The phase of rational knowledge. It is called “daytime”. During this phase we focus on the outward things because they are the focus.

The phase of blindness is called “night time”. This is related to the concept of night, the time when we can not see. To experience night as it really is, without artificial light, is to experience what emunah really is. During this phase we focus on the inward things because they are the only things we can see with clarity. The blindness of emunah is the blindness of planting a seed. You “know” that a seed can produce much fruit and many more seeds, with an enormous amount of work, when it is planted. We start with knowledge!. It is NOT the idea that I can plant something, anything, and blindly hope that it will produce. Emunah is knowing that a seed will produce!

Before we can have emunah, we need to have knowledge. Before we can have knowledge we must have a place for the knowledge. This place is the possibility that something may be true, it is a doubt. This possibility is enough to start basing our life on this possibility.

Emunah in HaShem is something that must find expression in action. This idea is also repeated in the Nazarean Codicil:

Yaakov (James) 2:17 Even so emunah, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

The Torah tells us (Shemot, 16:11-12) that when Israel was attacked by Amalek, Moshe raised his hands toward heaven, and, when he did so, Israel was able to overcome its enemy. The Mishnah, in Rosh Hashanah, explains that Moshe's uplifted hands directed the people's attention to HaShem, and their emunah helped bring them victory in battle. In describing Moshe's action, the Torah says, "Vayehi yadav emunah", and his hands were 'emunah', faithful. This means that emunah is something that must be concretized through one's hands, through action. One must express his emunah through the outward actions of his hands. The Talmud, in Shabbat, refers to the mishnaic order of Zeraim as 'Emunah' and the commentary of Tosafot explains that this is because the act of planting seeds, with the hope that they will ultimately yield a crop, entails a certain degree of emunah.

Shemot (Exodus) 17:12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady (emunah) until the going down of the sun.

Wow! Moshe hands had emunah! We surely can not say that the hands had faith, rather we must say that they were faithfully obedient.

The Talmudic volume about agriculture, usually known as Seder Zeraim ("The Order of Seeds"), has another name: Seder Emunah, ("The Order of Faith"). Think about it, farmers plant seeds in a dark, damp place, where they begins to decay; believing all along that there will be fruit after they water, fertilize, weed, train, and protect from insects and other pests. Thus we learn that the one who plants has emunah (faithfull obedience to the tasks at hand) that the order of the world will continue, and his seeds will grow and yield fruit.

The Gemara, in Tractate Shabbat, based on a verse in Prophets, tells us that the section of Zeraim is referred to as emunah (faithfull obedience). This is because regardless of the quality of the soil, the seeds, and the farmer’s labor, if the rains of blessing and other elements, which are necessary for the growth of the crop, do not happen, there is no harvest. The farmer, understanding his inadequacy and dependency on the natural order, is therefore compelled to have belief in HaShem. This is the “blind” aspect of faithfulness.

This study is designed to give us knowledge, daat, so that we can begin to be faithfully obedient.

“The advent of Mashiach will be so unexpected that it could not possibly be predicted.”

This pathway is revealed in many regards: Mashiach is always referred to as a Tzemach, a plant. The aspect of "Tzemach" that is emphasized is that it often remains underground, out of sight, for long periods of time, before rising to the surface, as has Mashiach remained hidden until he will come to the fore. RADAK and Ibn Ezra note that the "gematria", the Hebrew letter sum of numerical equivalents of the word "Tzemach" is the same as that of "Menachem," a name of the Mashiach. The Targum says outright that the meaning of the term is the "Mashiach".

We speak in our prayers, of the messianic era, in a way that is the way of plants: To break forth (from the ground). A seed is the picture of something unexpected. Until a seed is detached from the living plant, detached from its source of life, it can do nothing. Until it is utterly cut off and alone, it can be nothing more than a speck. Until the seed then goes into a hidden place and rots, it can never sprout. This rotting, this disintegration, is the last thing that you would expect from something that is about to yield new life. And just when it seems that all is lost, a new plant bursts through the ground! Consider the following messianic pasukim as an illustration of Mashiach, the plant:

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Romans 15:12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

Zechariah 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.

Zechariah 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh HaShem of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the HaShem:

Yochanan (John) 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Yochanan (John) 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

We see this same kind of unexpected result when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly and when a person dies and is resurrected. We must learn to know, and understand, the unexpected process of disintegration which will produce the Mashiach. We must learn to see the hidden flower of Mashiach.

