Moshiach rebrand - The Jewish Standard

Is Moshiach in need of a serious rebrand?

At our weekly lunch and learn, someone said that now more than ever, people are talking about Moshiach. Perhaps because of October 7, because as Jewish people we endured the most horrific attacks since the Holocaust, people feel that now the time is ripe for Moshiach to come.

“Yes, I do believe Moshiach is very close,” I told him. “But not for the reasons you might think.”

And it all has to do with people’s perception of what Moshiach is.

For many people, the concept of Moshiach carries a strong negative connotation. They associate it with apocalyptic disasters, imagining that terrible events must unfold before he arrives. So when things go wrong, horrendously wrong! — “Oh, that’s a sign Moshiach is about to come!”

If I were running Moshiach’s marketing campaign, I’d call this our biggest branding challenge.

Many siddurim include a prayer (based on Maimonides’ 13 principles of Jewish faith), “I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Moshiach,” and even though he may tarry, nevertheless, I await every day for his coming.”

We’re meant to await Moshiach every day, not just when the world is falling apart.

And if I were running the marketing campaign, I’d lean into a beautiful chassidic teaching that says every Jew has a spark of Moshiach within them. This spark is what motivates us to perform mitzvot and to be more connected to G-d. And when all sparks unite and shine, this is when Moshiach will come.

This powerful teaching shows us that Moshiach isn’t some outside force sent to magically fix everything. He’s within us already, just waiting to be revealed.

In other words, Moshiach is not about becoming something we are not. It’s about unbecoming what we are not and becoming who we truly are.

The spark of Moshiach that is in each one of us is a demonstration of the fact that we and the world around us are inherently good. Yes, we do see chaos, we do see people doing wrong things (don’t we all?), but this is not our true essence.

Our mission is to bring Moshiach by revealing our truest selves — and helping others do the same.

Every mitzvah, every time we break through the shell that holds us back, we bring Moshiach closer.

So: Is Moshiach getting closer?

As the rebbe reminded us many times, the answer is in the rearview mirror. Look back: thousands of years of Jews doing good. Millions of mitzvot. Countless acts of kindness. Endless hours of learning Torah.

We are close. Really close.

And if Moshiach is not here yet, perhaps he’s waiting for you and me to do one more “Moshiach” thing. To let our Moshiach spark shine. To bring G-d more into our lives. One more mitzvah, one more act of kindness, more joy and love toward others, and he will be here very soon, so we can finally be what we were always meant to be.

Rabbi Mendy Kaminker is the rabbi at Chabad of Hackensack. He welcomes your comments at rabbi@ChabadHackensack.com

Opinion