Maimonides' Code - The Book of Judges

 The Laws of Kings and Their Wars

 Chapter 12

• 1.  One should not expect * that the nature of the world will be set aside in the era of the Messiah or that there will be any innovation in the natural order of Creation.*  Instead, the world will continue according to [the laws of] nature.

  When Isaiah says,* "a wolf will dwell with a lamb, and a leopard will lie with a kid goat," (chapter 11, verse 6) this is an allegory and riddle.*  It means that Jews * will live securely alongside wicked Gentiles,* who are likened to wolves and leopards as in the verse,* "a wolf from the plains ravages, a leopard lies in wait by their towns" (Jeremiah 5:6 *).

  [When the Messiah comes] all will return to true religion and neither steal nor pillage.*  All will comfortably eat * what is permitted alongside Jews, as it says, "a lion will eat straw like the ox" (Isaiah 11:7).

  All other such expressions concerning the Messiah are analogies.  In the era of King Messiah, everyone will come to know what the analogy refers to and what allusion is indicated.

  // Notes

• [2. *]  [So,] our Sages teach, "There is no difference between the present age and the era of the Messiah except for [the absence of] subjugation to foreign powers" (Talmud Berachot 34b).

• 2.  From the plain sense of the words of the prophets, it appears that the war of Gog and Magog * will take place at the beginning of the era of the Messiah (Ezekiel chapter 38).

  Before this war of Gog and Magog, a prophet will arise to correct the conduct of the Jewish people and to prepare their hearts,* as it says, "Behold, I am sending you the prophet Elijah [before the arrival of the great and awesome day of the L-rd]" (Malachi 3:23).

  He [King Messiah] will not come to declare the pure impure or the impure pure.

  [He will not] disqualify the lineage of people presumed to come from a flawless lineage or to legitimize those presumed to have come from a blemished lineage.

  Rather, [he comes] to establish peace in the world as [the above prophecy] continues, "He will bring back hearts of fathers to the children . . ." (Malachi 3:24).

  Some Sages say that [the Prophet] Elijah will appear before the era of King Messiah.

  All these and similar matters cannot be [clearly] known by humans until they occur, for they are unclear in the words of the prophets.

  Even our Sages have no established tradition regarding these matters beyond what is implied by the verses.  Hence, there are divergences of opinion among them.

  In any case, neither the sequence of these events nor their precise details are among the fundamental principles of genuine religion.

  People should not occupy themselves at length with homiletic statements (the aggadot and midrashim) that deal with these and similar matters.

  Also, one should not consider them fundamental.  They do not lead to either fear or love [of G-d].

  Likewise, one should not try to calculate the appointed time [for the coming of the Messiah].  Our Sages declared:  "May the spirits of those who attempt to calculate the final time [of the Messiah's coming] expire!" (Talmud Sanhedrin 97b).

  Instead, one should await [his coming] and believe in the general idea, as we have explained.

  // Notes

• 3.  During the Era of King Messiah, once his kingdom has been established and all Jews have gathered around him, the entire [nation's] line of descent will be established on the basis of his words, through the Holy Spirit of prophecy that will rest upon him.  As it is written,  "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier" (Malachi 23:3).

  He will clarify the lineage of the Levites first, saying how "This one is a Priest of legitimate lineage," and "This one is a Levite of legitimate lineage."

  Those whose lineage he does not acknowledge will be relegated to the status of Israelites [of the other Tribes].  This is implied by the following verse:  "[Nehemiah] the governor said to them, '[They shall not eat of the most holy things] until a priest arises [who will wear] the Urim and Tumim'" (Ezra 2:63).  From this verse we infer that the genealogy of those presumed to be of unquestioned [Priestly and Levitical] lineage will be determined by the Holy Spirit [of prophecy].  The identity of those found to be of such lineage will be publicized.

  As for the Israelites, he [King Messiah] will identify each of them according to their tribe alone;  i.e., he will announce each person's tribal affiliation, saying, "This one belongs to this tribe," and "This one is from another tribe."

  However, concerning a person who is presumed to be of unblemished lineage, he will not say that, "He is illegitimate," or that, "He is of slave lineage," for the law [of the Torah] stipulates that once a family has become intermingled [within the Jewish people], they remain intermingled.

• 4.  The Sages and prophets did not yearn for the age of the Messiah so that [the Jewish people] will rule over the whole world, or that they will dominate Gentiles;  also, not to be exalted by them [the Gentiles].

