The Torah portion of Masei enumerates all forty-two of the Jewish people's journeys through the desert, from their departure from Egypt until their last encampment on the border of Israel, "by Yarden (Jordan), near Yereicho (Jericho)" (Bamidbar 33:48). According to Chasidic philosophy, these journeys correspond to the various spiritual stages of the Jewish people's "journey" through this world - a journey that began with the Exodus and will conclude with their entry into the Land of Israel in the Final Redemption.

The opening verse of Masei reads as follows: "These are the journeys of the Children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt" (Bamidbar 33:1).  A question is asked: Why does the Torah use the plural "journeys" when in actuality, only the first journey took the Jewish people out of Egypt?

The answer is that our "journeys" from Egypt are not yet over; in fact, they continue till the present day. The objective of a Jew's Divine service is to "leave Egypt" ("Mitzrayim" in Hebrew, derived from the same root as "meitzarim," meaning straights or boundaries) and free himself of his own personal limitations. A Jew is commanded to perpetually ascend in the spiritual sense. Yesterday's achievements, no matter how significant, are still limitations when it comes to what we can and must achieve today.
After thousands of years of "journeying" the end is now in sight, as we stand on the threshold of the definitive victory over all limitations and boundaries, the full and complete Redemption with Moshiach.

This is alluded to in the name of the encampment of the Children of Israel just before entering the Land of Israel, "by Yarden, near Yereicho": "Yarden Yereicho" is a reference to Melech Hamoshiach, who will render judgment through his sense of smell. ("Yarden" is similar to "yidon," "he will judge," and "Yereicho" is related to the Hebrew word "rei'ach," meaning "smell.")

This chapter will examine Moshiach's extraordinary faculty of smell, and whether or not this ability is an essential aspect of Moshiach's function. 

An Identifying Sign

The textual source for Moshiach's sense of smell is found in Sanhedrin (93:b), based on a Biblical verse that refers to Melech Hamoshiach: "And his delight shall be (‘v'haricho,' literally ‘the power of smell') in the fear of G-d. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes nor rebuke according to the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth" (Yeshayahu 11:3-4).

How will Moshiach judge without relying on "the sight of his eyes" or "the hearing of his ears"? Rava explains this to mean that Moshiach will be able to detect the truth of a person's statement and will render a just verdict merely by using his sense of smell.

To support his interpretation Rava cites the story of Bar Koziba, who ruled Israel for two and half years. When Bar Koziba claimed to be Melech Moshiach, the Rabbis asked him several questions to determine if it was true. One question was whether he was able to judge by using his sense of smell, and when he answered in the negative, he was put to death! The ability to judge through the sense of smell would thus seem to be an essential characteristic of Moshiach, the absence of which would indicate that the individual is not really Moshiach.

The Ravad agrees that Moshiach must possess this ability. The Rambam, by contrast, maintains that this ability - or any other super-natural ability - is not absolutely necessary to determine who Moshiach is. As the Rambam writes in Chapter 11 of Hilchos Melachim: "One should not assume that Melech Hamoshiach needs to perform signs or wonders or show any new phenomena or resurrect the dead. This is not so. Indeed, Rabbi Akiva was a very wise man, one of the Sages of the Mishnah, who served as an attendant of Ben Koziba the king. Rabbi Akiva said that Ben Koziba was Moshiach; likewise, all the Sages of his generation thought he was Moshiach, until he was killed because of his sins. It was only after he was killed that they realized he was not Moshiach, and the Sages never asked him for any signs or wonders." Thus according to the Rambam, signs and wonders are not a decisive factor.

Other commentators point out that elsewhere, the Rambam quotes different sources (Eichah Rabbah; Yerushalmi Taanis) disagreeing with that particular Talmudic passage, which would indicate that the inability to judge through smell does not necessarily disqualify an individual from being Moshiach. This would explain why Rabbi Akiva identified Ben Koziba as Moshiach.  

