The Messiah's Donkey

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In

Hebrew: חמורו של משיח) refers to the donkey[1] upon which the Messiah will arrive to redeem the world at the end of days. In Modern Hebrew
the phrase "the Messiah's donkey" is used to refer to someone who does the 'dirty work' on behalf of someone else.

The origin of the belief can be found in Zechariah 9:9: "... your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."[2] The 'king' referred to in this verse is interpreted by Chazal as referring to the Messiah.

In the discussion regarding this verse in the

Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a), a story is told of the Persian king Shevor, who says to Samuel, one of the Amoraim, "You say that the Messiah will come on a donkey; I will send him the riding horse that I have." In response to the ridicule of the king, Samuel answers, "Do you have a horse with one thousand colors like the donkey of the Messiah? Certainly his donkey will be miraculous."[3]

In the New Testament (Mark 11:1–11) it is told that as Jesus approached the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples to a nearby village to fetch him a donkey, or exactly an Onager or wild donkey. Upon their return, Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem, where he was met by cheering crowds. According to the Christian religious tradition, this was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.

Modern references

In

Hassidic teaching the donkey is a symbol of the fact that the Messiah and Messianic age will not oppose the material world, but rather control it for sacred purposes. Thus, the act of riding upon the donkey is a symbol of the sovereignty of the Messiah over the material world (represented by the donkey).[4]

In his memoir Three Worlds,

Shi'a donkeys. The uncle sidestepped the point by remarking: "when the Messiah came, there would be utter pandemonium and the Jews would jump on the first donkey that came their way without checking out its sect!"[5]

References

  1. ^ Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a
  2. ^ "Passage Lookup: Zachariah 9:9". BibleGateway.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  3. ^ "Sanhedrin 98a". The Sefaria Library. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  4. ^ "עולם סוער - התפתחותו של הרב קוק : "חמורו של משיח"". Lib.cet.ac.il. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  5. ISBN 978-0-861-54464-6
    2023 ch.7.
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