"Mashiach Hides Among the Criminals"

"What does Mashiach look like?"

"Another question - where is Mashiach?"

With these piercing questions, the Mekubal, Harav Hagaon Rabbi Aharon Stern shlit"a, begins his words and immediately proceeds to answer them. These are his holy words.

"I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Mashiach, and even though he may tarry, nevertheless I will wait for him every day that he should come - a Jew does not despair. He is our Father, He is our King, He is our Savior, and He will save us. But let me describe Mashiach to you."

"I do not say this from my own heart, but from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 53: 'Who has believed our report?' - a report throughout the entire world, a report in every vessel and means of communication."

"'And to whom has the arm of Hashem been revealed? For he grew up like a sapling before Him' - like a baby - 'and like a root out of dry land' - he comes from a place of troubles."

"'He had no form and no majesty' - he does not look like someone with a beautiful white beard - 'and we saw him, and no appearance, and we desired him' - he will not look like a nice person to us at all. Is this Mashiach?"

"Do you know how he will look?"

"'Despised and rejected by men' - this is not me saying it, but the prophet. 'A man of pains' - full of wounds, full of sufferings, 'and familiar with illness' - they say about him: 'He has been sick for years.'"

"But what is the truth?"

"'And as one who hides his face from us,' he is hidden; King David was also hidden. Rabbi Leibowitz, of blessed memory, told me that Samuel the prophet came to King David, of whom it is said: 'Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among those who call His name.' Samuel the Seer thought David was a sinner! He did not recognize David! How can this be? The great Samuel does not recognize David?"

"Rather, King David was hidden even from Samuel! Mashiach will also be hidden!"

"'Despised and we did not esteem him' - we did not esteem him, but what is the truth? 'Indeed, he bore our illnesses' - all the sicknesses that we need to suffer, he took upon himself."

"'And our pains he carried; and what did we think? And we considered him stricken' - why does he have troubles? Because he is 'smitten by God' - they suspect him of having committed many sins - but in truth, 'he was wounded because of our transgressions,' he suffers, 'crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his bruises we were healed.' But where is he found?"

"Let us reach the end of the chapter in Isaiah: 'And he was counted among the transgressors.' Do you want to search for Mashiach? He is hiding among the transgressors!"

"A friend told me that once there was someone who escaped from the police and they needed to evade them. What did they do? They made a bride and groom car, disguised themselves as a bride and groom, and evaded them. I said, how beautiful! Why does Hashem hide Mashiach?"

"In Parashat Noach, the holy Zohar says in Sitrei Torah, page 74b: The generation of the dispersion who built the Tower of Babel said: 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower' - a city against the city of Zion, and a tower against the tower of David. That is to say, the generation of the dispersion already planned to prevent King David, the city of Zion. They planned to build something in impurity in order to nullify and destroy the city of Zion, King David, and the building of the Holy Temple."

"Hashem had to take Lot and his daughters in order to hide King Mashiach there, to hide him in Sodom, from there King Mashiach will come; to hide him through the act of Judah and Tamar; to hide him through the act of Boaz and Ruth. When Boaz married Ruth, they said: 'Ruth is a Moabite and it is forbidden to marry her' - from her came King Mashiach!"

"On the wedding night, Boaz passed away and they said about him, 'Boaz committed a sin, that is why he passed away.' Only after all this could King David emerge. Hashem had to hide him in a thousand hiding places, Mashiach of Hashem, who is the pinnacle, he is the tikkun (rectification) of the world, 'to rectify the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty' - him, Hashem hides among the transgressors, where no one is looking."

"Who prevents Mashiach from coming?"

"The S"M (Satan)! The Satan and his armies!"

"What will Hashem do? 'Your God will rejoice over you, as a groom rejoices over a bride.' Hashem will bring a bride and groom car and bring Mashiach from there, and what joy we will have then, 'as a groom rejoices over a bride, your God will rejoice over you.' 'There shall yet be heard in the cities of Judah, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of a groom and the voice of a bride' when they bring King Mashiach."

"May it be the will that we merit the building of the Holy Temple speedily in our days, and grant our portion in Your Torah. May salvation for Israel come from Zion."

"David, King of Israel, lives and exists."