A physical Messiah – Ask the Rabbi
Q. I am puzzled. If God is not physical, why do we need a physical Messiah?
A. They are two different issues.
That God is not physical is axiomatic. But there is no reason why He should not use physical instrumentalities. After all, though the Torah says, “I the Lord am your Healer” (Ex. 15:26), the doctor is regarded as God’s representative in bringing healing.
God is our Redeemer (Job 19:25 etc.), but Judaism has long accepted that his earthly agent in bringing about redemption will be the Mashiach.
Indeed, each of us has the potential to perform messianic deeds; we can each be a Divine shali’ach.
