Does the Messiah Depend on Us? The Jewish View on Redemption and Personal Responsibility

In Jewish texts, there is a discussion around the question if the Messianic era depends on human behavior, and particularly on the actions of the Jewish people. Rabbi Eliezer says that the arrival of the Messiah is conditional on the people’s repentance for their wrongdoings and their commitment to doing good deeds. In contrast, Rabbi Yehoshua argues that this era will come regardless of people’s actions. The ruling follows Rabbi Yehoshua’s view: that the redemption of the world will arrive unconditionally.

In essence, this reflects how the universe itself operates: God has declared that the world has a final destination, in which all people will recognize God and serve Him with a whole heart.

That era will arrive no matter what. And yet, God gave humanity the responsibility to assist in building that world. After all, a perfect world has no meaning if human beings weren’t partners in its creation.

Rabbi Yosef Sitruk offers a powerful analogy: Human history is like a train heading toward its final destination, with room for everyone. A person can choose to stand on the platform and watch the train pass by, as if uninvolved, or choose to board and participate actively in the journey. Either way, the train will continue on its path. That’s life. By choosing to board, you are exercising your free will — because in the end, who would rejoice in having missed the entire journey?

Every smile, every coin you give to help someone, every detail in fulfilling a mitzvah, ensures your participation in this global mission and brings the world closer to its ideal state.

Being a partner in improving the world doesn't necessarily mean joining political causes or becoming an activist for human rights. Those may be valuable, but the most meaningful way to participate in bettering the world is through personal actions.

If you want to improve the world, understand that you cannot change anyone else before you begin to change yourself. You can’t ask others to stop lying if you yourself are not truthful. You can’t fix the world if you haven’t first paused to examine your own flaws.

To understand what is needed to reach an ideal, we must first understand why we haven’t reached it yet. The Sages taught: Any generation in which the Temple is not rebuilt is considered as if it was destroyed in their time. This means the generation is still repeating the same mistakes that led to the Temple’s destruction.

We must ask: What caused the exile and the destruction of the Temple? We must identify our own mistakes and try to fix them.

The Second Temple was destroyed not because people weren’t observant, but because people didn’t treat each other with respect. The way people speak about others reveals a lot about the quality of their relationships. Gossip and slander are signs of disrespect — and they were the true causes of the Temple’s destruction.

While the visible cause was Rome’s military strength, every historical event fits into God’s divine plan. Since then, the ongoing delay of the ideal Messianic world is the result of our behavior — particularly the kind that has still not been corrected.

If you truly desire a better world, look first at fixing your own flaws, especially in your relationships with others. This does not negate the importance of being socially involved, volunteering in your community, or fighting for a more just society.