Maimonides' Code - The Book of Judges

King Messiah - Melech haMashiach in Hebrew.  Melech (MEH lekh) means king, and Mashiach (mah SHEE ahkh) means 'anointed'.  The syllable ha means 'the'.  In Hebrew, however, it appears as a prefix to the second word of an expression.  Together in Hebrew, these words mean 'the king who has been anointed'.   In the same vein, King David is called 'David the king' in Hebrew.  Neither expression can be used literally in English.

I prefer to translate Melech haMashiach as 'King Messiah'.  Sometimes I will write 'the Messianic King', but here this expression does not ring true enough to the Hebrew idea.  Other Jewish kings were also anointed in the times of the Bible, but these laws from Maimonides teach us about the anticipated and greatest anointed king.

Not all Jewish kings have been anointed, though.  Only monarchs who are descended from the patriarch Jacob's son Judah through his descendants Kings David and Solomon.  In case of point, the Hasmonean kings – the Maccabees – were not anointed.  They were Priests – descendants of the patriarch Jacob's son Levi.  Since they were not anointed, G-d did not promise them that future kings would descend from them.  Anointing reinforces the covenant that the descendants would continue the dynasty.

Greek speakers borrowed the Hebrew word Mashiach as 'Messiah', and this word was borrowed by Latin speakers until it came into the English language.   Greek speakers are unable to pronounce /sh/.

will arise in the future -

King David - A just monarch, deliverer, and savior.  He promoted justice and led the Israelites in war.  Their wars were justified because King David brought peace and justice to the regions where these were lacking (see II Samuel 8:15).  This is the role of a Jewish monarch.

Beyond this, King David begins to plan building the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.  "The L-rd asks King David, 'Will you build me a palace?  Indeed . . . I have not dwelled in a house. . . . I have moved around in a tent and a tabernacle" (II Samuel 7:5-6).  G-d wants a permanent Holy Temple in Jerusalem – to "not move around." Jerusalem's security would be paramount.  Through David's wars, as G-d says, "The wicked will no longer oppress them [the people Israel] . . ." For the sake of the Holy Temple, the people Israel would need to "remain secure and not be disturbed anymore . . ." by giving them "rest from all [their] enemies" (II Samuel 7:10-11; paraphrased by the editor).

King Messiah also promotes justice – the Seven Noahide Commandments for Gentiles.  His wars are to bring all Jews back to the observance of our 613 Commandments – the Covenant that G-d made with the Israelites at Mount Sinai.  He can only accomplish this by using his great wisdom.

Unlike today's religionists, he will not be an authoritarian ruler with a "Revolutionary Guard" or religious police to enforce the observance of the Torah's precepts.

King David's dynasty - The word 'dynasty' appears both in the printed edition of Rome and in a Yemenite manuscript but not in the censored, Eastern European editions.

former stability and original sovereignty - pacifying neighboring nations and rebuffing outside political interference.

rebuild the Holy Temple - He begins by determining the location of the altar.  Some sacrifices already can be offered on the altar without a standing Temple building.  In the meantime, construction of the Temple and its walls will have started.

There is literary evidence that under the short rule of Bar Kochba, Jews offered the Passover sacrifice two years in a row, perhaps three.  We doubt that construction of the Temple had progressed, but during Bar Kochba's three and one half or four year reign there was ample time to clear ruins and rebuild the altar.  Only the altar was needed for offering the Passover sacrifice.

scattered Jews - Literally 'scattered Israel', which is to say Jews, both the biological descendants of the Patriarch Israel and the righteous converts.  'Israel' should should not be confused with the State of Israel.

observe the Sabbatical and Jubilee years - which can only be observed when all Jews live in the Land of Israel.

who does not believe in [the Messiah] - See the Thirteen Principles of Faith.

The Torah has attested to him -

as it says (Deuteronomy 30:3-5) - Maimonides introduces written verses with an expression such as "as it says";  "stating."  Originally, some verses of Scripture were dictated to Moses, other verses are Moses himself speaking to the Israelites.  Also, the prophets speak out loud to the people before their words are written.

edge of the sky's reach - edge of the sky;  end of the "heavens";  the entire reach of where people live and view the sky.

your fathers inherited - G-d promised the Land of Canaan to Abraham and gave him the discretion to leave it to his progeny.  Abraham chose to leave it to Isaac as an inheritance.  Then Isaac blessed Jacob (Genesis 27:28-29).  We read:  "The Almighty . . . will give you Abraham's blessing . . . to inherit the land of your dwelling which G-d has given to Abraham" (Genesis 28:3-4).  The Almighty translated Isaac's personal, spiritual blessing into the inheritance of the Land of Canaan.

