The Messiah Idea in Jewish History

Rabbi Greenstone's valued work, The Messiah Idea in Jewish History, offers a detailed survey, from Biblical times down to the religious reform movements and Zionism of the late 19th century, of messianic beliefs in Judaism. As Greenstone's introduction mentions: "The belief in the coming of the Messiah, the treasured hope of the Jew throughout all the centuries of misery and persectuion, is regarded by most Jewish thinkers as a dogma of Judaism." The author pays special attention to Talmudic and Midrashic sources, to the work of philosophers and Kabbalists, as well as the historical conditions, to elucidate the influences messianism had on Jewish society over the centuries.