Yet, Jewish tradition whispers of just such a mystery: that the Messiah himself will descend from the side of evil.
How can this be? Well, the story starts with King David, the ancestor from whose lineage the Messiah will spring. And David’s own ancestry is… complicated. As we find in Genesis Rabbah, David was descended from Ruth the Moabite. And who were the Moabites? They were descendants of Moab, the son born of incest between Lot and one of his daughters after the destruction of Sodom.
Think about that for a moment. Sodom. The epitome of wickedness. As the verse says, "I have found David" (Psalm 89:21). But where did God find him? In Sodom, so to speak. That’s where the roots of his lineage lie. So, the soul of the Messiah, destined to bring ultimate good into the world, has its origins in a place associated with moral decay.
Why would God orchestrate things this way? The text in Tree of Souls tells us, "For reasons known only to Him, God caused events to occur whereby the Messiah will be born from the realm of evil." It's a profound statement, hinting at a divine plan beyond our full comprehension.
The Zohar, that foundational text of Jewish mysticism, delves into this further. The incestuous union of Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19:30-38) is identified as the source of the power of the Yetzer ha-Ra – the Evil Impulse. Think of the Yetzer ha-Ra as that little voice in your head that tempts you to do things you know you shouldn't.
Now, this isn’t to say that the Messiah will be evil, far from it. But it does suggest that his soul possesses a unique connection to, and understanding of, the forces of darkness. The key here, as explained in Tree of Souls, is that the Messiah’s soul is closest to evil, possessing great intensity.
There's a fascinating idea embedded here: that only someone who intimately understands the nature of evil can truly conquer it. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, had the Messiah descended from a perfectly righteous lineage, no enemy could have prevailed against Israel, and exile would have been impossible. But perhaps, the path to true and lasting redemption requires grappling with the shadows within ourselves and within the world.
And what happens when the Messiah comes? In the messianic era, that evil soul will be transformed, through a process of tikkun – repair or restoration – into good. This concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world, is central to Jewish thought. It suggests that even the most broken, damaged parts of ourselves and our world can be healed and elevated. It's not about denying or ignoring the darkness, but about confronting it and transforming it.
The No'am Elimelekh, Likutei Shoshanah, and Tzidkat ha-Tzaddik all offer further insights into this complex idea. David himself, aware of his origins, wanted to banish the "evil side" from which he was born, eliminating it from the world. But he couldn't. He had no power over it, precisely because he was born from it. It's a powerful image – the recognition that we cannot simply eradicate the darkness, but must learn to integrate and transform it.
So, the next time you encounter something dark or challenging, remember the story of the Messiah. Remember that even the most unlikely sources can give rise to profound goodness. And that the path to redemption often lies in confronting, not avoiding, the shadows within ourselves and the world around us. What are the implications of this story? How does it change the way we think about the human experience?