Esau was disinherited from owning the holy part of the Land of Israel, but he was given another region outside the borders of the Land (at that time).  This region of Canaan was also promised to Abraham, but Isaac, using his discretion, gave it to Esau.  This region is south and east of the Dead Sea.  Its prominent landmark is Mount Se'ir.  Esau did not remain landless.  The disinheritance, though, was immediate so that only Jacob and his family would become slaves in Egypt.  See Joshua 24:4 – "I [G-d] gave Mount Se'ir to Esau as an inheritance [immediately], but Jacob and his children descended into Egypt [and eventually into slavery (Passover Haggadah)]."

Furthermore, Esau, as part of Isaac's blessing, was promised that "Although you are grieving your loss [to your brother Jacob, if the descendants of Jacob transgress the precepts of the Torah] you will throw off his dominance [his "yoke"] (Genesis 27:40).  This reverses the blessing ". . . behold, I have made him [Jacob] your master" (Genesis 27:37).

Since King David returned Israelites to observance of the Torah's precepts, Edom became a vassal state (II Samuel 8:14).

Maimonides only cites relevant words from verses of Scripture.  Accordingly, I often translate the Almighty's name 'L-rd' simply as 'G-d'.  For the purpose of composing this one composition, which Maimonides calls the Mishneh Torah – "Review of the Torah" – he fuses study of the Written Torah with study of the Oral Torah in one place.  This fusion is for us to know how to conduct ourselves according to the Covenant of the Torah.  This work (which I call his Code for my own convenience) is not a commentary on Scripture where the specific name of G-d illuminates the meaning of a verse or a group of verses.  Perhaps more importantly, ...

You will inherit it -

These explicit words of the Torah -

all that was said . . . by all the prophets - other than Moses, including Balaam.  What they said appears explicitly in the Book of Deuteronomy, 30:3-5.  At times, the Jewish people, though, lost sight of G-d's promises.  Prophets abjured the people to return and correct their ways.  Prophets did not need need to clarify what is written explicitly in Deuteronomy, though.

There is also a reference -

Balaam - a Gentile prophet.  See the entire account in the Biblical book of Numbers from Chapter 22, verse 2, through the end of Chapter 24.  The Israelites camped on the plain of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan River facing Jericho on the other side of the Jordan.  Balak, the king of Moab, and the elders of Moab feared an eventual attack by the Israelites.  The Moabites recruited the Gentile prophet Balaam to discern their fate.

The four details of prophecy from Balaam that interest Maimonides appear in Scripture in the book of Numbers – Chapter 24, verses 17 and 18.  The content of these verses teach laws about King Messiah, and Maimonides Code is a book of the Torah's laws.

The entire account, besides the legal interest here, appears in Chapter 23, verses 7 through 10; verses 18-24; Chapter 24, verses 3-9; and verses 15-24.

As a prophet, Balaam channeled G-d's words.  However, Balaam knew, and told King Balak, "How am I to curse [someone who] G-d does not curse?  How am I to sense the L-rd's anger [with the people Israel] when He hasn't been angry?" (verse 8).

Before this, Balaam had told King Balak, "I cannot transgress the word of the L-rd my G-d to do anything small or large" (Numbers 22:18).  Despite this, Balaam went ahead to try to curse the Israelites, if only to demonstrate the futility of Gentiles' opposing G-d's plans for the Jewish people.

Maimonides' interest here is the ultimate future of the Jewish people – in fact the destiny of the entire world.

David, rescued Israelites from their oppressors - Before anyone considered him as a candidate for kinghood, young David defeated Goliath, for example (...), and thereby helped win a battle with the Philistines, oppressors of Israelites at that time.

but not now - Balaam saw how the Israelites' prospects steadily improve, how they will acquire more and more power and prominence.  Their place in ancient history reaches its zenith during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon.  The fifteen generations from the Exodus to King Solomon are like the moon's cycle – its first appearance until the full moon.  Accordingly, Balaam sees King David's rule, but not yet.

but not soon - "Soon" does not seem to refer to the Messianic Age – about twenty-eight centuries since King David (as of this year 2017).  By now, we are living about nineteen hundred years since the destruction of the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem and since the subsequent end of Jewish autonomy in the Roman Empire.  But the Hebrew word for "view" implies seeing at a distance.  But even to the extent that Balaam the prophet could see into the future, King Messiah would not be coming "soon" beyond that horizon.

a star - perhaps a comet rather than a literal star in the scientific sense.

staff - The same Hebrew word represents domination and rulership over all the other Tribes.  On his deathbed, the Patriarch Jacob delivered his testament to his sons.  To Judah he says, "The 'staff' will not depart from [the tribe of] Judah and national prominence from among the Sages forever . . ." (Genesis 49:10).

