Question:
1) Pesikta states that Mashiach will go through a lot of suffering, he will be jailed several times and he will be ridiculed and humiliated, and people will try to kill him in all kinds of ways. Does Mashiach have to go through all of this, or it is all a harsh decree that can be annulled?
Answer:
He has already gone through parts of the suffering foretold about Mashiach, and it is possible to sweeten the rest of his suffering.
Both of the options mentioned [the suffering of Mashiach and nullifying this decree] can overlap with each other [although he has suffered, we can also nullify it partially by sweetening it].
The revelation of this will be in stages.
Question:
2) Who are all the soul-reincarnations (gilgulim) that Mashiach’s soul is reincarnated in?
Answer:
Mashiach has the Yechidah revelation of the soul, which cannot go through any gilgul, because it is one, it is a new light that cannot be given to anyone else other than him. Rekanati says that Mashiach will have a new soul (never reincarnated before in anyone). However there are sparks of Mashiach’s soul will have been dispersed in the souls of tzaddikim throughout the generations. Examples include Chizkiyahu HaMelech, the prophet Chavakuk, Rebbi Akiva and Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi. The Arizal says that a spark of Mashiach comes to every generation in someone, and if the generation is worthy then Mashiach comes, and if not, either he dies or he is killed al kiddush Hashem.
Question:
3) The Gemara says that there will be 9 months of chevlei Mashiach before Mashiach comes. According to the commentary of R’ Moshe Vali the 9 months start from Asarah B’Teves in the sixth year of a Shemitah cycle [Erev Shemitah – the year before Shemitah], ending at Yom Kippur of the following year. Are we in the middle of those 9 months?
Answer:
This doesn’t mean an actual time, a bechinah (a degree, not literal). It is a waste of time to take such matters as face-value as they simply appear!
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