Folks often wonder how the Mashiach can come to our lowly and undeserving generation. Yet, from the illustration of a seed, we can see that this is exactly the time when the Mashiach must come!

The seed of Mashiach will always be found in a hidden place, in the same way that a seed is planted in the ground which is a hidden place. It sprouts in a place which is so dark and seemingly impure, that it could not possibly be so, and yet it is.

If we were to attempt to identify the father and mother of the Mashiach in our generation, where would we look? Would we not look to our Jewish Sages and leaders? Would we not expect the Mashiach to come from a great and worthy family? The reason we look to greatness to find the Mashiach is because we know that “an apple never falls very far from the tree”. A son always resembles his parents. Since we know that the Mashiach is a towering personality of such incredible purity, then we would expect His parents to be great and pure.

What we find, however, is that the messianic seed is always found in circumstances which seem impure, and from parents that seem to be acting in a very lowly manner. As we study, we will find out that appearances can be very deceiving. What looks like sin and impurity turns out to be the most immense mitzva that only the greatest of folks can achieve. We will see that the messianic line has such great prople that they have the ability to do a sin “for the sake of heaven”, and thereby change that sin into a mitzva.

The beginning of the messianic revelation is where Yaaqov tried to tell his sons about the final messianic period:

Bereshit (Genesis) 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

His revelation of the messianic pathway was taken away from Yaaqov, and indeed from the world. We were, however, left with some clues as to where the Mashiach would be found:

Sanhedrin 98a R. Joshua b. Levi met Elijah standing by the entrance of R. Simeon b. Yohai's tomb. He asked him: ‘Have I a portion in the world to come?’ He replied, ‘if this Master desires it.’ R. Joshua b. Levi said, ‘I saw two, but heard the voice of a third.’[2] He then asked him, ‘When will the Messiah come?’ — ‘Go and ask him himself,’ was his reply. ‘Where is he sitting?’ — ‘At the entrance.’[3] And by what sign may I recognize him?’ — ‘He is sitting among the poor lepers: all of them untie [them] all at once, and rebandage them together, whereas he unties and rebandages each separately, [before treating the next], thinking, should I be wanted, [it being time for my appearance as the Messiah] I must not be delayed [through having to bandage a number of sores].’ So he went to him and greeted him, saying, ‘peace upon thee, Master and Teacher.’ ‘peace upon thee, O son of Levi,’ he replied. ‘When wilt thou come Master?’ asked he, ‘To-day’, was his answer. On his returning to Elijah, the latter enquired, ‘What did he say to thee?’ — ‘peace Upon thee, O son of Levi,’ he answered. Thereupon he [Elijah] observed, ‘He thereby assured thee and thy father of [a portion in] the world to come.’ ‘He spoke falsely to me,’ he rejoined, ‘stating that he would come to-day, but has not.’ He [Elijah] answered him, ‘This is what he said to thee, To-day, if ye will hear his voice.’[4]

* * *

The following folks were part of the messianic line. I will highlight their story, their perfections, and the apparent impediments that they pose to the messianic line.

I. Avraham

Yitzchak was an only son: Is he Paro’s son, or Avimelech’s son? Sarah was taken as wife by Avimelech and by Paro (Bereshit 20). How can we be sure this is Avraham’s son?

In Bereshit 21, the Torah says Ele Toldot Avraham Avraham Holid Et Yitzchak, "These are the children of Avraham, Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak." On this pasuk, Rashi asks why does the pasuk repeat Avraham Holid Et Yitzchak, wouldn't it be enough just to say Vaeleh Toldot Avraham? Rashi says that after HaShem changed Avraham's name, Yitzchak was born to emphasizes Avraham's new name. A second explanation of Rashi is that people were saying that Avimelech was the biological father of Yitzchak, because when Sarah was living with Avraham she was not pregnant. However, when she was with Avimelech for one night, the next Pasuk says that Sarah was pregnant. In order to prevent people from saying this, HaShem made Yitzchak the spitting image of Avraham and the pasuk says Holid Et Yitzchak.

It is worth noting that Sarah became pregnant BECAUSE she prayed for Avimelech and his household that their openings, which had been shut by HaShem, should be opened, especially for pregnancy.