In the Holy Land during Roman occupation, the Jewish people elevated a Sage who was a descendant of Judah.  The Roman Empire generally recognized this Sage as the representative of the Jews in the Holy Land.  The Hebrew language title was Nasi (nah SEE).

Historians call the provincial native governors within the Roman Empire "ethnarchs."  However, the Romans generally disrespected the Jewish ethnarch/Nasi since Jews were the only ethnic group who refused to worship the Emperor as a god. The Empire mistrusted Jews.

Meanwhile, the Jews in the Babylonian (Sassanian) Empire became increasingly prominent.  The Sassanians gave their Jewish communities considerable autonomy, and the Nasi became regarded as president of all the Jewish communities.  In Babylonia, the Nasi was a descendant of Judah and one of the greatest Sages of his generation.

He crushed Moab's rulers - By attacking Moab, King David intended to demonstrate his power to pacify neighboring nations.  By seeing King David's determination and the strength of David's army, other nations would not attack the Israelites.  King David hoped that by shedding blood now he would prevent further bloodshed.

Balak himself was not troubled by events so far in the future, some eight hundred years after Balaam's prophecy in the Wilderness.

make all of Seth's descendants humble - Also translated as "break down all of Seth's descendants" – all the nations of the world – since all are descended from Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve.  The humility of the world's nations will translate into refraining from waging war with Jews.

This breaking down of an enemy is not meant to destroy the enemy.  King Messiah comes to transform enemies into friends.  King Messiah engages them personally to change their predispositions.  He teaches them how to become friendly neighbors of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel without demeaning their identity.

Actually, the descent of all nations from Seth is only on the male line.  Noah's wife Na'amah was descended from Cain.  Through her (and perhaps through her daughters-in-law) we all have Cain as an ancestor, too.  The Deluge of Noah washed away most individuals of the human race but not the lines of descent.

". . . All of Seth's descendants . . ." describes the identity and essence of the Gentile nations.

"His rule will be from sea to sea" - He [King Messiah] will break down the arrogance of Gentile nations.  His moral authority will be ". . . from sea to sea and from river [headwaters] to land's end" (see Psalms 72:8).  Disobeying the Torah's precepts derives from arrogant disregard of the Creator's intentions.

Psalm 72 is King David's prayer for his son Solomon, King Messiah's ancestor.  David prays that Solomon's authority should penetrate people's hearts to bring forth the flowering of righteousness and peace – like rain that nourishes crops.  (Based on the commentary of Rabbi Yechiel Hillel Altshuler [flourished 1770] called Metsudat David.)

King Messiah, also, will subdue humanity through peaceful, educational efforts to follow the original Covenant that G-d made with Noah and his descendants.  King Messiah's efforts will not need to be military.  The prophet Zechariah (9:10) uses a description of physical geography to represent human societies.

The land of Israel opens onto two seas:  the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.  The Red Sea opens into sea lanes that reach the coasts of both Asia and East Africa.  The Mediterranean opens into sea lanes to the north, to the coast of West Africa, and to the Americas.  In addition, "all waters" – rivers – run to the sea.

King Messiah's influence will reach all societies near and far – from those in landmass interiors of all climates to the societies which are open to the oceans.

King David's influence, however, only reached the two seas, ports on the Mediterranean and on the Red Sea.

Medieval Christian authorities removed the reference to Edom - Rome had become associated with Esau.  Understandably, Christian inheritors of the Roman Empire did not want to refer to their ancestors as servants.

Edom will be inherited; Se'ir will be inherited - Both 'Edom' and 'Se'ir' refer to the descendants of Esau.  Peoples often receive the name of the territory where they live or the name of a landmark.  At the same time, a region of land – a homeland – often receives its name from what the people of the nation call themselves.

In the case of this single verse in Scripture (Numbers 24:18) we can look at these two names in the context of two eras – the reign of King David and then the era of King Messiah.

At the time of King David, Edomites lived in their land, and so the verse refers to King David.  This prophecy was fulfilled when ". . . all of Edom became David's vassals" (II Samuel 8:14).

