to a defense of the many of the Agadot of the Talmud which were subjected to Christian condemnation, expressed himself strongly against Messianic computations. Commenting on the famous Agada of R. Jose, who met Elijah in one of the ruins around Jerusalem and from him learnt three things: the first of which was that we should not enter a ruin,108 Luzzato writes: "There is an implication here that one should not enter upon a consideration of the reason for the long-deferred coming of the Messiah, and that one should not belong to them who calculated the end. Rather wait for him even if he is delayed."109

This outright proscription of calculation is surprising, coming from Jacob Luzzato, who edited and wrote an introduction to Molko's Sefer ha-Mefo'ar which contains a very definite Messianic calculation.110

22. Judah Löw ben Bezalel (d. 1609), Austrian Talmudist and preacher, around whom the "Golem" legends are built, devotes his entire book, "Nezaḥ Yisrael," to the Messiah saga. Because of its comprehensive scope and the thoroughness of its treatment of the Messianic idea, it must rank with Abarbanel's famous trilogy. It excels the latter in some regards. It is not at all concerned with Messianic divination or with the solution of the cryptic prophecies of the Bible. It deals broadly with the content of the Messiah idea and with its profound spiritual implications. It is less polemic and hortatory and more analytical and rational.

His main thesis is indicated in the title of the book, The Eternity of Israel. In the introduction he defines his purpose in writing this book "to establish that God bestowed eternal life upon Israel.111 Israel is eternal because its existence is of God and in God. Israel by itself has no existence and no reality outside of God."112 Israel is

108 Ber. 3a.

האחד שאין נכנסין לחורבא רמז שלא יכניס אדם מחשבתו לשאול טעם לאריכות ימי 109 ,Basel,כפתר ופרח see) המשיח גם שלא להיות ממחשבי קצין רק אם יתמהמהה חכה לו

DD, ed. Cracow, 1570.

1580, p. 6b).

110 See

.15 .p נצח ישראל 111

112 Ibid., 22a.

the essence and goal of all creations. 113 This should be taken literally not as a figure of speech.114 "God cannot forsake Israel any more than Israel can permanently forsake God. They cannot be separated.115 In exile God is still with Israel.116 The exile was brought about by sin and is an atonement for sin. Israel suffered most because it should have sinned least of all peoples.117 Suffering brings them nearer to God and assures them immortality."118 Again, this mundane world119 is not meant for Israel. His is the other, the spiritual world. Israel should not ask for material well-being here and now. One cannot feast at two tables.120

The exile itself is proof of ultimate Redemption.121 Exile is an "unnatural" condition. The natural state is for each people to dwell on its own soil. 122 The condition being unnatural, it is only temporary. As day follows night Redemption must follow the exile.123 Similarly, the natural condition is for the Temple to be built and not to lie in ruins. 124 The present condition of Israel and of the Temple is "a break in the order of the universe "125 which must be mended. The logic of things demands it. Redemption is therefore inevitable.126 Israel will be redeemed by the will of God only. The final Redemption will be unlike the Redemption from Egypt, which was due to the merit of the Fathers. 127 That is why the term of the end of this exile was not revealed. The end was not revealed, too, because of the nature of the particular sin

.(ibid., p. 25a) אדרבה הפרעניות והצרות שבא עליהם הוא קיומם

116 Ibid., p. 18d.

117 Ibid., p. 23.

118

which brought about this exile. It was jealousy-a "hidden" sin, unlike the sins which caused the former exiles, such as idolatry, incest and murder, which are "open" sins. 128

One should not labor to discover the end. This is an attempt to forestall the will of God, for the very knowledge of the end already brings with it emancipation and freedom, which God does not wish the people to enjoy until the exile is completed.129 Calculation of the end is an "edifice in which those who labor, labor in vain."130 Even Jeremiah was not privileged to reveal the end. Whatever our sages may have said concerning the time of the end was said not as a certain and definite prognostication, but merely as an indication that the Messiah could not come before a certain time. Thus we were told that the Messiah will come within the last two millennia. He will not come before that time, but just when within that time we do not know. The end is one of the things which are hidden and cannot be revealed.131 It is to be hoped that the end is near, for the age is beset with sin and suffering, which are the very foot-prints of the Messiah.132 Judah Löw ingeniously remarks elsewhere in connection with his discussion of the relation of Redemption to the Messiah's coming, that the proclamation of the Jubilee year was fixed for Yom Kippur, for this form of Redemption (the freeing of the slaves), as well as every other form, is dependent upon repentance. Yom Kippur is meant to emancipate the soul, the Jubilee year the body.133

23. Azariah Figo (d. 1647), preacher at Venice, in his very popular collection of sermons, Binah le' Ittim, devotes four of his sermons to the subject of Redemption. They are his four discourses for the Sabbath of Consolation.

