“Are You Moshiach?”

One of my friends recently asked me whether or not Moshiach is about to come, and if so, who I personally think Moshiach is. Thank God, I’ve merited to spend several years deeply immersed in the Kabbalistic literature on Moshiach. 

I replied that I think the concept of Moshiach is deeply misunderstood, and that I didn’t like the question. They wanted to know why. It took me a while to put it into words, but this is the parable I brought down:

There was once a King who wanted to someday give everything he had to his favorite son. He wanted to give his son the world. His son, the prince, was born in the palace, so naturally all the best of everything was already at his disposal. The prince lived in a true Garden of Eden. 

It’s unclear exactly why, how, or who’s fault it was, but one day the prince left the palace through one of the back exits which he wasn’t supposed to use, and before he knew it he was no longer on palace grounds. 

Years before, back when the prince was still a young boy, The King, who was wise beyond comprehension, had anticipated this happening, and had prepared the prince for such a scenario. 

The King had given the prince a cell phone with His personal number on speed dial, to use if ever he needed anything. 

The King also gave the prince a map that could be used to navigate the entire kingdom if one took the time to read and understand it with honesty and humility. This map could be used from anywhere in the world to find one's way to the palace.

Last but not least, The King taught His son that even if he didn’t know how to use the map, or even if he couldn’t find the cell phone or couldn’t remember how it worked, there would always be diplomats of The King throughout His kingdom, or even concerned citizens, who’d help the prince find his way home. 

“These people who will help me find my way home, will they just point me in the right direction or will they take me by the hand and lead me?”, the prince had asked his Father. “There will be all different kinds”, The King replied. “But Father”, continued the prince. “You are certain that eventually I will make it home to You? You are certain that someone will be a savior for me? That I will always have a moshiach?” 

“Always!”, his Father emphatically replied. “I swear to you that you will have a moshiach! For when you aren’t home I don’t feel at home either. When you are suffering, I too am in pain. I always know your whereabouts, and I will always see to it that in the end you make it back home to Me, where you belong.”

On this day, however, when the prince left the palace grounds, he completely forgot about these teachings. He could have used the cell phone to call his Father, or the map to find an entrance back in. But perhaps he was ashamed, or perhaps he was scared of how his Father would react, due to the fact that he had used an exit which was off limits. He was also somewhat enthralled by the hustle and bustle outside the palace gates and perhaps didn’t truly understand yet what a big mistake he had made. 

His Father, The King, could have also easily brought him back, but He decided that this would be a great learning opportunity for the young prince. This would not only give the prince a chance to understand how incredible the palace is, but also give him a chance to see the world, to meet all different types of people, to view life from all different perspectives, and grow in ways that would make him truly worthy to one day take over his Father’s kingdom.

Not only would this help the prince grow as an individual, but it would also give him a chance to see the greatness of the map the King had drawn up for him.

It would help him realize the power of the cell service in the entire kingdom.

It would show him how powerful and incredible his Father truly is, and that His Kingdom spreads throughout the entire world.

The King therefore didn’t bring His son back immediately. 

I’m not sure who’s heard this story before, but there’s a version of the story in which the son does use his cell phone and The King sends His faithful servant to bring the prince home. 

(In this version of the story the King's faithful servant was the moshiach.)

There’s also a version in which the son carefully and diligently studies the map and uses it to find his way back to The King. 

(In this version the map was his Moshiach.)

There’s also a version in which the son asks for help from righteous diplomats and citizens, and using their directions he finds his way back. 

(In this version the righteous are Moshiach.)

I’ve even heard a version of the story in which the King had the very roads of his kingdom rebuilt as the prince would make a turn. So that no matter which way he went, he was always on the path home. 

(In this version the very world around him is his Moshiach.)

There are multiple different versions of how the story ends, and often the ending is a blend of some, if not all, of the different versions.  

I’m fairly certain that our version could also end in a multiple of ways. To be honest, the only way to know for certain how it ends is to stay until the end and find out for yourself. 

So let’s continue on with the story. 

The prince left the palace and got caught up with the outside world. In the beginning it was even somewhat fun, new, and exciting. The farther he traveled into the outside world however, the more he started to see the darker neighborhoods and the criminal underworld. It was then that he started to realize just how foreign and unrelatable it truly was to him.