As time passed, some Edomites left their homeland.  Besides this, I cannot imagine how many Edomites intermarried with people from other ethnic groups.  Since the Patriarch Isaac's blessing for Esau promised him material prosperity (Genesis 27:39-40) this blessing has followed the descendants of Esau wherever they have gone.

King Messiah judges the most prominent men of Edom for perpetuating crimes against Jews in the spirit of Esau, their founding ancestor.  Mount Se'ir represents the eminent men – those who stand out like a mountain peak.

Se'ir will be inherited - What will Jews inherit from Esau's descendants during the reign of King Messiah?  I'm not able to say at this moment.  His blessings?

[by Israelites, its enemies] - Se'ir's enemies.  Edomites have generally continued to persecute Jews wherever our paths crossed.

The core culture and values of Rome derive from Esau.  As a youth, Esau knew "how to hunt" (Genesis 25:27).  Scripture tells us something profound, not about literal hunting.  Men since early times have hunted and taught their sons how to hunt.  Humans had been living and continue to live from hunting game for food.

Scripture is telling us that Esau developed the skills of "hunting" people.  He practiced duping his father Isaac into believing that he, Esau, was pious.  Instead, he was like Nimrod about whom it says that he was a "mighty hunter" (Genesis 10:9).  Nimrod was a tyrant who tracked down men – sociopaths – who would hunt and persecute opponents of his empire, the early Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations.  I've identified Nimrod as Hammurabi – "Ham is my grandfather."  This name is a fusion of Ham ur abi, expressions from the family of languages that includes Akkadian, one of the official languages of the regional empires such as Assyria.

Hebrew is a member of this family.  Readers of Hebrew Scriptures, which is to say those who understand Hebrew, recognize how 'Hammurabi' could mean "Ham is my grandfather."

Like Nimrod/Hammurabi, the descendants of Esau developed law codes to compete with the Torah's law code and contradict some of those laws.  Esau knew better.  He sat at the feet of his father, the Patriarch Isaac, and knew as much of his father's teachings to pass himself off as a disciple of Isaac.  In truth, Esau perfected the skill of duping people while he sat at the feet of his father.

Saviors will ascend in Mount Zion:

Saviors - Rescuers.  Law enforcement officers of the Jewish Sanhedrin Supreme Court.  The Sanhedrin was only allowed to hold its sessions adjacent to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.  The Temple was built on a mountain that goes by several names.  Besides Mount Moriah, Mount Zion is one of its names.  Modernity has mistaken the name Zion to be the name of a mountain somewhat to the west of the Temple Mount.

King Messiah can probably appoint and convene the Sanhedrin before the Temple is built.  But on the one hand, the Messiah has not received ordination – smichah (s'mee KHAH) – from Moses as conferred by one generation of Sages to the next.  Ordination ceased by the time of the Sages of the Talmud (or perhaps a little later).  At the same time, all the members of a Sanhedrin must be ordained by an earlier Sage.  In the absence of anyone who has been ordained, how can the members of the Sanhedrin be ordained?  Is King Messiah of such a stature that we consider him as an ordained Sage?  When the Prophet Elijah appears at the time of the Messiah, will one of his tasks be to ordain King Messiah?  I don't believe that anyone has proposed a definitive answer.  We have a tradition, though, that the first session of the Sanhedrin will be in the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.

will ascend in - This can only mean that the "saviors" will go into something on Mount Zion, which is to say enter the Sanhedrin Supreme Court to receive an assignment.  One of King Messiah's first "battles" will be to bring the perpetrators of "crimes against humanity" to justice.  We Jews identify these "crimes against humanity" as violations of the Seven Noahide Commandments.  High-handed crimes are the few that will ever reach a Torah court.  The Torah demands high standards of evidence.  Only eyewitnesses to the crimes can testify against these prominent super criminals who stand out like a mountain peak – like Mount Se'ir looks out over the land of Edom.  Only the hubris of these super criminals brings them commit crimes openly.

to judge Se'ir - Those who avoided justice by assembling an unjust code of law.  They also avoided justice by viciously clawing their way into power, money, and prestige.  The elements of this triad feed each other – more money, more power and prestige;  more power, more prestige and money, and so on.

refuge cities -

When the L-rd your G-d gives you their land [the Canaanites' land] . . . you must designate [separate] three cities in this land that the L-rd your G-d is giving you as an inheritance.  [Also] maintain a road [between the cities].  Divide your land into three regions . . . [for a refuge city in each region].  These cities are for any murderer to flee to for refuge. (Deuteronomy 19:2)