  [The Sages and prophets did not either look forward to an age of] eating, drinking, or merriment.

  [They longed] only to be free to occupy themselves with studying the Torah and its wisdom without oppression or disturbance.  [From studying Torah] they wished to earn life in the World to Come, as we explained in the Laws of Repentance.

• 5.  In the era [of King Messiah] there will be no famine or war, no jealousy or strife, since good things will be available in abundance, and all delightful things will be as freely available as dust.

  The only occupation of the entire world will be solely to know G-d.

  Jews will, therefore, be great sages, knowing hidden [esoteric] matters [of the Torah].

  They will attain knowledge of their Creator to the [full] extent of human capacity, as it says –

  "For the world will be filled with knowledge of the L-rd as waters cover the sea [bed]" (Isaiah 11:9).

Translator's Notes:

“Let us return to you . . .” - A custom when reaching the end of a tractate of the Talmud is to say this and to resolve to study the tractate again.  Today, it has become customary to study something from Maimonides' Code every day.  When studying in the text's order, it's now time to begin at the beginning.

In a sophisticated sense, a Torah composition is entirely circular.  The lines at the end of the text dovetail into the first lines as they are printed in our books.  I've composed a page to explain and illustrate this idea, "Maimonides' Code - The End with the Beginning".

Law One

One should not expect - In a Yemenite manuscript:  "You should not think . . ."

the order of Creation - in nature, the natural order.

When Isaiah says - See What the Prophet Isaiah Tells Us about the Messiah.

"a wolf will dwell with a lamb, and a leopard will lie with a kid goat" - As Maimonides writes, "this is an allegory and [like a] riddle."

allegory and riddle - The prophecies of the Hebrew prophets are couched in riddles.  Allegories are common.  Some riddles appear within the allegories.

Jews - Maimonides consistently writes 'Israel', which is to say the people Israel, both the biological descendants of the Patriarch Israel and the righteous converts.  'Israel' should not be confused with the State of Israel.  I have chosen to translate 'Israel' as Jews because we Jews, the people Israel, are experiencing the arrival of King Messiah.

wicked Gentiles - In a printing from Rome, "the world's wicked."  We will soon see that the prophet Elijah will straighten out the behavior of Jews.  One could then say that "the world's wicked" included Jews who have allied themselves with wicked Gentiles.

Gentiles - Everywhere that I write 'Gentiles', I mean anyone who is not Jewish.  I write the word 'Gentile' as equivalent to the expression 'non-Jew'.

the verse in Jeremiah, "a wolf from the plains ravages, a leopard lies in wait by their towns" - as a metaphor and allegory corresponds to Isaiah's prophecy.  This is not a change in the nature of the world.  Jeremiah likens punishment of the Jews of his era to attacks by flesh-eating wild animals.  Of course, the punishments actually came from Gentile enemies – the world's wicked.

Jeremiah 5:6 - "Therefore, a lion will attack them from woodland, a wolf from the plains . . . ."  Not all Gentiles – nations of the world – are likened to wolves and leopards.  Only the evil ones.  Their attacks serve to bring ordinary Jews to know G-d's way of justice and to convince their leaders to practice Divine justice (see verses 4 and 5).

This prophecy was soon fulfilled: Babylonia is likened to a lion; Media to a wolf; and Assyria to a leopard (Rashi).

neither steal nor pillage - obeying true religion.  Until now, people are wont to say, "beg, borrow, or steal" – violating true religion.  In the era of King Messiah, people will adjust their views – "beg or borrow" but not steal.

comfortably eat - "you will be saved effortlessly and comfortably" without military battles.  (see Isaiah 30:15.)

alongside Jews - "like Jews" in the edition of Rome and in a Yemenite manuscript.

as it says - Although this is a written verse in Scripture, Isaiah is saying these words out loud.

eat what is permitted;  "a lion will eat straw" - Given that the world will continue according to [the laws of] nature, lions eating straw is not literal.  As Maimonides writes in the next sentence, "such expressions . . . are analogies. . . .  In the era of King Messiah, everyone will come to know what the analogy refers to . . ."

King Messiah - In the original Hebrew, HaMelech HaMashiach (literally, 'the anointed king');  i.e., the Messianic King.  Previously in the original Hebrew of this chapter, the word translated as 'Messiah' is simply HaMashiach, 'the anointed one.'  It seems that Maimonides uses this latter phrase, 'the Messiah', interchangeably with the other phrase, 'King Messiah'.

