[Avodah] R. Akiva, Bar Kochba and Zecharya HaNovi

[Zev Sero]

On 11/10/17 10:30, Micha Berger via Avodah wrote:

> While the Rambam cites R' Aqiva's following Bar Koziba (H Melahim 11:2)
> as proof that the melekh hamoshiach doesn't have to do miracles, is his
> position really "based on" R Aqiva's? For example, in 11:4 he describes
> the moshiach as being "hogeh baTorah ve'oseiq bemitzvos keDavid aviv"
> which I don't think fit Bar Kokhva even in his hayday.

What makes you suppose this?  On the contrary, the fact that the Rambam 
says "since BK didn't do any miracles, we know that Moshiach doesn't 
have to", proves that when he says Moshiach *does* have to be a TCh and 
a tzadik he assumes BK *did* fulfil this requirement.   If he didn't, 
that would prove to the Rambam that this isn't necessary.


> Nor had "veyakhof kol Yisrael leileikh bah" yet either -- the
> Perushim were in the minority.
Were they?  Who was in the majority, if not them?  And why would the 
majority even matter?  BK was the king, and he made halacha the law of 
the land, whether the majority liked it or not.

-- 
Zev Sero                May 2017, with its *nine* days of Chanukah,
zev at sero.name           be a brilliant year for us all