(Numbers 35:14)

Deuteronomy 19:1; Numbers 35:14; Exodus 21:13; Joshua 20:2.

has never been fulfilled -

this command in vain -

all [their] books are filled with it - All the books of the Hebrew prophets.  Often, verses from the prophets serve to clarify ideas in the Torah.  However, reference in the Torah to adding three more cities of refuge stands on its own without any prophecy.

bring novel things into the world - Changes in the Laws of Nature.

resurrect [all] the dead - There are two types of resurrection.  In one case, a dead body is brought back to life not long after death.  The other case is during a later period of the Messianic Era when people have been long dead and buried.  When they return to life, they will enjoy rewards for the good deeds that they did when they were alive.

resurrect the dead - Some prophets resurrected dead people, as we learn in Scripture.  Strictly speaking, these were not miracles.  Even today, long after the age of prophecy, it is not uncommon for people to die, leave their bodies, and then come back to life.

Rabbi Akiba, a great Sage - who knew what the Torah teaches about the Messiah.

King Bar Kochba - Romans had destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 69 ce.  At the same time, Romans had curtailed Jewish autonomy in and around Jerusalem.

Around the year 132, Simon ben Koseva led a rebellion to retake Jerusalem and restore the Temple.  As a successful military general, he was regarded by Jews as their redeemer.  They started calling him "Bar Kochba" – son of a star – referring to the verse, "A star shot out from Jacob" (Numbers 24:17).

Bar Kochba issued his own coins for Judea.  We believe that he oversaw the rebuilding of the Temple's altar and that, at the least, a couple of Passover holidays were observed in Jerusalem.  However, the rebellion failed in 135 when Bar Kochba died in battle.  Jews lost access to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount from then until after World War I.

Redemption from Roman tyranny failed, and I believe that Bar Kochba was a "proper and legitimate king who died" (Law Four).  In the disappointment of the hour, though, he was renamed Bar Koziva resembling his birth name ben Koseva.  Some want to translate this name as "son of a lie."  However, kazev also describes a dry, intermittent stream (Isaiah 58:11).  King Bar Kochba's reign "dried up," ending continuity of Jewish life in Jerusalem.

he was killed because of sins - It has never been clear whether these were Bar Kochba's sins or whether they were the people's sins, or both.

The Torah - literally "this Torah";  Maimonides' wording reflects a Scriptural verse:  ". . . to do all the things of this Torah" (Deuteronomy 29:28).  See The Book of Knowledge: "The Fundamental Laws of the Torah," 9:1.

We may neither add to them nor subtract from them - since the Torah is everlasting.

** adds or takes away something [from the Torah] - from the Written Torah or from the Oral Torah.

** deviates from the plain sense of the Commandments - That we don't have to observe any one of them or that we can reinterpret them as though the world has changed since Biblical times.

** an impostor, a wicked person, or a heretic - These descriptions contrast with Bar Kochba and do not refer to him.  Bar Kochba's failure to redeem the Jewish people from Roman tyranny was not evidence that he was an impostor, etc.  If Bar Kochba had been wicked or a heretic, Rabbi Akiba would not have supported him.  Bar Kochba's rebellion failed because of sins, although Maimonides does not tell us what or whose these sins were.

a wicked person - An impostor and a heretic are also wicked, but they subscribe to some sort of misguided philosophy.  An "ordinary" wicked person has an inability to obey his guiding compass.  He is driven (at times) by bodily lust, for example.

Yemenite manuscript - Censorship had never taken place in Yemen.  Maimonides maintained a strong relationship with the Jewish community of Yemen.  Their manuscript texts of the Code are generally considered to reflect Maimonides final redaction.

For The Book of Judges (at least), Rabbi Yosef Kafech's Yemenite manuscript seems to be the best exemplar.  Rabbi Kafech (1917, Sana’a, Yemen–2000, Jerusalem, Israel) fled Yemen with this manuscript in his hands.  He is widely known by English-language authors as Rabbi Kapach.  Speakers of Modern Hebrew also call him by the surname Kapach.  In Hebrew, one must hear a speaker to learn this pronunciation, though.  Consonant and vowel points are rarely used in Hebrew texts and documents in this context.

