08 Sep CAN MASHIACH COME ON ROSH HASHANAH?

We believe, with
complete faith,
that Mashiach
will come and
we wait daily for
his arrival. Does
that mean that he can come any day?
On the one hand, this is all a theoretical
exercise. When he comes, he comes. We
won’t tell him, “Sorry, it’s the wrong
day.” However, the Sages discussed this,
which means there is value in learning it.
I. When Can’t He Come?
Two Gemara passages imply that
Mashiach cannot come any day, but
they seem to contradict each other.
The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 10b-11a)
quotes R. Eliezer as saying that Mashiach
will come during the month of Tishrei.
R. Yehoshua disagrees and says that
Mashiach will come during the month
of Nissan. At first glance, it seems that
both R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua believe
that Mashiach can only come during one
month a year but they differ on which
month. Even if we are unsure who is
correct, that leaves ten months during

which Mashiach definitely cannot come.
However, their views actually are more
specific. The Gemara continues (ibid.,
11b) by bringing prooftexts for each of
the views. R. Eliezer bases his view that
Mashiach will come in Tishrei on the
verse, “And it shall come to pass in that
day, that a great shofar shall be blown”
(Is. 27:13). He connects that shofar
with the shofar of Rosh Hashanah. R.
Yehoshua bases his view that Mashiach
will come in Nissan on the verse, “It is
a night of watching (leil shimurim) for
the Lord” (Ex. 12:42). The night of the
Exodus is a night that is always special
for redemption. It seems that R. Eliezer
believes not just that Mashiach will come
in Tishrei but on Rosh Hashanah, the
day we blow shofar. And R. Yehoshua
believes Mashiach will come the first
night of Pesach, the leil shimurim.
Those very specific predictions are
problematic because of a different
passage. The Gemara (Eruvin 43a-b)
teaches that if someone vowed to be a
nazir on the day that Mashiach comes,
he may not drink wine any day because

Mashiach might arrive on that day
– except for Shabbos and holidays.
Eliyahu will come the day before
Mashiach and we have a tradition
that Eliyahu will not come on the
day before Shabbos or a holiday and
disrupt people’s preparations. Since
Eliyahu will not come on the day
before Shabbos or a holiday, and he
will come the day before Mashiach
comes, therefore Mashiach will not
come on Shabbos or a holiday.
II. Two Approaches
Rav Aryeh Leib of Metz (18th cen.,
France; Turei Even, Rosh Hashanah 11b)
points out the contradiction. According to
the Gemara in Eruvin, Mashiach will not
come on a holiday. However, according
to the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah, R.
Eliezer believes Mashiach will come
on Rosh Hashanah and R. Yehoshua
believes he will come on Pesach, both
of which are holidays. Rav Aryeh Leib
offers two possible resolutions of this
apparent contradiction:
1) Maybe someone who vows about the
day Mashiach comes refers specifically
to the daytime. If we do not merit
Mashiach’s arrival due to our
repentance and good deeds, he will
come at a pre-determined time after
the history of exile has run its course,
at a special time during the year, either
Pesach at night or Rosh Hashanah at
night. However, if we earn a shorter
exile, then Mashiach will come any
day during the daytime but not during
the daytime on Shabbos or a holiday.
2) Perhaps R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua
do not mean that the pre-determined
time of Mashia
ch’s arrival (if we do not merit it
earlier) is specifically on the holidays
of Rosh Hashanah and Pesach. Maybe
they mean it will happen during the
months in which Rosh Hashanah
and Yom Kippur occur. In that way,
Mashiach can come any day of the
year except for Shabbos and a holiday
if we earn it, otherwise in either Tishrei
or Nissan, but not on Shabbos or a
holiday. (See also Responsa Chasam
Sofer, vol. 6 no. 88; Responsa Kesav
Sofer, Orach Chaim, no. 53.)
III. Mashiach Is Not The
Redemption
Rav Baruch Frankel-Te’omim (19th
cen., Galicia; Glosses to Turei Even,
ad loc.) distinguishes between the
day of the redemption and the day

Mashiach arrives. First Eliyahu will
come. The next day, Mashiach will
come. There will be a war and then there
will be a day of redemption for all Jews
around the world. The Gemara in Eruvin
is discussing someone who vows to be
a nazir when Mashiach comes, which
could be any day except for Shabbos and
a holiday. R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua in
Rosh Hashanah discuss when the final
redemption will take place, whether on
Pesach (Nissan) or on Rosh Hashanah
(Tishrei). They are talking about different
events so there is no contradiction.
Rav Ya’akov Ettlinger (19th cen.,

Germany; Arukh La-Ner, Rosh Ha-
Shanah 11b s.v. be-Nissan) follows a

similar path by distinguishing between
the redemption and Mashiach’s arrival.
He notes the order of the blessings in
the Shemoneh Esreh (as discussed in
Megillah 17b). The blessing for the
ingathering of exiles (teka be-shofar)
comes before the blessing for Mashiach
(es tzemach), implying the redemption
will come first. However, Rav Ettlinger
quotes a Zohar (Parashas Shemos) which
says that Mashiach will come before
the ingathering of exiles. He says that
apparently we do not know clearly the
order of events. Surprisingly, he does not
quote Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhos
Melakhim 12:2) who likewise says that
we do not know the order of events.
According to Rav Aryeh Leib’s first
explanation, Mashiach can come on
Rosh Hashanah at night (according to
R. Eliezer) but not during the daytime.
According to his second explanation,
Mashiach can never come on Rosh

Hashanah. According to Rav Frankel-
Te’omim, Mashiach will not come on

a Shabbos or a holiday. After Mashiach
comes, the redemption will occur on
Rosh Hashanah according to R. Eliezer
or on Pesach according to R. Yehoshua.
And according to Rav Ettlinger, the
redemption might precede Mashiach’s
arrival and will be on Rosh Hashanah
according to R. Eliezer.