In fact, the Rambam writes that Melech Hamoshiach will be blessed with many super-natural powers aside from the ability to judge through the sense of smell. In Chapter 9 of Hilchos Teshuvah he writes that Melech Hamoshiach will be a "great prophet," and is even more specific in his Igeres Teiman. However, it is not necessary that these abilities be manifested immediately upon Moshiach's revelation. (See Volume 27 of Likutei Sichos, Bechukosai for more details.)

Perfect Justice

The Maharsha takes this one step further and maintains that not only will Moshiach be able to judge through smell, it is precisely this manner of judgment that will ensure that his verdict is just, as it is written, "But with righteousness shall he judge the poor":

"Although it is said that ‘A judge can only rely upon what his eyes see,' it is still possible to err unintentionally or veer from the truth if one party makes a false claim or testifies falsely. Moshiach, however, will not make such mistakes, as he will be able to judge a person merely by smelling him. That is, his sense of smell will determine where the truth lies, as the faculty of smell is not prone to error as are seeing and hearing. This is because the ability to smell is a spiritual faculty of the soul...whereas the other senses are more corporeal, and therefore capable of error."

However, this raises a legitimate question: How can we reconcile this with Torah law, which establishes that justice can only be rendered through the testimony of two witnesses?

The Rebbe has explained (Igros Kodesh, Volume 4, page 181) that Moshiach is permitted to judge in this unusual manner as he belongs to the special category of king, upon whom halachah confers the authority to judge according to his understanding. Nonetheless, other kings did not do so. The Gemara relates (Rosh Hashanah 21:b) that when Shlomo Hamelech wished to render judgment without benefit of witnesses or testimony, a heavenly voice reminded him of the verse, "According to two witnesses, etc." In fact, only Moshiach will be granted this privilege, as his kingship will be on a higher level than all other kings. 

Chasidus delves into the inner, esoteric significance of the faculty of smell, and explains how it is connected to Moshiach. Our Sages stated in Brachos 43:b: "From which sense does the soul derive pleasure but not the body? From the sense of smell." That is, the perception of smell is a spiritual faculty, rarefied and pure, which penetrates the soul and causes it delight and pleasure. 

We see this demonstrated in the fact that when a person faints, the way to bring him back to consciousness is through the sense of smell. When a person is unconscious, his other senses are unresponsive or only partially responsive. But if smelling salts are placed under his nose, the sharp odor will wake him up. This is because smell is connected to the essence of the soul, a level that is so deep that it never "faints" or experiences weakness. Stimulating the soul in this manner arouses it into sending a burst of renewed vitality throughout the body. The faculty of smell goes straight to an entity's essence and gets to the root of things. It is therefore distinguished from the other four faculties of perception, which only give the individual a superficial or partial picture.

The Whole Picture

This is also the difference between the present manner of judging and how Melech Hamoshiach will judge in the Messianic era:

At present, a judge must rely on the testimony of witnesses, examine numerous pieces of evidence and apply logical principles in order to reach a verdict. However, this gives him only a superficial understanding of what actually happened, as it is based on the perception of faculties that are themselves prone to error. Furthermore, a judge has no idea what was going through a person's mind at the time of the incident. He has no way of knowing the pressures he was under or his mental or spiritual state.

Melech Hamoshiach, by contrast, will get right to the heart of the matter. Not only will he immediately know all the details and background of an event but he will understand the circumstances that led up to it. Moshiach's wondrous faculty of smell will enable him to discern exactly what is going on in a person's soul, in perfect fulfillment of Hillel the Elder's dictum, "Do not judge your fellowman until you have stood in his place" (Avos, Chapter 2). Moshiach's judgment will thus be unprecedented in righteousness and justice.

This also sheds light on why Moshiach is described as judging the "poor" and the "meek of the earth": Our Sages explain that the verse really means that Moshiach will judge the rich, who will stand accused by the poor. Yet despite their social status and respectability, Moshiach will render perfect justice. 