(When the rabbi's surname is rendered Qafiḥ, this may reflect Modern Standard Arabic as well as Hebrew spelling.  Modern Standard Arabic does not contain the consonant sound /p/.  At the same time, a eulogizer [from a report dated July 26, 2000, five days after Rabbi Kafech's passing] tells his audience, "[H]e was known by the Yemenite community that he led [as] Mori (Teacher) Yosef Gafech . . ." ["Rabbi Yosef Kapach 82," www.chayas.com, retrieved February 8, 2017])

The Bodleian (Oxford) Library owns a manuscript of the first two of the fourteen books of the Code:  The Book of Knowledge and The Book of Adoration.  Maimonides' autograph appears at the end of the second book, attesting that this partial manuscript was corrected by comparison with his original copy.  However, this library does not have a manuscript copy of the chapter on this web page.

If a king arises from the House of David - When such a kingly leader arises, we will have a Messiah, but we don't know when this will happen.  Therefore, Maimonides writes "if."  Our Sages teach that the Messiah comes unexpectedly, which is to say that his arrival cannot be predicted.  Today, we speak about the imminence of his arrival since it is ever more likely that he will come sooner rather than later.

If a king arises - A Jewish man with royal qualities of leadership like his ancestor King David.  In general, Jews everywhere will recognize him and his reputation as they did when the young David defeated Goliath (...) and thereby helped win a battle with the Philistines, oppressors of Israelites at that time.

When prophets speak of him riding a donkey into Jerusalem, they are speaking metaphorically about his humility.  It makes no sense to take this prophecy literally.  Anyone can acquire a donkey and ride it into Jerusalem.

who delves deeply into the study of the Torah - His power and prestige come from the innermost dimension of the Torah.  The Torah prescribes his role as a Jewish king.  There have been many kings, but King Messiah is special and unique.  He stands out like his ancestor David.  An ordinary Jewish king brings law and order and regularity to life in his kingdom according to the Torah's laws.  In addition, King Messiah encourages both his Jewish and non-Jewish subjects to study the Torah and to live by its values.

Notice how I included 'non-Jewish' subjects.  These citizens are Noahites who live according to the Torah.  There has never been a Divine intention for Jews to live segregated – in a ghetto.  But, non-Jews who are unwilling to live according to the standards of the Torah are a bad influence, and we Jews and Noahites distance ourselves from them as well as we can.  They have no place in a Jewish – Torah chartered – city or kingdom or state, and so on.

observes its commandments - This defines a Jewish king or ruler.  We have no need for a leader who is not fully and deeply knowledgeable about the Torah and who doesn't live up to its standards.  Emphasis here is also on "as prescribed by both the Torah's Written Law and by its Oral Law."  Periodically, movements arise among Jews that deny the validity of the Oral Torah – the traditional understandings of the words and phrases of the Written Torah.

if he prevails over all Jews to walk in the way [of the Torah] - For those who already walk in the way of the Torah, this kingly leader encourages them to broaden and deepen their commitment.

and repairs breaches [in its observance] - For those who fail to walk in the way of the Torah, this kingly leader guides them back.  He is like a shepherd who rounds up stray sheep and brings them back to the flock.  Within the flock, the nature of these sheep prevails as herd animals who find it unnatural to leave the flock.  In this analogy, the shepherd's efforts are twofold.  One, he brings the strays back, and two, he repairs fences, for instance.  If he hasn't been using shepherding dogs, he acquires and trains them.

In many places in the Bible, the Jewish people are likened to a flock of sheep.  Non-Jews around the flock implicitly have the potential to guard the flock, to circle the herd to preserve its integrity and unity.

if he fights the wars of G-d - Against those Gentiles who fail to guard the flock, to continue the metaphor.  This king also wages war to defeat Gentiles who resent their appointed task and stubbornly refuse to protect and even, at times, raid the flock, the ultimate betrayal of their G-dly calling.

we consider him the Messiah - It is possible that he is the Messiah.  We conduct ourselves as though he is the Messiah.  We fall in line to help him with his activities since he is presumably the Messiah  – the presumptive Messiah.  But if he did not succeed to this degree . . . he surely is not the one [the redeemer] promised by the Torah (see Part 2 below).

** This following phrase does not appear in many European editions because of Christian censorship:

** defeating all the enemy peoples around him ** - It is understandable that Gentiles would censor this phrase.  The theologies of both Christians and Muslims do not allow for any defeat of them by Jews.  Their theologies do not allow even for the possibility of Christians or Muslims living under Jewish governance or Jewish eminent domain.

