Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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M ASMID The End of Days By Abraham S. Guterman THE speculation as to the advent of the Messiah, and its attendant miracles, the resurrection of the dead, and the return of Jewish supremacy in the spiritual affairs of the world, is a very interesting side light of Jewish history. The almost univer- sal pastime of Jewish scholars in all climes and all ages has been to read into certain cryp- tic and enigmatic scriptural texts definite numerical significances, voluminous calcula- tions both mystic and mathematical which were finally twisted to fit some year in the Common Era. A natural consequence of this profuse speculation was that at various times men convinced themselves that they were Messiahs, destined to lead Israel back to the Promised Land, and to establish that vision- ary Utopia which legend has woven about the Messianic emancipation. In this rapid survey I shall discuss, first the forces behind these phenomena, second, the most import- ant methods of calculation, third, the more outstanding computations, and fourth, the most famous pseudo-Messiahs. The burning zeal for divining the advent of the Redeemer may be attributed to several factors. It was a combination of political aspirations, social emancipation, and religious and moral idealism. The Jews believed in the ultimate triumph of divine justice. They vir2 firm in the faith that the dictum of God promising national rehabilitation was invar- iable, and indelibly inscribed on the scrolls of destiny. Their unendurable hardships kindled the desire for freedom and rest, for a haven of refuge where their harassed and la- cerated bodies might find repose. An un- quenchable love of life dominated their spirit and aroused the desire for autonomy in a land of their own. Speculation was an insufficient bandage for their deep wounds, but a bandage it was, and though it healed only in parts, neverthe- less it mollified in a measure the degree of their pain, and its balsam refreshed the hope in the hearts of the people. As the burdens and terrors, the persecutions and tribulations of life increased, the Jew looked frantically about for some glimmer of hope, some ration- ale for continuing a rather painful and un- pleasant existence. The feeling that any day might bring the Messiah and an end to all his suffering filled him with the desire to live, so essential to the existence of a nation, and especially of a wandering nation. But he was unwilling to allow the advent of the Messiah to remain shrouded in mystery, to remain curtained behind the opaque veils of a divine promise. He groped about in the Scriptures and there by a great many methods he came to varied conclusions at different times and in different lands. It would be well to review briefly the vari- ous methods of calculation employed by the scholars and rabbis. The first and most im- portant source was the Book of Daniel. Seve- ral specific numbers of years are listed there- in, all of them indefinite and puzzling. In chapter 12 we encounter the greater part of these mystic symbols in which are sup- posedly hidden the secret of the final redemp- tion. Other scriptural texts scattered over the length and breadth of the Bible have also served as inspiration for speculative genius. Gematria or the assignment of a numerical significance to each letter of the Hebrew al- phabet, and the subsequent computations on this basis have been an important factor in many of the conclusions. Notarikon or the employment of each let ter of a word in the Bible as a series of first letters for the words in an improvised sentence gave many a mystic an opportunity for mental gymnastics. In- terpretation by the transposition of letters called Chiluf and the replacement of one letter by another called Temurah gave rise to many a startling prediction. It was a perfectly natural reaction that cal- culators should take cognizance of the length of former exiles and by the comparison of characteristics and support of scriptural texts establish mathematical relations to ascertain the end of days . Even more influence in this field was wielded by the science of astro- logy with its vast mystic background and the deep-seated belief in the minds of many that the stars were an open book for thos: that could read their ethereal language. In earlier centuries, both by Biblical and Tal- mudical dicta, this science was unalterably

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M ASMID The poet Heinrich Heine, who was prob- ably as cosmopoHtan in his views as any man could be, in the last few years of his life, felt the necessity for religion and ex- pounded a system of Judaism which would pass today as conservative. Mendele Mocher Seforim. who for a lifetime had waged war on orthodoxy, was, during his last years, a devout religionist. Max Nordau, the great critic of European civilization during the last generation, famous for his agnosticism, was often discovered in his home enwrapped in Tallith reading the Bible. In our own days, there are at least two outstanding men who have left their radicalism, Dr. Nathan Birn- baum, whose keen mind had made him the leader of Jewish radical thought for decades, and who had adopted as his literary pseudo- nym the classical name of heretics — Acher — is now at the head of the organization of the orthodox Jews in Poland. In a lesser degree. Chaim Nachman Bialik. the famous national poet, recently surprised the Jewish world by issuing a call to Jews all over the world to remain steadfast to their religion. Not only great leaders have felt the lure of the soul of their people, religion; lesser lights, too, could not calmly withstand its call. Thus the Jewish editor of a communistic news- paper was reported to have been secretly put- ting on Tephilin on the day of his mother ' s Jahrzeit . Religion among Jews is not ac- quired; it is inherited. To be religious is their fate. Another factor which makes Jewish na- tionalism dependent upon tradition is a prac- tical one. So long as Jews live among other peoples, they are in danger of assimilation. This danger can be overcome by no other force than by religion. Foremost leaders of Zionism have married outside of the Jewish fold. An orthodox Jew, however, though he may be opposed to the modern political Zionistic efforts, is himself never exposed to assimilation; the Torah forbids the inter- marriage of Jews and non-Jews. A nationalistic Jew may or may not mingle with Jews; he may or may not give his children a Jewish education. But a tra- ditional Jew must of necessity mingle with Jews very frequently and he must give his children a Jewish education. There are a thousand bonds that keep the religious Jew with his people. The few