purpose, namely, creating a world where every action - collective and personal - reveals the G-dliness within creation. To reach this goal, each individual has a specific task, defined by G-d and determined in part, by conditions beyond his / her control, such as circumstances of his / her birth.

The laws of the Torah - the record of G-d's will - designate the mission of each individual. Some tasks are determined by gender, some by whether one is Jewish or not, some by one's ancestors. Everyone is created with both characteristics of a group and individual abilities. The combination of these enables each person to fulfill a unique assignment, something nobody else can do. We are given the spiritual capacity to fulfill our mission, but only because we have also been given different capabilities, as individuals and as groups.

It is important to remember that the Torah teaches that each individual is absolutely necessary to the fulfillment of G-d's plan, that we are not just individuals pursuing our own desires or need for power. Every human being was created as part of a team, each with a unique task without which the goal cannot be achieved. Although our spiritual tasks, and therefore spiritual capacities, are different - just as the abilities and roles of members of a team are different - we are all equal in the eyes of G-d, because without each of us doing what G-d wants, the world cannot be filled with G-dliness.

In this sense, restrictions on who can be Moshiach aren't that important, because without the rest of us, Moshiach cannot be revealed as Moshiach. And when we ask hypothetical questions about the Torah, there really isn't an answer, because the Torah is G-d’s wisdom, not ours. So we can't really understand why G-d decided that Moshiach must be a king, anymore than we can understand why only a Cohen can perform the sacrificial service or why G-d gave any of us the environment and abilities we have.

But we do know that Moshiach is not just a leader; he is a person with a specific unique spiritual capacity, found in only one individual in an entire generation. One of the qualifications includes being a king, similar to the ideal of king in Jewish history, King David. And we also know that the coming of Moshiach depends on each of us and the realization of our unique spiritual talents.

In addition to all that has been said it must be emphasized that not only are women - as are men - involved in the process of preparing the world for Moshiach, but, women have a unique role in this regard.

¹ See, for example, Yeshayahu 11.

² See Hilchos Melachim, ch. 11:1-4; ch. 1:5

³ Ibid

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