Enemies of the Jewish people have opposed building the Holy Temple.

Maimonides does not rule out the possibility that the Messianic candidate begins his efforts outside the Land of Israel – "around him," wherever he lives.

builds the the Holy Temple on its site [in Jerusalem] - Specifically where it was when King Solomon built it.  The focus of the location is the altar.  The new altar must be precisely where the first altar stood.  The altar in the Second Temple was built precisely where King Solomon built the first altar.

The Spirit of Prophecy remained among some of those who returned to Jerusalem when the Babylonian Exile ended.  Ezra was the leader of the people at that time, and he was a prophet.  If there had been any doubt then exactly where the altar had been before it was destroyed, Ezra directed them to the precise location.  Priests did not begin to offer sacrifices until Ezra or another prophet approved.

King Messiah will become a prophet.

gathers the dispersed remnant of Israel [into the Land of Israel] - Only after the previous stages.  The fact that the ingathering has already begun is a manifestation of the Messiah's presence in the world.  We live in a Messianic world, the beginning of the Era of the Messiah.  "Pave and clear a road," says the prophet (...).

he is definitely the Messiah -

ºº  The following notes and comments refer to a censored section that does not appear in European editions:

If he [the potential Messiah] did not succeed - the proper and legitimate king of the dynasty of King David or the definite King Messiah.  I find that this addition from Rabbi Kafech's Yemenite manuscript is ambiguous.

promised by the Torah -

to arise in order to test the multitude - One test is to continue to believe that there is yet to come an "appointed time" for the unfolding of the full redemption by King Messiah.  However, we cannot really understand why G-d would want to test us, but –

to refine through them -

the appointed time, for it is yet to come -

Jesus of Nazareth was put to death by [judgment in a Roman] court - The Sages of the Talmud discuss the crime of another Jesus who lived about a generation and a half before Jesus of Nazareth.  The Sanhedrin Supreme Court put him to death for the crime of leading Jews astray to idol worship and magic.  Maimonides is specific about which Jesus is considered the founder of the new Christian religion.  This is not to say that Maimonides placed this specificity in the law for the sake of preventing confusion.

The Gospel account may be substantially accurate, but only substantially.  Jews were a restive population under Roman rule.  The Romans expected conquered peoples to erect a statue of the emperor to worship him.  Jews of all persuasions refused to even consider such a sign of capitulation.  The Roman procurator was especially attentive to eliminate disruptive elements among the Jewish people, especially in Jerusalem.

When he came to the attention of the procurator, Jesus was tried under Roman law as a subversive where the punishment was death.

The Gospels are especially hostile to Pharisees even though Temple priests tended to belong to the Sadducee sect.  If Jesus's claim to be "King of the Jews" is genuine, he may have come to the attention of the procurator without a report from the Temple priests.  Accordingly, Jews bore no responsibility or guilt whatsoever for Jesus's execution.

On the other hand, Jewish life at the time was especially sectarian, much as it is today (as I write this in 2017).  Anyone or any sect at the time might have brought Jesus's claims or activities to the attention of Romans.  Nevertheless,

strengthens their observance - Christianity adds and takes away things from the Torah.  Any claim by Christians that their founder is a messiah is absolutely antithetical to what we Jews look for in a presumptive Messiah.  See Law 3.

the intent of the Creator of the world is not within the power of man to understand - We can't understand why we almost reach the redemption of the Messianic era, but G-d causes it to slip from our grasp.

His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts - the proof-text that the intent of the Creator is not within our power to understand.

Also, we can't easily understand the Divine intention behind the rise of monotheistic religions which are hostile to Jews.  Their hostility reached the point of murdering some of us, extending the size of our Diaspora, and by claiming that the Torah has been replaced by their books.  Even when they are not physically hostile to us, like many today, they worship an impostor or follow a heretic.*  As we learned in Law 3, the monotheisms which are daughter religions of Judaism add and take away things from the eternal Torah by replacing it with their books.

Although we find it difficult to understand G-d's intent, Maimonides continues by explaining the larger picture – "to pave the way."

Jesus of Nazareth - An earlier Jesus lived a generation or two before Jesus of Nazareth.  This earlier one was tried and executed by the Supreme Sanhedrin Court for heresy and black magic.  (The name 'Jesus' was one of the most common names for several hundred years.  'Joseph' was more common.)  Jesus of Nazareth, on the other hand, was tried by the Roman authorities for being a subversive by calling himself "King of the Jews."  The Roman Empire had only one king, the emperor.