Was Avraham a sterile mule? The midrash indicates that Nimrod and the rest of his folks thought Avraham to be a sterile mule (Bereshit Rabbah, 38:6). In the end, Yitzchak was born with the exact appearance of his father, and the Messianic line progressed. He was born with the exact appearance of his father in order that no one should say that he was the son of Avimelech.

Sarah – Avraham’s wife was ninty years old, and barren. Not only barren, but our Sages teach that she had no womb! This was a clear impediment to the messianic line.

Bereshit (Genesis) 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

Yevamoth 64a R. Ammi stated: Abraham and Sarah were originally of doubtful sex; for it is said, Look unto to the rock whence you were hewn[5] and to the hole of the pit[6] whence you were digged,[7] and this is followed by the text, Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you.[8]

Never the less, Yitzchak’s birth was the proof that HaShem had first created and then opened the barren womb and crafted a son who would be able to ascend the altar, bound as a sacrifice to HaShem. This was the greatness of the messianic line. This was also pattern whereby the messianic line is hidden in impossible situations in order that the unclean forces will suckle elsewhere and be deceived into thinking that the Mashiach will not come from this source.

II. Lot and His Daughters

Avraham’s nephew was named Lot. In speaking about Lot, the Midrash says the following:

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLI:4 HAD FLOCKS, AND HERDS, AND TENTS. R. Tobiah b. R. Yitzchak said: He had two tents, viz. Ruth the Moabitess and Naamah the Ammonitess.2 Similarly it is written, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters that are found (Gen. XIX, 15)3: R. Tobiah said: That means two ‘finds’, viz. Ruth and Naamah. R. Yitzchak commented: I have found David My servant (Ps. LXXXIX, 21): where did I find him? In Sodom[9].

The above Midrash indicates that the Mashiach will be found in Sodom, the most intensely negative and impure place that the world has ever known. There we find Lot and his two daughters:

Bereshit (Genesis) 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Thus we see that Ammon and Moab were born from incest in a place just removed from Sodom. From Moab we find Ruth, and from Ammon we find Naamah:

Ruth 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, HaShem gave her conception, and she bare a son. 14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be HaShem, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Melachim Alef (1 Kings) 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which HaShem did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

Lot went to Sodom, a proverbially wicked place, to teach the people about HaShem and His ways. On the night that Sodom was destroyed, Lot was enjoying a Purim Seudah and a Pesach seder while feeding two angels. Lot was a very great man. He was great enough that in his merit he and his entire family were extracted before the destruction of Sodom and Gamora. Thus we find Mashiach in Sodom. HaShem extracted the messianic sparks from the Goyim (Gentiles) and built them into the Mashiach. He built those sparks in a cave of incest. This incest was converted by Lot’s daughter into a very great mitzva (good deed). So great was the mitzva and the ones who performed it, that the messianic line was drawn through them. Yet, how can incest be a mitzva?

Lot’s two daughters believed that the three of them were the only people left on earth. It was their desire to fulfill the command of HaShem that they should multiply and fill the earth. Since their father was the last man on earth, they thought, therefore they did what to them must have been the most disgusting thing in the whole world, they slept with their own father! Today we find this disgusting, how much more so must it have been with the towering spiritual greatness of Lot’s family. Our Sages teach that is greater to do a sin for the right reason, than to do a mitzva for the wrong reason. Lot’s two daughters did a sin for the sake of Heaven. This was an incredibly great act that was rewarded accordingly.

Never the less, the Mashiach came forth from two incestuous acts in the most depraved place on earth, that is where Mashiach MUST come from! Mashiach will always come from a place where it is impossible for Him to be, yet, He is there.

III. Yitzchak

Yitzchak died at the Akeida, before he had children, as we see from the Midrash and from the book of Hebrews:

Leviticus Rabbah. 29:9 R. Judah says: When the sword touched Yitzchak's throat his soul flew clean out of him. And when He let his voice be heard from between the two cherubim, 'Lay not thy hand upon the lad, 'the lad's soul returned to his body. Then his father unbound him, and Yitzchak rose, knowing that in this way the dead would come back to life in the future; whereupon he began to recite, Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who quickens the dead. Pirkei de-Rav Eliezer 31

Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Yitzchak: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Yitzchak shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a parable.

Zohar 60a "When Yitzchak was sacrificed on the altar, his soul which was in him in This World departed. But when it was said by Abraham, Blessed be He who quickens the dead, his soul of the World to Come came back to him."

