Messiah

Messiah means, literally, the “anointed one.” In Biblical tradition, the term came to mean a redeemer and royal descendant of the dynasty of David who would restore the united kingdom of Israel and Judah and usher in an age of peace, justice and plenty, sometimes called the Messianic age. Judaism, throughout its history, has lived through many false messianic claims. While the most famous one, from a Jewish perspective, is Jesus of Nazareth, the notion of proclaiming oneself, or one’s spiritual mentor, to be the messiah, was common in Medieval Judaism as well. Shabbetai Tzvi (1626-1676) gathered a large following to himself, and the Chabad school of hasidim are of the belief that their last rebbe (spiritual leader), Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) was the messiah. In the Christian tradition, Jesus of Nazareth was ascribed the title of Messiah by his followers. In Greek, the Hebrew term Messiah was translated as Christos, and the followers of Jesus came to be called Christians. The idea of an expected redeemer who will usher in a new age is also found in Islam, where Shi’ite Muslims use the term Mahdi.