Even if Jesus of Nazareth did not actually call himself "King of the Jews," his followers did or were rumored to have called him by this title.

All the deeds of Jesus -

that Ishmaelite [i.e., Mohammad] - Maimonides seems to have had a special antipathy toward one central belief of Islam – that Mohammad was a prophet.  Maimonides and his family lived their entire lives in the world of Islam.  After living freely as Jews for a period of decades, the family fled Muslim fanatics and lived perilously for a decade or so until they reached Egypt where Muslims did not practice an extreme or fanatical form of Islam.  I call this "normative Islam" – Jews and Christians living in a tolerant Muslim society so long as these Jews and Christians affirmed their second-class citizenship.

to pave the way for the arrival of King Messiah - For this reason (among others) our Sages have called the last two millennia "Days of the Messiah."  The two monotheistic religions arose and prospered to "pave the way."  From the Divine perspective – the intent of the Creator – paving the way is already a Messianic process.  Since His thoughts are not our thoughts, G-d knows that the Messianic process will completely unfold without a doubt.  'Without a doubt' translates into the certain finality of the process.  When discussing two millennia of the "Days of the Messiah," our Sages were speaking of this process from the Divine perspective – as if it had already completely unfolded.

to pave the way - to improve and perfect the world, then motivating the nations.  There is no shortcut.  Only orderly stages.

The notes for the section, "He [the true King Messiah] will then perfect the entire world . . ." with its proof-text, appear at the end of Law 4 - Part 4  \\.

ºº  The following notes and comments refer to a censored section that does not appear in European editions:

[a] Messiah - A redeemer who will rescue us from ourselves – how we have brought upon ourselves the sad consequences of living according to errors and lies.

the Torah and its Commandments - The instruction (Torah) to observe the entirety of its Commandments.  The expected King Messiah is within the Torah's instruction in clear passages from the Bible.

spiritually insensitive nations - See Isaiah. The nations of the world accept ideas about G-d that make little sense.

the Commandments of the Torah - The specific Commandments of the Torah that are for Noah's descendants – to observe.  These are the Seven Noahide Commandments.

[the nations of the world] will all return -

their prophets and ancestors caused them to err - with a false heritage.  The promised Messiah has not yet come.

 

Then comes the end of all European editions.  However, this section of law with its proof-text have already appeared in Rabbi Kafech's Yemenite manuscript above in my second part of Law 4.

He [King Messiah] - The proper and legitimate king of the dynasty of King David or the definite King Messiah.

will then - Once King Messiah builds the Holy Temple, G-d's presence in the world will be apparent, at least to when [the nations of the world] will all turn away from falsehood by realizing that their ancestors endowed them with a false heritage and that their prophets and ancestors caused them to err.  First, the nations repent – abandon their falsehoods.

perfect the entire world -

to serve G-d together -

Then I - a proof-text.  Also, after turning away from falsehood, they are ready to call upon the name of the L-rd and serve Him together [in unity with Jews].

Proper repentance is first to regret passed misdeeds and then to resolve to never repeat them.

I [G-d] . . . the name of the L-rd - It's not unusual to find a Scriptural structure where G-d speaks as Himself in the first person and then speaks about Himself in the third person.  I do not know a reason for this, though.

pure speech - the Hebrew language, thus helping them to practice serving G-d according to His Torah. Translations do not convey the true religion.

Regarding the Seven Noahide Commandments, they form an entire legal system for the Messianic future.  Today's formal legal systems tend to frame issues of law in the Latin language.  Such a language that is foreign to the Torah renders legal concepts that are also foreign to the laws of the Torah.  In order for societies to live according to the laws of the Torah, they will need to discuss legal issues in Hebrew terms – the language of the Torah and its Covenant with Noah's descendants.

they all will call upon the name of the L-rd - the One G-d, Creator of the universe.  Some nations now worship several gods who possess specialties.  Some peoples worship a good god who has to fight with an evil force beyond his control, such as a Satan.  Others worship one god within a community of gods who resemble humans with all our foibles and frailties.

serve Him together [in unity] - together in mind and heart, unified to help each other.  Jews will consider themselves unified with the nations of the world in serving G-d.  As some Gentiles learn Hebrew in the Messianic era, they will begin to study the Torah, understand it, and learn its authentic structure for serving G-d.

As I just wrote, a fully developed, G-dly civilization depend on a legal system that is derived from the Torah in the terms that are expressed in the Torah.

Zephaniah 3:9 -