Minhat Yehudah, by R. Judah bar Eliezer ad Gen 24:64 and Paaneah Raza by R. Isaac bar Juda ha-Levi, 29a No wonder Rebeccah lost her equilibrium "and she fell from her camel" (v. 64) - for what she perceived was Yitzchak coming down from Paradise, and he walked the way the dead walked, head down and feet up.

Zevachim 62a As for the Temple, it is well, for its outline was distinguishable; but how did they know [the site of] the altar? — Said R. Eleazar: They saw [in a vision] the altar built, and Michael the great prince standing and offering upon it. While R. Isaac Nappaha said: They saw Yitzchak’s ashes lying in that place. R. Samuel b. Nahman said: From [the site of] the whole House they smelt the odour of incense, while from there [the site of the altar] they smelt the odour of limbs.

Since Yitzchak died, this presents a potential problem for the messianic line in that he had not married and had no children. When Yitzchak died, all of his descendants died with him. Therefore, Yaakov and his twelve sons, the tribes of Israel, all died with him. Of course, they were also resurrected with him!

Speaking of the binding of Yitzchak, the Zohar teaches that Yitzchak's soul flew from his body at the touch of the knife on his neck, and when his soul returned, he declared: "Blessed are You... Who resurrects the dead." The messianic line will always be found in impossible situations. These are precisely the situations where Mashiach must be found!

Rivka (Rebecca) – Yitzchak’s wife was barren. This is also a clear impediment to the messianic line.

Bereshit (Genesis) 25:21 And Yitzchak intreated HaShem for his wife, because she was barren: and HaShem was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Mashiach will always emerge from impossible situations.

IV. Yaaqov

Did Yaakov “steal” his father’s blessing by deception? The appearance of theft through deception is so great that the majority of people who read this event come to the conclusion that the blessing was stolen. The forces of evil will not pay attention to folks involved in apparent impurity because they too are deceived. Thus the messianic seed will be preserved and hidden.

Never the less, those who are discerning should be able to see as our Sages have taught, that Yaakov Avinu (our father) was a righteous man and that he performed the will of HaShem when he secured the blessing from his father.

It is axiomatic that a thief does not get to keep stolen goods. How much more will HaShem retract the blessing if the blessing is stolen? Thus our Sages confirm that HaShem had it written that Yitzchak confirmed that Yaakov was to receive the blessing AFTER he was aware of the deception:

Bereshit (Genesis) 27:33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

Bereshit (Genesis) 28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

Why does Yaakov have four wives and two sisters when the Torah forbids this? This is another item of apparent impurity which causes the evil forces to suckle elsewhere.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 18:18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.

Since the Torah forbids taking two sisters for wives, and since Leah and Rachel were sisters, surely this is an impediment to the messianic line? The evil forces see this as an impediment and will not suckle here, never the less, it is not a problem for the messianic seed.

Our Sages teach: "The prohibition against marrying two sisters did not exist prior to the giving of the Torah at Sinai, as proved by Yaakov's actions."

Ibn Ezra elaborates: "And God alone plans how things work out, that Rachel died on the way, as they began to enter the land. In her merit, she did not die outside Eretz Yisrael, and in his merit, he did not dwell in Eretz Yisrael married to two sisters, for she was married to him in contravention of the prohibition against marrying sisters. It appears that she fell pregnant with Benyamin before they reached Shekhem; Yaakov had no relations with her at all within the land because of the prohibition."

This we see that this appearance of evil was sufficient to distract the evil forces without blemishing the messianic line. Now lets look at the impediments to Yaakov’s wife, Leah.

Leah also married Yaakov by deception:

Bereshit (Genesis) 29:21 And Yaakov said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. 24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. 25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?

Is it possible that the messianic line should be built on the deception of Leah?

Leah was Yaakov’s wife through deception. Yaakov was supposed to marry Rachel, but when he awoke in the morning he found Leah. Leah was unloved yet she bore Yehuda and the messianic line.

Bereshit (Genesis) 29:25 "And it was, in the morning, that behold it was Leah !"

Note the difficulty: Was she not Leah the evening before as well? Thus, explains Rashi, that in the evening, under the huppah, Yaakov actually thought Leah was Rachel. Yaakov and Rachel, in anticipation of Lavan's treachery, devised a secret sign to allow Yaakov to disclose the deception. However, when Rachel saw her father setting up Leah in her place, she had a change of heart. "My sister will be mortified!" Rachel, overwhelmed by sympathy, gave the secret sign to her sister.