threads that hold the nationalist to Jewry are in constant dan- ger of being severed. It is, indeed, the slogan of the religious nationalist — the Land of Israel for the peo- ple of Israel according to the Torah of Israel — that fascinates us. THE PRESIDENT ' S MESSAGE The Students ' Council, though still in its infancy, has shown justification for its ex- istence . The college authorities have recog- nized it as the official voice of the students, communicated through it official school mat- ters and discussed with it all matters pertain- ing to the welfare of the students. The Stu- dents ' Council, has this year attempted to es- tablish itself as the central organization for the promotion of extra curricula activities and the sponsoring of all student affairs. We trust that our successors will continue the program begun this year in expanding the college library. We urge the next council to continue the practice of Inter-Collegiate de- bating begun this year. The success with which we met this year should serve as an incentive to future debates. It is needless to point out that the publication of the Masmid depends upon the existence of a central organ- ization and a solicitous and energetic attitude on the part of this organization will assure the grow th and development of the magazine. It must be borne in mind, however, that in spite of all these propitious beginnings, the Students ' Council can never reap any fair degree of success unless the students awake to the realization of the importance of the potentialities of the organization. We believe that the spirit of indifference that first marked the students ' attitude towards the council has been considerably lessened; we hope it will have disappeared by the end of next year, when the first lap of our journey will be terminated. Naturally, efficient and con- scientious representatives must be elected who will be capable of gaining the confidence of the student body. There must exist a spirit of harmony and co-operation, a complete readiness on the part of all concerned to give unselfish assistance when the occasion arises, a realization that a feeling of sincerity must characterize both sides. It is only then that the organization will succeed. HYMAN MUSS. President, the Council of the S. O. Y. C.

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10 M A SM I D opposed, but as Arabic culture made its grad- ual impress on Jewish culture, astrology with its intricate and complicated means of divin- ing the future gained considerable credence among Jews of the Middle Ages. All of the vast number of calculators since the early centuries of the Common Era can- not enter so short a discussion. Let us rather review some of the most outstanding with a view to their methods and conclusions. One of the earliest of the long group is Judah Ha-Nasi (135-220 C. E.), the redactor of the Mishna. His calculation is comparative- ly simple alongside of some of the compli- cated efforts of later men. He believed that the Messiah would come 365 years after the destruction, (which was in 70 C. E.,) that is in the year 435 C. E. He bases his conclu- sion on the passage in Isiah 63.4: For the day of vengeance that was in my heart and my year of redemption are come. He assigned one year to every day in the solar year and in this fashion obtained his figures. The computations of the Gaon Saadia (d. 942) are much more involved. He uses the passage in Dan: 12.6.7: How long shall it be to the end of won- ders? And I heard the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river where he lifted up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven and swore by him that liveth forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half. In verse 12 of the same chapter this is de- fined as 1335 days, the days to be considered as years. Times refers to the two periods of the existence of the Kingdom of Israel, the first being the 480 years up to the building of the First Temple, and the second period of 410 years until the destruction of this temple. This gives a sum of 890 years. One half of this sum is 445, thus times and a half would be 1335 years. By deft arrangement of the figures in Dan. 12:11 and 8:14 he makes this figure appear again and again. The ques- tion of a terminus a quo would then arise. He takes as a starting point the third year of the reign of Cyrus when the Jews were given permission to return to Palestine, and which according to old Jewish chronology took place in 367 B. C. E. According to Saadia. 1335 years after this date or 968 C. E., the Messiah was supposed to have come. This effort would seem to be complicated enough but that of Rashi (1045-1105) the Great Commentator, is even the more so, and involves a great variety of methods and chronological subtleties. He bases his results on Dan. 8:14. And he said unto me, unto evening and morning 2300 years, then shall the sanctuary be victorious. The value in Gematria of the words erev 2 V (evening) and boker 1P3 (morning) is 574. Add the 2300 mentioned in the text and you have 2874. In this case the starting point is the begin- ning of the Egyptian captivity. To trace the chronology from this point: the Jews were in Egypt 210 years: 480 years passed from the exodus to the First Temple; the Temple stood for 410 years; the Babylonian captivity lasted 70 years and the Second Temple stood for 420 years. Hence, from Egypt to the second destruction is 1590 years. Now in Dan. 12:11,12 we are told that 1 290 years must elapse from the time that the continual burnt offering shall be taken away until the time of redemption. Since the offer- ing ceased six years before the destruction, i. e. in the 1584th year from the Egyptian captivity as computed above, the addition of 1584 and 1290 gives us the figure 2874 of Dan. 8:14 spoken of before. According to Rashi the Second Temple was destroyed in 68 C. E. Therefore the burnt offering ceased in 62 C. E. Since the Messiah was to come 1290 years after, his destined arrival was scheduled for 1352 C. E. The preceding calculations give us an idea of the methods of attack and the line of thought and supposition followed. There were a great many others who tried their hand at this type of divination including such men as Maimonides, Judah Halevi, Nahmanides. Isaac Abarbanel and Isaac Luria. In general, we notice several outstanding characteristics running through all the com- putations. The first is their basis in scriptur- al passages, thus making the results the hidden expression of divine will. We notice, too, the constant recourse to mystic methods for the attainment of reasonable conclusions. We sec the frantic effort to garner something spe- cific, and assign a definite date to something intangible and beyond the pale of the capa- city of the human mind.