I will bring the booklet "The Meaning of the Messiash for Noahides" here as a blog by chapter. In this blog the Foreword and Acknowledgements and Introduction.
My special thanks go to Whitney Ann Sieverink-McNair who translated from Dutch into English.
Foreword and Acknowledgements
In these turbulent times that we live in, I feel the importance to share a short piece of writing about the subject of "the Messiah, and in particular what this subject matter signifies to the world’s greater growing group of Noahides.
My greatest thanks goes to HaShem, who guides, directs and guards me in life.
I am grateful for His Eternal Presence.
I am grateful to my parents because they, – to the best of their ability and knowledge – have provided me with an religious upbringing, always with a context of self-examination and critical thinking.
That’s the reason why I committed myself to the 7 Noahide Commandments and the lifestyle that comes from these commandments, and why I want to share this important message with the world.
I would like to express my gratitude to Rabbi Tovia Singer, Rabbi Moshe Weiner and Rabbi Moshe Perets who supported me in my search, and to Dr. Michael Schulman who also supported me in this and from whom I have received wonderful feedback for this booklet.
Introduction
It’s the year 2022: the Jewish year 5782. A time of worldly turmoil, and many people wonder what will become of the world. Will our time be the time of the end of the world, and is the time of the coming of the Messiah near? Are these the darkest, coldest moments before the sun comes up? Can we expect peace and justice soon?
No one knows exactly when the time of the Messiah will be here. Calculations about the time of his arrival are not recommendable. It will happen when the time is right. Everything will fall into place in His perfect time. (Isaiah 60:22)
However, looking at the total of the years, it must be in this time. The days of man as we know them today, are coming to an end. We can see this in the name of man “Adam” אדם – aleph, dalet, mem. The aleph stands for the first man, Adam, the dalet stands for King David and the mem stands for the Messiah. The span of time between Adam and King David is roughly equivalent to the span of King David to our present time.
The time immediately preceding the Messiah is not described as a pleasant time, the Sages teach:
The impudence of people will increase, the cost of living will be sky high, the monarchy will turn to heresy, and there will be no one to reprove them. The places where Sages should gather to learn will become places of promiscuity, the wise will corrupt their wisdom.
Those who do not fear sin will abhor those who do fear sin, and the truth will be absent. The youthful people will shame the elderly and the enemy will be amongst your own family.[1]
The violence in our society, the selfishness and lack of authority, the environment and our bad stewardship of creation are all painful birth contractions of the time of the messiah.
However, in addition to the negative and painful events above, there are also positive points of recognition. Prosperity among the people will increase, scientific and technological discoveries will be used for good, and more and more people will study the Torah. [2] The Seven Noahide Commandments will be discovered and more and more people will follow these commandments.
People observing the Seven Noahide Commandments are called Noahides or Bnei Noah.
What does our time and the coming of the Messiah in particular, mean to them?
Brought By Angelique Sijbolts
Angelique Sijbolts is one of the main writers for the Noahide Academy. She has been an observant Noahide for many years. She studies Torah with Rabbi Perets every week. Angelique invests much of her time in editing video-lectures for the Rabbis of the Academy and contributes in administrating the Academy's website in English and Dutch. She lives in the north of the Netherlands. Married and mother of two sons. She works as a teacher in a school with students with special needs. And is a Hebrew Teacher for the levels beginners en intermediate. She likes to walk, to read and play the piano.
Sources
[1] Free interpretation of Sotah 49b. [2] Mashiach: The Principle of Mashiach and the Messianic Era in Jewish Law and Tradition Rabbi Jacob Immanuel Schochet
With thanks to dr. Michael Schulman
With thanks to Whitney Ann Sieverink-McNair
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