In truth, Moshiach will also judge the "poor," but in the spiritual sense of the word. Moshiach will surely judge people for being deficient in the observance of mitzvos and the performance good deeds, but his judgment will be rendered "with righteousness," meaning that he will understand and take into consideration all extenuating circumstances.   

As the Frierdike Rebbe writes in Chapter 18 of Likutei Dibburim (translated by Uri Kaploun):

"Concerning Moshiach it is written: ‘But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.' A person described as ‘dal,'  ‘poor,' is not an absolute pauper. In fact, he is not far removed from one who is rich in understanding, but he is poor in the sense that he does not manage to carry out what he understands he ought to do.

"A person rich in understanding is one who understands what good is, such as being neighborly toward his fellow man. And when it comes to negative things, such as sensual desires or slanderous talk and gossip, he refrains. A poor man is one who does not manage; he too knows what is good and what is evil, but he understands it only in his head. He does not quite make it; he lacks the determination to translate his understanding into his daily life, so as to actually do what is good, and refrain from what is not.

"This poor man, who does not quite manage to take himself in hand, will be judged by Moshiach. But he will judge him with righteousness, pointing out his extenuating circumstances and finding him merit.

 "It states: ‘And reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.' The meek of the earth deserve to be reproved, for every individual ought to make a point of arousing his neighbor to the practice of good deeds. When instead a person adopts an attitude of humility and argues, ‘Who am I to arouse my fellow? What kind of a spokesman am I?' -this is a most destructive humility.  It is on account of this that the meek are worthy of being sternly rebuked.

"Daily experience teaches us that when someone seeks to arouse his fellow in a positive direction - to set aside fixed times for Torah study, to do a mitzvah, to give charity, to support scholars, and so on - such conversations have an effect.

"A personal obligation rests on every individual Jew to arouse his fellow, and to meet often and to talk about the need for Torah study and the support of scholars and the like. If instead a person says, ‘Who am I to arouse others? Who am I to be a spokesman?' Through such talk he reduces (among other things) Torah study and the support of Torah scholars. Nonetheless, Moshiach will judge him as well, though here too he will find extenuating circumstances."

"By Yarden Yereicho"

Let us conclude with an excerpt of a sichah delivered on Shabbos Parshas Beshalach 5752, in connection with the Frierdike Rebbe's yahrtzeit on Yud Shevat:

"Perfection is mainly achieved on the tenth and eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year, forty-two years [of the Frierdike Rebbe's leadership; 5710-5752], as all of the aliyos of forty-two yahrtzeits have already been attained, as well as all of the aliyos of our deeds and Divine service over the past forty-two years. ...This corresponds to the forty-two journeys through the ‘wilderness of the nations' of our generation (the last generation of the exile and the first generation of the Redemption), as we will immediately enter the ‘good and expansive Land' with the full and complete Redemption."

On Shabbos Parshas Matos/Masei 5751 the Rebbe explained exactly what is required of us at present:

"The connection between Ahavas Yisroel, love for a fellow Jew, and the future Redemption must be emphasized not only because nullifying the cause of the exile will nullify the exile itself (which came about because of the opposite of Ahavas Yisroel), but because the service of the exile and all forty-two journeys through the ‘wilderness of the nations' have already been completed. We are now standing ‘by Yarden Yereicho,' the threshold of the Redemption, which is synonymous with the level of Moshiach, who will judge through the sense of smell, as surely the reason for the exile has already been rectified.

"Ahavas Yisroel must therefore be stressed as a forerunner and catalyst for the true and complete Redemption, which is connected to a level of unity that is higher than division, the unity of the Jewish people based on the aspect of yechidah, the fifth level of the soul. This aspect is possessed by every individual Jew equally, and is a spark of the soul of Moshiach, the yechidah in macrocosm."

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