Figo speaks frequently of the peoples' unshaken faith in the coming of the Messiah in spite of the great length 128 Ibid., p. 6a; cf. Yoma 9b.

129 Ibid., p. 35c.

of the exile: "In the former exiles it was not to be wondered at that the people remained steadfast in their hope and expectation, for they never lasted for many hundreds of years, and certainly never extended beyond a thousand years, but this exile in which the number has passed over a thousand years, it is an object of wonderment that they, the children of Israel, are still clinging to their hope and that they are not weakened, and that despair has not entered their hearts. Especially since there be those who use this (the great length of the exile) as the strongest argument against the hope of Redemption. 134 He applies himself zealously to the task of refuting the argument of those who deny the future Redemption of Israel, of those who claim that the Messianic promises of the Scriptures do not refer to Israel and of those who claim that these have but a spiritual significance, not to be taken literally.135 Abarbanel, too, attacked those who, like Pablo de Santa Maria, attempted to spiritualize some Messianic passages.136 Christian apologists felt constrained to interpret "spiritually" those Messianic promises of the Bible which were not fulfilled with the coming of Jesus. Paulus devotes the fourth and fifth parts of his Dialogue to this task.137

Figo comforts his people. After the long delay Redemption is sure to come. Their very suffering which has come to pass according to the prophecy should be indicative of the great joy which awaits them, also according to the prophecy.138 Why does God delay it so long? One might as well ask why did God create the world on a certain day and not before or after? It is His will. We cannot understand it: "Why do you sin and inquire concerning the Messianic times, saying 'Why do their feet linger'? Why don't you ask concerning the first days of

134 'nу пr, ed. Warsaw, 1866, p. 53a; see also pp. 56b and 58c. 135 Ibid., pp. 56b and 57a.

.(p. 41a ,משמיע ישועה see) לא כפי דרך חכמי א"ה בגאולתם הרוחנית 136

137 Thus the thesis of the third chapter of the fourth part is: "ut per terram Israhel et Jherusalem et templum dei ubi prophete dicunt congregandos fore omnes Israhelitas, intelligendum est de celesti beatitudine in qua sancti spiritualiter congregantur.'

138 Op. cit., pp. 56b-57a.

Creation? Why were they not earlier? From this (argument) you can learn how deep are the thoughts of the Omniscient, for He alone apprehends the true end.189

The sins of Israel are responsible in a large measure for the long delay: "For the postponement of the end and the continuation of the exile, we ourselves are responsible."140 Figo specifically mentions three of these major sins which delay the end: (1) Contention, strife and hatred, which are widespread in our midst. (2) Failure to realize the purpose of the exile, which is to teach us humility and discipline. We do not seem to feel the exile. We do not regard ourselves as slaves far removed from all the pleasures of life and from high position. . . . We seem to have fulfilled in exile the saying, "All Israel are sons of kings"; our houses are filled with all good things; we and our sons and daughters dress in silks and ornaments like the nobility, and we bring to our table royal delicacies like Solomon in all his pomp, just like in the time of our prosperity when we lacked nothing."141 (3). Immorality.142

24. Leon de Modena (1571-1648), the most outspoken and relentless opponent of Kabbala in his day, in his classic polemic Ari Nohem does not directly attack the Messianic calculators, but in exposing the whole technique of Kabbalistic speculation, which, in his day, was largely based on arithmetical and alphabetic mysticism, deals a severe blow to the whole enterprise. Having demonstrated that Kabbala is neither a science nor an authoritative tradition,143 he proceeds by logic and ridicule to expose its preposterous technique. Kabbala, itself based on untenable postulates, attempts to prove these postulates by methods equally unsound:

"Their method is as follows: they seek to find proof for their ideas in the Bible by means of substituted words Names, Gematria, Notarikon, Ziruf and Hilufim. All these methods are postulates, arbitrary assumptions and

.ibid., p. 58c) כי הוא לבדו מחשב הקץ האמתי 139

140 Op. cit., p. 42a.

141 Ibid., p. 43a.

142 Ibid., pp. 43b-44b.

143 078, ed. Fürst, 1890, Chaps. IV-V.