Moshiach ben Yosef

Moshiach ben Yosef is the Moshiach who will redeem Israel before the complete redemption by Moshiach ben Dovid, and he will be from the descendants of Aviyah ben Yeravam, and from the descendants of Menashe ben Yosef, and some say from Efraim ben Yosef.

In the Sources

Moshiach ben Yosef is mentioned in the Gemara in Masechet Sukkah, where it says on the verse "And the land shall mourn, every family apart," that in the future Israel will mourn for "Moshiach ben Yosef who will be killed." According to another opinion in the Gemara, it refers to the yetzer hara (evil inclination) that will be killed:

"And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of Dovid apart, and their wives apart." They said: Is this not a kal vachomer (logical deduction)? If in the future time, when they are engaged in mourning and the yetzer hara has no control over them, the Torah says men separately and women separately, now when they are engaged in rejoicing and the yetzer hara has control over them, how much more so! But what is the reason for this mourning? Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis disagree. One says it is for Moshiach ben Yosef who was killed, and one says it is for the yetzer hara that was killed. — Masechet Sukkah, 52a

Later in the Gemara, it is related that Hashem will ask Moshiach ben Dovid what request he has, and he will answer that he wants Hashem to bring Moshiach ben Yosef back to life:

And when Moshiach ben Dovid sees that Moshiach ben Yosef has been killed, he says before Him: "Master of the Universe, I ask of You only life." Hashem says to him: "Life! Before you even asked, your father Dovid already prophesied about you, as it is said, 'He asked life of You, You gave it to him, etc.'" — Sukkah, 52a

Rambam's Perspective on Mashiach ben Yosef

The Rambam writes in his book that: "No person will know how things will be until they come to pass" and according to many opinions, Mashiach ben Yosef is a metaphor. The Rambam himself does not refer to Mashiach ben Yosef in his book. Rabbi Saadia Gaon wrote that Mashiach ben Yosef will not necessarily come, and it depends on the Jewish people; if the Jewish people return in teshuvah, Mashiach ben David will come immediately, and if not, Mashiach ben Yosef will come before him.

Rabbi Yehonatan Eybeschutz brings in his book Yaarot Devash in the name of the Zohar that Mashiach ben Yosef is included within Mashiach ben David, and when he asks Hashem for life as mentioned above, he is asking for the aspect of Mashiach ben Yosef that is included within him.

(According to the Vilna Gaon's approach, Mashiach ben Yosef is not a physical person but refers to all the tzaddikim and great Jewish leaders who were killed al kiddush Hashem. He even lists in his book 156 characteristics that will be present in Mashiach ben Yosef. The Vilna Gaon also wrote that Mashiach ben Yosef does not have to be male and can also be female).

His Purpose

According to Midrash Tanchuma, Mashiach ben Yosef is compared to an ox, while Mashiach ben David is compared to a donkey.

The main mission of Mashiach ben Yosef will be to announce the coming of Mashiach ben David, and he will prepare the world for the coming of Mashiach. According to some opinions, he will also build the Beis Hamikdash and gather the Jewish people, and after Mashiach ben David comes, he will rule under him.

Among other tasks, Mashiach ben Yosef will gather warriors from Israel, strike down the governors of Aram and Yishmael, conquer Eretz Yisrael, rectify Yeravam ben Nevat, defeat the kingdom of Edom, fight against Amalek, and destroy the house of Esav.

The Maharal of Prague explains that Yehudah is compared to the brain, which symbolizes the rule of intellect and knowledge, while Yosef, who corresponds to the heart, symbolizes the rule of emotions and feelings. Therefore, both are fathers of the Jewish nation, but the true leadership belongs to Yehudah because the brain is the primary organ. However, during galus when the Jewish people follow the heart, Yosef is the one who rules.

Therefore, "Mashiach ben Yosef" represents the leaders of Israel during galus, because during galus the Jewish people follow the heart, and because the heart cannot overcome the yetzer hara, the yetzer hara kills him. But Mashiach ben David symbolizes the true and complete leadership, when the nations of the world cannot stand against him.

In Chassidic Teachings

Some want to understand that what is explained in Chassidic teachings, that in Mashiach there will be an integration of Yehudah and Ephraim (based on what is stated in Yechezkel that Hashem will connect the "wood of Yosef" and the "wood of Yehudah" and make them "one wood," while "David My servant will be their prince forever"), the reference to "Ephraim" and "Yosef" means Mashiach ben Yosef.

His Death

In the Gemara, it is stated that Mashiach ben Yosef will go to war against the descendants of Esav, and during the war, he will be killed by Armilus, the king of Edom, thus fulfilling the prophecy: "And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esav stubble, and they shall kindle in them and devour them, and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esav, for Hashem has spoken."

Chassidim relate that R' Hillel of Paritch said that he does not understand the words of our Sages that Mashiach ben Yosef will die in battle, and perhaps the intention is that the light of Chassidus will not shine so brightly in the footsteps of Mashiach.

His Identity

In different periods, several individuals were identified as Mashiach ben Yosef. Some said he was Bar Koziba (which is why the Rambam did not mention him, since he had already come). In recent generations, they said about the Chozeh of Lublin that he was Mashiach ben Yosef, and he passed away in the midst of his spiritual battle to bring Mashiach, which he conducted together with several tzaddikim of his generation, on the ninth of Av. They also said this about the Kabbalist Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli who was killed al kiddush Hashem during the Tach V'Tat pogroms.

Some say it was Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin when he was killed during Napoleon's war - which is the war of Gog and Magog - by a Cossack named Armilus.

The chassidim of the Mitteler Rebbe said about him that the fact that he delivered his Chassidic discourses in a detailed and expansive manner indicates that he was Mashiach ben Yosef, while Mashiach ben David will reveal the inner dimensions of Torah in the form of seeing, Mashiach ben Yosef will explain it.

In the book 'Yechi HaMelech HaMashiach' (by Rabbi Sholom Dovber Wolpo), he explains the concept of Mashiach ben Yosef, and writes, based on various expressions in the sichos of the Rebbe and the Frierdiker Rebbe and according to various events that occurred with them, that Mashiach ben Yosef in our generation was the Frierdiker Rebbe, and following him is Mashiach ben David - who is the Rebbe. However, on one occasion the Rebbe stated that Mashiach ben Yosef has not yet been revealed and we are waiting for his revelation.

External Links

• Who is Mashiach ben Yosef?
• Rabbi Moshe Kornwitz, Mashiach ben Yosef on the Drive of the Geulah and Moshiach Archive
• Collection on the End of Days, End of Days
• Mashiach ben Yosef on the Tzach website
• Rabbi Menachem Mendel Sharff, Mashiach ben Yosef, 'L'afsha Lah' publication of Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch Queens, Issue 29, 20 Menachem Av 5783, page 29