In the Babylonian Talmud Menahem ben Hezekiah was a quasi-
messianic Jewish teacher born on the day the
Second Temple
The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...
was destroyed (AD 70). He may be the same as
Menahem ben Judah
Menahem ben Judah lived around the time of the First Jewish-Roman War and is mentioned by Josephus. He was the leader of a faction called the Sicarii who carried out assassinations of Romans and collaborators in the Holy Land.
He was the son of Ju ...
; also see
Menahem ben Ammiel.
In the Babylonian Talmud
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...
98b he is mentioned along with a list of other names of the messiah suggested by different rabbis. It is accompanied by a reference to , where the word is used, possibly in its literal meaning of 'comforter': "Because Menahem, that would relieve my soul, is far."
In the
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
Brachot 2:4, 5a an Arab tells a Jew that the messiah is born. His father’s name is Hezekiah and he will be named Menahem. Selling his cow and plough, he buys some swaddling cloth and travels from town to town. He travels to Bethlehem where the child is born. All the women are buying their children clothing except Menahem’s mother. She says her son is an enemy of Israel because he is born on the
day the Second Temple was destroyed. He tells her that if she does not have money today she can pay later. When he returns she tells him that Menahem has been carried by a divine wind up to heaven. He will later return as Israel’s messiah.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menahem Ben Hezekiah
70 births
Date of death unknown
Year of death unknown
Jewish messiah claimants
1st-century Jews