He was a prince and did not feel at home in this foreign world. Yet, if he felt ashamed and scared before, upon leaving the palace grounds, how much more so now that he had willingly traveled so far away from the palace and been caught up in all sorts of nonsense that un befitted a prince. 

He didn’t have the courage to go back to the palace, but he also didn’t want to constantly live with the knowledge of how much he was missing. And so began a downward spiral of addictive behaviors and mind numbing drugs in order to forget where he came from. 

Eventually the prince either forgot about the map all together, or he just no longer had the ability to read it honestly. 

He also totally forgot about his cell phone, or he just forgot how to use it. Perhaps he even assumed that the phone had died or that he no longer had cell service. 

He would mindlessly stare at the phone from time to time but he either didn’t have the words to say or felt like there was no reason in talking into the phone without calling his Father first. 

Little did he know that the phone was still on and connected to the King's personal satellite. 

After a while of not hearing from the prince the King had hacked the phone and he was always listening to hear from his son. If the son had merely cried out from the depths of his heart the King would have stepped down from his throne and personally come to save His son and bring him home. 

(To personally be his son’s Moshiach.)

Alas, the prince thought to himself, “I have fallen so far, I don’t even know where I am in the world, and I haven’t seen my father in so long, from where will my salvation come?”

It was at that moment that the prince remembered his father’s teachings from childhood. “There will always be a Moshiach!”, the prince shouted out. “Always!” 

The prince excitedly ran out into the street barefoot, remembering that his father was always watching him and that his father promised to always make sure that he made it home in the end. 

Elated with joy he ran out into the middle of the street. He was finally going home at last! 

His father also heard his shouts through the phone and rejoiced greatly in the knowledge that his son was ready to come home. 

His son was halfway around the world still, but the King felt closer to him than ever. 

Immediately the King declared that all cars heading towards the head capital were to stop for hitchhikers. 

The prince was still in the middle of the street, reveling in his excitement to go home when a normal looking car pulled up to him and rolled down the window. 

The prince was perplexed as to what the driver wanted. 

“Can I help you?”, asked the prince. 

“I’m heading towards the capital”, replied the driver. “Do you want a ride?”

“Are you Moshiach?”, asked the prince. 

Now it was the driver’s turn to be perplexed. 

“What?”, asked the driver. 

“Are you Moshiach?”, the prince repeated. 

“Do you want a ride or not?”, the driver asked back. 

But the prince would not let up. 

“Are you Moshiach?” the prince asked once more. 

“Never mind”, the driver mumbled to himself as he closed the window and drove off. 

The whole interaction had been quite odd, but the prince was still in high hopes of going home. He continued dancing in the street knowing that his father could see him and that help was on the way. 

That’s when a fancy car pulled up and stopped right in front of him. 

“I’m heading to the King’s palace. Do you want a ride?”, asked a distinguished looking gentleman from the car. 

He was clearly some sort of diplomat, on important government business. 

Perhaps the King had even personally ordered him to stop for the prince on his way. 

Are you Moshiach?”, asked the prince. 

“What?”, the diplomat asked back. 

“Are you Moshiach?”, the prince repeated. 

“I don’t have time for this?”, said the diplomat. 

The day is short and I still have a lot of work to get done for the King. 

“Do you want a ride or not?”, he asked the prince one last time. 

But the prince would not let up. 

“Are you Moshiach?” the prince asked once more. 

“Never mind”, the diplomat said. He then closed the window and drove off. 

At this point you’re probably waiting to hear exactly how the son made it back to the palace and what the reunion between him and his Father was like. 

I wish I could tell you, but we need to wait some more to find out. 

Maybe he’ll end up getting a ride, or perhaps directions from someone. Maybe he uses his cell phone and/or his map. Maybe the King comes to pick him up himself .

I’ve even heard a version where he drives or even walks all the way back to the palace on his own.

(Making the prince his own Moshiach.)

Certainly there’s no reason to wait for a ride in the middle of the street. He may as well start heading in the right direction on his own.

All I can say is that in the version I was told by my father, in the future, the prince eventually makes it back to the palace.

No words can express the excitement, joy, and jubilation that the prince experiences upon seeing his Father.

And as excited and overjoyed as he is to see his Father’s face again, The King is even more excited to finally see his son back home.