In the final installment of the series, we put all the ancient sources together to present one clear and coherent view of Mashiach ben Yosef, solving the puzzle of one or two messiahs, and laying down the true sequence of events to expect at the End of Days. Along the way, we explore Ezekiel’s Vision of the Dry Bones, the meaning of resurrection in Judaism, and the fascinating symbolism of the Phoenix in mythical and mystical sources.
For Part 1 of this series, see here.
For Part 2 of this series, see here.
For more on Russia, Iran, and the ‘Third Rome’, see here.
This class is based on a set of essays in the recently-published third volume of Garments of Light, available on Amazon and directly from the publisher here.
There are actually two mitzvahs here: not taking the mother together with her children (a negative mitzvah), and sending away the mother bird before taking the children (a positive mitzvah). The Torah does not explain the rationale here, but for most of history the message seemed quite obvious: don’t be cruel! It was so obvious that the Mishnah (Berakhot 5:3) states we should stop people from requesting in their prayers that since God has mercy on birds, He should also have mercy on us. The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 1138-1204) comments here that the reason one shouldn’t pray this way is because it is seemingly giving a reason for the mitzvah, yet we do not know the true reason for the mitzvah, except that it is God’s Will. Moreover, the Rambam points out that if it is a matter of mercy, then God should have commanded us not to slaughter or eat any animals at all!