Thus we see that the only deception came from Lavan. Leah and Rachel worked together to build Israel and the messianic line. They built the messianic seed whilst deceiving the evil forces.

Leah, in addition to the above deception, was barren as we can see from the following pasuk:

Bereshit (Genesis) 29:31 And HaShem saw that Leah was hated, so He opened her womb. And Rachel was barren."

Our Sages ask, "Why were all the matriarchs barren?" They reply: Because HaShem, desires the prayers of the righteous. Being barren is definitely an impediment to producing progeny in the messianic line. This barrenness was also sufficient to deceive the evil forces and allow the messianic seed to be built.

V. Yehuda

Why does Yehuda, the father of kings and the Mashiach, visit a prostitute?

Bereshit (Genesis) 38:12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. 14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. 16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? 17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? 18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.

Thus we see that Yehuda engaged in the mitzva of yibbum with Tamar, unknowingly. The following Midrash helps us to understand why Yehudah went to a prostitute:

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXXV:8 WHEN JUDAH SAW HER, etc. (XXXVIII, 15 f.). R. Aha said: A man should become familiar with his wife's sister and with his female relations, so as not to fall into sin through any of them. From whom do you learn this? From Judah: WHEN JUDAH SAW HER, HE THOUGHT HER TO BE A HARLOT; why so? FOR SHE HAD COVERED HER FACE-while in her father-in-law's house.5 Another interpretation: WHEN JUDAH SAW HER he paid no attention to her.6 But since she covered her face he reasoned, If she were a harlot, would she actually cover her face! R. Johanan said: He wished to go on, but the Holy One, blessed be He, made the angel who is in charge of desire appear before him, and he said to him: ‘Whither goest thou, Judah? Whence then are kings to arise, whence are redeemers to arise? ' Thereupon, AND HE TURNED UNTO HER-in despite of himself and against his wish.

Tamar – Why does she play a prostitute? This is clearly a way to muddy the messianic line. Tamar was the daughter of Shem and a Prophetess in her own right. Tamar was an exceedingly great individual. She engaged in the mitzva of yibbum (Levirate Marriage) with Yehuda, knowingly. Tamar clearly understood that this was no sin, but rather a mitzva (good deed) that built the messianic line.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. 6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother. 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

Bereshit (Genesis) 38:6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of HaShem; and HaShem slew him. 8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased HaShem: wherefore he slew him also. 11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

When Tamar finally sleeps with Yehudah and bears twins, she bore one for Er and one for Onan, a perfect yibbum!

Most folks see the encouter between Tamar and Yehudah, in Bereshit (Genesis) 38, as a sin of immorality. Torah, on the other hand, sees this encounter as a very great mitzva. It is a mitzva because Tamar was a childless widow, that her dead husband’s family was commanded to correct. The family was required to raise up seed for the deceased on his land. When Yehudah failed to give his son, Shelah, to fulfill this mitzva, Tamar enticed Yehudah himself to fulfill it. The Midrash records that HaShem sent an angel to “force” Yehudah, against his will, to turn in to Tamar’s tent. The angel asked Yehudah, “If you fail to turn to Tamar; from where will the Mashiach come?”

VI. Oved

Boaz, Oved’s father - was descended from the harlotry of Yehuda and Tamar. The head of the Sanhedrin and the leader of his generation.

Ruth, Oved’s Mother – How can a Moabite join the congregation of Israel? Further, would HaShem use a Gentile in the messianic line?

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 23:3 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of HaShem; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of HaShem for ever:

How can a descendant of incest be a part of the messianic line? Ruth married Boaz who was a descendent of harlotry. The greatest impediment, however, was the fact that Ruth was a Moabite. The oral law explains how this problem is solved:

Yevamoth 76b MISHNAH. AN AMMONITE AND A MOABITE ARE FORBIDDEN AND THEIR PROHIBITION IS FOR EVER , THEIR WOMEN, HOWEVER, ARE PERMITTED AT ONCE. AN EGYPTIAN AND AN EDOMITE ARE FORBIDDEN ONLY UNTIL THE THIRD GENERATION. WHETHER THEY ARE MALES OR FEMALES. R. SIMEON, HOWEVER, PERMITS THEIR WOMEN FORTHWITH. SAID R. SIMEON: THIS LAW MIGHT BE INFERRED A MINORI AD MAJUS: IF WHERE THE MALES ARE FORBIDDEN FOR ALL TIME THE FEMALES ARE PERMITTED FORTHWITH, HOW MUCH MORE SHOULD THE FEMALES BE PERMITTED FORTHWITH WHERE THE MALES ARE FORBIDDEN UNTIL THE THIRD GENERATION ONLY. THEY REPLIED: IF THIS20 IS AN HALACHAH, WE SHALL ACCEPT IT; BUT IF IT IS ONLY AN INFERENCE, AN OBJECTION CAN BE POINTED OUT. HE REPLIED: NOT SO. [BUT IN FACT] IT IS AN HALACHAH THAT I AM REPORTING.

