The Rebbe's Rambam | Marking the completion of the entire set

Hilchos Melachim | Ch 11

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but not near,” [115] this refers to the King Moshiach. [116] “A star shall come forth from Yaakov,” this refers to David. “And a scepter shall rise out of the Jewish people,” this refers to the King Moshiach. “And smite the corners of Moab,” this refers to David, as it states: “And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line.

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 chah seems very out of place; why the extensive elaboration on this proof from Bilaam? The explanation: The Rambam enumerates all four verses which link David Hamelech and Moshiach because each one depicts a different aspect of Moshiach’s role, enumerated by the Rambam in Hala chah 4 below. 1. “‘I behold him, but not near,’ this refers to the King Moshiach”: The language of the verse indicates that he, himself, is being seen; this refers to the personal qualities of Moshiach himself. In the words of the Rambam in Halachah 4: “who is immersed in Torah and occupied in mitzvos like his ancestor David.” 2. “‘And a scepter shall rise out of the Jewish people,’ this refers to the King Moshiach”: The language of the verse associates him with the Jewish nation; this refers to his influence on the Jewry. In Halachah 4: “Compels all of the Jewish people to follow it and to strengthen its observance.” 3. “‘And crush all the children of Shais,’ this refers to the King Moshiach, about whom it states: ‘And his dominion shall be from sea to sea’”: These words describe Moshiach’s effect on the gentiles; more specifically, his conquering and over powering them. In Halachah 4: “…and fights the battles of G-d… If he . . . vanquishes the nations around him….” 4. “‘And he shall possess Seir…,’ this refers to the King Moshiach, as it states: ‘And saviors shall come up on the mountain of Tzion to judge the mount of Eisav’”: This also describes his effect of the gentiles, but in a different way; not by overpowering them, but by obtaining their cooperation. This is similar to an



Pardes Hamelech

inheritance ( yeraishah as in yerushah ), in which one takes possession of something which is close and personal. 378 In Halachah 4: “…he will perfect the entire world to serve G-d together.” Likkutei Sichos vol. 18 pg. 271 115. “This refers to the King Moshiach” In the first instance, the Rambam uses the language ‘ (zeh) melech hamoshiach ’; later, he uses ‘ hamelech hamoshiach. ’ The simple reason: once he specifies the Moshiach, it is grammatically appropriate to refer to him as ‘ the, ’ — i.e., the one referred to earlier. Likkutei Sichos vol. 18 pg. 271 fn. 5 116. “A star shall come forth from Yaakov” The Rambam understands this verse as referring to a king, while Rashi disagrees. 379 Interestingly, this argument is connected to their understanding of stars: In the beginning of his work, the Rambam described the stars as follows: “All the stars and spheres possess a soul, knowledge, and intellect… The knowledge of the stars and the spheres is . . . greater than that of men.” 380 He explains the word “star” as something which has a superior quality. This can be applied to a king as well, as he is exalted above the masses. Rashi though, whose interpretation follows the literal text, interprets this verse according to Targum: the word “ darach -step forth” is interpreted as “bend,” as one would bend a bow to shoot an arrow. In this context, it refers to a shooting star, signifying good luck. Rashi does not interpret the star as a reference to a king, for, in the literal text of the Torah, we do not find knowledge and intellect attributed to the stars, and they therefore do not signify an exalted human status. Likkutei Sichos vol. 13 pg. 89

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