ARE THE SAGES INFALLIBLE?
Rabbi Akiva is considered to be the greatest sage in Rabbinic Judaism (with the possible exception of Rabbi Hillel). If the greatest Rabbi of the Mishnah was fallible, it necessarily follows that all the other Tannaim were fallible as well. Besides this, the Amoraim, Saborim, Geonim, Rishonim, Achronim and present day Rabbanim and authorities also come below the Tannaim in holiness and scholarship. In fact, Rabbi Akiva was tragically fallible about the Inyon [issue] of Moshiach, and his mistake resulted in the deaths of 500,000 Jews. It is an undisputed historical fact that Rabbi Akiva proclaimed Shimon Bar-Kochba to be the Moshiach, (Y. Talmud Ta’an 68b) thereby inducing Klal Yisroel [the community of Israel] to rally behind a false Moshiach. It is sometimes argued that Rabbi Akiva did not bear any culpability in this monumental debacle because, as the apologetics state, Bar Kochba “could” have been Moshiach, but Klal Yisroel was not worthy of redemption at that time.
The problem with this argument is obvious. Bar Kochba could “not” have been Moshiach. Any student of Rabbinic Judaism is aware that certain basic criteria must be met before any individual could be considered a “candidate” for Moshiach. Moshiach must be a descendant of Dovid ha-Melech, which eliminates a Levi or Kohen from Messianic consideration. Moshiach must also be a Tzaddik.
In complete contrast to these qualifications, Bar-Kochba had Jewish conscripts mutilate their bodies by cutting off their fingers as a test of valor. He thereby violated the 467
th
commandment, and any eyrlicher yid [really observant Jew] would recoil in horror at the thought of mutilating Jewish bodies. Rabbi Akiva continued to herald Bar Kochba as Moshiach, despite this flagrant violation of Torah.
As we have seen here, even our sages of blessed memory can be and have proven to be terribly wrong about the Moshiach. Nothing would be more foolish than to merely rely on what they have said about Yeshua of Nazaret instead of investigating his Messianic claims for ourselves. As Yermiyohu ha-novi
יז, ה
states, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man...”
אָרוּר הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בָּֽאָדָם...
If Klal Yisroel cannot rely on the Rabbonim in regards to Moshiach’s identity, how then can we recognize him when he appears? The only solution is to study the Tenach for ourselves to see the true Moshiach. Yeshayohu ha-novi perek
נג
especially gives us a detailed portrait of Moshiach. Both Midrash Rabbah (Eikah
יא
,
ד
) and Sefer ha-Chinnuch also give important details about the qualifications of the Moshiach. In the end, you are responsible for yourself before ha-Kodesh Baruch Hu with regards to the Inyon of the identity of the Moshiach, so you cannot afford to be wrong about him and just blindly trust what you have heard without investigating it for yourself. Take the challenge to find out the truth about Yeshua- no matter how difficult it may be.