[the absence of] subjugation to foreign powers - In the era of the Messiah, Jews enjoy full autonomy and independence in the Holy Land – the Land of Israel.  This contrasts to the experiences of previous generations.  For centuries, Jews have been second-class citizens at the best.  The Holy Land has been ruled by foreigners until recently.  Only more recently, we Jews have first been able to assert autonomy, resisting international pressures to act against our best interests.

Land of Israel - The land promised to the Patriarch Abraham who then left it as a legacy to his grandson Israel (Jacob).  Again (similarly), 'Land of Israel' should not be confused with the State of Israel.  Like King Messiah's ancestor King David, King Messiah will expand the eminent domain of his Jewish kingdom to the full extent that is promised in the Bible.  Unlike King David, though, he will accomplish this expansion peacefully.  Also, no non-Jews will be expelled unless they refuse to observe the Seven Noahide Commandments – G-d's Covenant with the Gentile descendants of Noah.

Law Two

[2. *] [So] our Sages teach - In the edition of Rome and in a Yemenite manuscript, this sentence is part of Law 1.

2. - In the edition of Rome and in a Yemenite manuscript, Law 2 begins "From the plain sense of the words of the prophets . . ."

the war of Gog and Magog - Maimonides writes, "it appears."  Perhaps this war is unnecessary.

In chapter 38 of the Book of Ezekiel, Gog, the king of the nation called Magog, wishes to attack the Jewish people.  He is entirely in the hands of G-d as was Pharaoh, King of Egypt when the Jewish people were born.  Like Pharaoh, Gog will initially have this desire to defeat the Jewish people.  Thereafter, G-d first tempts him and then pulls him by rings in his cheeks, whether he wants to attack or not.  This military attempt serves to "let the nations know Me [G-d] as I sanctify myself through you [Gog] while they [the nations] watch."

It is very possible that Gog, the king of the nation called Magog, refers to Hitler.  Agag, a name similar to Gog, was the king of the Amalekites.  Amalekites, long before the time of Agag, attacked the Israelites in the Wilderness before any other nation developed an antipathy toward the Israelites.  Scripture's phrase "Gog, king of Magog," tells us more than we need to hear from the prophet.  This suggests that Gog was an outsider who made himself king of the Magog people.  No one today knows his own real ancestry, and it has always been tempting to associate Hitler with the murderous Amalekites.  Hitler came from outside Germany – he was born in Austria – and pushed himself into the position of leader of Germany.  Just because Austrians also speak German does not tell us about the ancestry of anyone who lives in Austria.  Again, we can associate World War II with the war of Gog, who made himself the king of Magog.

In Genesis 10:2, Magog is the son of Japheth, grandson of Noah.  From this ancestry and from current events, it is not unlikely that today's Gog, ruler of the nation Magog, corresponds to the tyrants of Iran.  The core population of Iran – formerly called Persia – is related to the populations of Europe.  The Persian language shows how it and European languages have descended from a common early language.  The descendants of Japheth are associated by name with later European identities.

These three peoples brought their cultures and languages together from time to time.

Then consider the surrogates – the proxies – for accomplishing the ambition of Iranian clerics to murder Jews and to destroy Israel.  The two fairly recent missile attacks against Israel (as I write in 2016) were possible because Iran armed the Hezbollah paramilitary forces in Lebanon (maybe Syria armed them; perhaps Iran arming Syria as a proxy) and also armed Hamas in Gaza.  One rocket attack came from the north during the summer of 2006.  More recently, during the summer of 2014, Hamas in Gaza fired missiles and rockets deep into Israel, the most severe attack against Israel since the Gulf War and especially since the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

In my imagination, I see these attacks as coming from Gog, king of several wannabe Gogs – Magog.  In the end, the Arab world (and Iran) was humiliated again.  Their military attacks have served to "let the nations know Me [G-d] as I sanctify myself through you [Gog] while they [the nations] watch."

to correct the conduct of the Jewish people and to prepare their hearts - The attacks and threats of attack by Gog, king of Magog, serve to correct Jewish conduct.  "A person harbors many thoughts in his heart, but the intent of the L-rd is what becomes substantial."  G-d's intent is to prepare Jews (and the entire world) for the rule of King Messiah so that "the world will be filled with knowledge of the L-rd."