GEMARA. Whence are these laws inferred? — R. Johanan replied: Scripture stated, And when Sail saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said into Abner, the captain of the host: ‘Abner, whose son is this youth’? And Abner said: ‘As thy soul liveth, O King, I cannot tell’. But did he not know him? Surely it is written, And he loved him greatly; and he became his armour bearer! — He rather made the inquiry concerning his father. But did he not know his father? Surely it is written, And the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among them; and Rab or, it might be said, R. Abba, stated that this referred to the father of David, Jesse. who came in with an army and went out with an army! — It is this that Saul meant: Whether he descended from Perez, or from Zerah. If he descended from Perez he would be king, for a king breaks for himself a way and no one can hinder him. If, however, he is descended from Zerah he would only be an important man. What is the reason why he gave instructions that enquiry be made concerning him? — Because it is written, And Saul clad David with his apparel. being of the same size as his, and about Saul it is written, From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. Doeg the Edomite then said to him, ‘Instead of enquiring whether he is fit to be king or not, enquire rather whether he is permitted to enter the assembly or not’! ‘What is the reason’? ‘Because he is descended from Ruth the Moabitess’. Said Abner to him, ‘We learned: An Ammonite, but not an Ammonitess; A Moabite, but not a Moabitess! But in that case a bastard would’ imply: But not a female bastard?’ — ‘It is written mamzer [Which implies] anyone objectionable’. ‘Does then Egyptian exclude the Egyptian woman’? — ‘Here it is different, since the reason for the Scriptural text is explicitly stated: Because they met you not with bread and with water; it is customary for a man to meet [wayfarers]; It is not, however, customary for a woman to meet [them]’.

Thus we learn that Moabites were excluded, but not a Moabitess. This impediment was so severe that even David, three generations later, had to deal with this issue. Thus we find that Mashiach and His line is found in impossible situations. His line will be mired in apparent impurity.

VII. Yishai

Yishai – Why did he divorce his wife, Nitzevet? Was David a mamzer (an illegitimate son)?

A Seed	A Fetus / Baby
A seed begins when the “egg” is fertilized. The seed contains all the genetic material of the parents.	A fetus begins when the “egg” is fertilized. The fetus contains all the genetic material of the parents.
Starts out attached to it’s source of life – the plant.	Starts out attached to it’s source of life – his mother.
Whilst in the pod, the seed does not need water, fertilizer, or soil. It grows well with an environment of air only.	Whilst in the womb, the fetus does not need air, light, space for movement, food, or waste removal. It’s lungs are filled with water without ill effect.
The “death process” begins when the seed is viable and the pod splits and it is exposed to the world while still attached to it’s source of life.	The “death process” begins when the baby is viable and the womb opens and it is exposed to the world while still attached to it’s source of life.
During the “death process”, the plant begins to turn brown and becomes dessicated..	During the “death process” the mother looks and sounds like she is dying.
When the seed is detached from it’s source of life, the plant, and falls to the ground. It no longer receives nourishment from the plant.	When the baby is detached from it’s source of life, his mother, and is caught up in the arms of the midwife. It no longer receives food and oxygen from it’s mother.
When it gets covered with dirt, the seed begins dying and decaying.	During birth, the baby’s blood circulation reverses, as a hole in the heart closes, and begins filling the lungs. The baby begins dying in the womb.
Suddenly, the seed can not remain viable without soil, water, fertilizer, and weed control.	Suddenly, the baby can not remain viable without air, light, space for movement, food, and waste removal.
The seed sprouts and begins growing into a mature plant.	The baby grows and begins growing into an adult.
The seed that became a plant, now begins producing fruit and many seeds.	The seed that became a fetus, that became a baby, that became an adult, is now producing many seeds and fruit.