Thursday,
May 30, 2013 |
Aviel Schneider
A few months before he
died, one of the nation’s most
prominent rabbis, Yitzhak Kaduri,
supposedly wrote the name of the
Messiah on a small note which he
requested would remain sealed until
now. When the note was unsealed, it
revealed what many have known for
centuries: Yehoshua, or Yeshua
(Jesus), is the Messiah.
With the biblical name
of Jesus, the Rabbi and kabbalist
described the Messiah using six words
and hinting that the initial letters
form the name of the Messiah. The
secret note said:
Concerning the
letter abbreviation of the Messiah’s
name, He will lift the
people and prove that his word and
law are valid.
This I have signed
in the month of mercy,
Yitzhak Kaduri
The Hebrew sentence
(translated above in bold) with the
hidden name of the Messiah reads:
Yarim
Ha’Am Veyokhiakh
Shedvaro Vetorato
Omdim
ירים העם
ויוכיח שדברו ותורתו עומדים
The initials spell the
Hebrew name of Jesus יהושוע . Yehoshua
and Yeshua are effectively the same
name, derived from the same Hebrew
root of the word “salvation” as
documented in Zechariah 6:11 and Ezra
3:2. The same priest writes in Ezra,
“Yeshua (ישוע) son of Yozadak” while
writing in Zechariah “Yehoshua
(יהושוע) son of Yohozadak.” The priest
adds the holy abbreviation of God’s
name, ho (הו), in the father’s name
Yozadak and in the name Yeshua.
With one of Israel’s
most prominent rabbis indicating the
name of the Messiah is Yeshua, it is
understandable why his last wish was
to wait one year after his death
before revealing what he wrote.
When the name of
Yehoshua appeared in Kaduri’s message,
ultra-Orthodox Jews from his Nahalat
Yitzhak Yeshiva (seminary) in
Jerusalem argued that their master did
not leave the exact solution for
decoding the Messiah’s name.
The revelation
received scant coverage in the Israeli
media. Only the Hebrew websites News
First Class (Nfc) and Kaduri.net
mentioned the Messiah note, insisting
it was authentic. The Hebrew daily Ma’ariv
ran a story on the note but described
it as a forgery.
Jewish readers
responded on the websites’ forums with
mixed feelings: “So this means Rabbi
Kaduri was a Christian?” and “The
Christians are dancing and
celebrating,” were among the comments.
Israel Today
spoke to two of Kaduri’s followers in
Jerusalem who admitted that the note
was authentic, but confusing for his
followers as well. “We have no idea
how the Rabbi got to this name of the
Messiah,” one of them said.
When we told Rabbi
Kaduri that his father’s official
website (www.kaduri.net)
had mentioned the Messiah note, he was
shocked. “Oh no! That’s blasphemy. The
people could understand that my father
pointed to him [the Messiah of the
Christians].” David Kaduri confirmed,
however, that in his last year his
father had talked and dreamed almost
exclusively about the Messiah and his
coming. “My father has met the Messiah
in a vision,” he said, “and told us that he
would come soon.”
Kaduri’s
Portrayal of the Messiah
A few months before
Kaduri died at the age of 108, he
surprised his followers when he told
them that he met the Messiah. Kaduri
gave a message in his synagogue on Yom
Kippur, the Day of Atonement, teaching
how to recognize the Messiah. He
also mentioned that the Messiah
would appear to Israel after Ariel
Sharon’s death. (The former
prime minister is still in a coma
after suffering a massive stroke more
than a year ago.) Other rabbis predict
the same, including Rabbi Haim Cohen,
kabbalist Nir Ben Artzi and the wife
of Rabbi Haim Kneiveskzy.
Kaduri’s grandson,
Rabbi Yosef Kaduri, said his
grandfather spoke many times during
his last days about the coming of the
Messiah and redemption through the
Messiah. His spiritual portrayals of
the Messiah—reminiscent of New
Testament accounts—were published on
the websites Kaduri.net and Nfc:
“It is hard for many
good people in the society to
understand the person of the
Messiah. The leadership and order of
a Messiah of flesh and blood is hard
to accept for many in the nation. As
leader, the Messiah will not hold
any office, but will be among the
people and use the media to
communicate. His reign will be pure
and without personal or political
desire. During his dominion, only
righteousness and truth will reign.
“Will all believe in
the Messiah right away? No, in the
beginning some of us will believe in
him and some not. It will be easier
for non-religious people to follow
the Messiah than for Orthodox
people.
“The revelation of
the Messiah will be fulfilled in two
stages: First, he will actively
confirm his position as Messiah
without knowing himself that he is
the Messiah. Then he will reveal
himself to some Jews, not
necessarily to wise Torah scholars.
It can be even simple people. Only
then he will reveal himself to the
whole nation. The people will wonder
and say: ‘What, that’s the Messiah?’
Many have known his name but have
not believed that he is the
Messiah.”
Farewell to a
‘Tsadik’
Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri
was known for his photographic memory
and his memorization of the Bible, the
Talmud, Rashi and other Jewish
writings. He knew Jewish sages and
celebrities of the last century and
rabbis who lived in the Holy Land and
kept the faith alive before the State
of Israel was born.
Kaduri was not only
highly esteemed because of his age of
108. He was charismatic and wise, and
chief rabbis looked up to him as a Tsadik,
a righteous man or saint. He would
give advice and blessings to everyone
who asked. Thousands visited him to
ask for counsel or healing. His
followers speak of many miracles and
his students say that he predicted
many disasters.
When he died, more
than 200,000 people joined the funeral
procession on the streets of Jerusalem
to pay their respects as he was taken
to his final resting place.
“When he comes, the
Messiah will rescue Jerusalem from
foreign religions that want to rule
the city,” Kaduri once said. “They
will not succeed for they will fight
against one another.”