וּתְשׁוּבָה וּתְפִלָּה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רֹעַ הַגְּזֵרָה.

"But Repentance, Prayer, and Charity cancel the evil decree.”�Unetaneh Tokef

“When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, ‘Who is this?’ The multitudes said, ‘This is the prophet, Yeshua, from Nazareth of Galilee.”�Matthew 21:10-11

“Search, and see that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee!”�John 7:52

Yonah HaNavi

“Jonah b. Amittai was one of those who came up for the festivals [to Jerusalem], and he came in for the rejoicing of bet ha’shoebah, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.”

Jerusalem Talmud, Sukkah I:4, Neusner Edition

“Now, on the last and greatest day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.” But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive…”

John 7:37-39

“According to the midrash (Shocher Tov 26:7), Yonah was the son of the widow in Tzarfat, who had died and had Eliyahu HaNavi bring him back to life (see Kings I, chapter 17). This intimate spiritual connection between Yonah and Eliyahu marked the beginning of Yonah’s reception of the spiritual potential to manifest Mashiach ben Yosef in his lifetime; for Eliyahu HaNavi was, and is, among those most connected to the qualities of Mashiach ben Yosef (see Shaar HaGilgulim (הקדמה לב) and Kol HaTor 2:71). In addition to the deep spiritual connection that Yonah and Eliyahu shared, as a result of Eliyahu resurrecting him, Yonah was also his disciple (Pirkei Rabbeinu HaKadosh, Likkutim 3) and is even eventually described as being equal to him (Mishnas R’ Eliezer 8). Elisha, who succeeded Eliyahu and continued his spiritual mission, was a contemporary and teacher of Yonah, who continued, as a result, to be privy to the reception of the spiritual the qualities of Mashiach ben Yosef, from Elisha, who had received them from Eliyahu. This is also the significance of the midrash which says that Elisha “anointed” Yonah (Mishnas R’ Eliezer 8) which expressed that Elisha “anointed” him as “Mashiach ben Yosef”.”

R’ Daniel Krentzman, Yonah as MBY [5]

“He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of HaShem, the G-d of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Yonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.”�2 Kings 14:25

“The commandment to expand the borders is the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef as God had told the prophet Jonah, who was on the level of Mashiach ben Yosef, to restore the border of Israel (II Kings 14:25).”�Kol HaTor 2.36

A Map of the Galilee. Derivative work of Original by Eric Gaba and NordNordWesCC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

“…In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time, he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined…”

Isaiah 9:1-3, cf. Matthew 2:21, 4:13

“[There] will be the appearance in Upper Galilee of a man from among the descendants of Joseph, around whom there will gather individuals from among the Jewish nation. This man will go to Jerusalem after its seizure by the Romans and stay in it for a certain length of time. Then they will be surprised by a man named Armilus, who will wage war against them and conquer the city and subject its inhabitants to massacre, captivity, and disgrace. Included among those that will be slain will be that man from among the descendants of Joseph…As a result of what has happened to them, many will desert their faith, only those purified remaining. To these Elijah, the prophet will manifest himself, and thus the redemption will come…only a few from among the Jewish nation – not many – will gather about him…also that the man at the head of the Jewish nation will be among the slain and that people will weep over him and bewail him is attested by the Scriptural statement: And they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son (Zech 12:10)…”

“Next let me say that in either case – I mean whether we do not repent and the events associated with the Messiah descended from Joseph come to pass, or we do repent and are able to dispense with them – the Messiah descended from David will manifest himself to us suddenly. Should there be, however, a Messiah descended from Joseph who would precede him, he would serve as a herald and as one who puts the nation in proper condition and clears the way as Scripture says: “Behold I send my messenger, and he shall clear the way before me (Mal 3:1). Or he might be compared to one who purges with fire those members of the nation who have committed grave sins, or to one who washes with lye those of its constituents who have been guilty of slight infractions, as Scripture remarks immediately thereafter: “For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap.” (Malachi 3:2)”

Saadia Gaon, Emunot v’Deot, Book of Beliefs and Opinions, translated by Samuel Rosenblatt, Yale University Press, pgs. 301-304

“We have found that the first Mashiach will be from the tribe of Ephraim who will nevertheless die while revealing himself; he will be followed by the Mashiach descended from David. When the Torah speaks of G-d taking, “two birds which are pure,” these words are similes for the two kinds of Meshichim….the words “to slay the one bird” in this context are an allusion to the death of the first Mashiach… he will die as an atonement for the sins of the people.”

Rabbi Chayim ben Attar, Ohr HaChayim, translation by Eliyahu Munk, Volume 5, pg. 1107

“The glory of his majesty” refers to the Messiah when he shall reveal himself in the land of Galilee; for in this part of the Holy Land the desolation first began, and therefore he will manifest himself there first . . . and when the Messiah shall have manifested himself, a star shall come forth from the East variegated in hue and shining brilliantly…”�Zohar, Volume II, Shemot 7b, Soncino Press Edition, pg. 21

“The dove is a fitting symbol for the Jewish People and the neshamah, since it is the only bird that does not struggle when it is about to be slaughtered. Like the dove, the Jewish people give up their lives without a struggle in order to sanctify the Name of God.”�The Book of Yonah: Journey of the Soul, from the Vilna Gaon’s Aderes Eliyahu, Rabbi Moshe Schapiro, Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Pg. 10

“A wind lifted me up between heaven and earth and carried me to the great city Nineveh, city of blood. . . [HaShem] said to me, ‘Go to the “house of filth” near the market district,’ and I went just as he had commanded me. He said to me, ‘Turn this way,’ and so I turned. He touched me, and then I saw a man (who was) despicable, broken down, and in pain. That despicable man said to me: ‘Zerubbabel!? What business do you have here? Who has brought you here?’ I responded and said: ‘A wind from the Lord lifted me up and carried me to this place.’ He said to me: ‘Do not be afraid, for you have been brought here in order that He might show you (and then you, in turn, might inform the people of Israel about everything which you see).’ When I heard his words, I was consoled and regained my self-composure. I asked him, ‘Sir, what is the name of this place?’ He said to me, ‘This is mighty Rome, wherein I am imprisoned.’ I said to him, ‘Who then are you? What is your name? What do you seek here? What are you doing in this place?’

“He said to me, ‘I am the Messiah of the Lord, the son of Hezekiah confined in prison until the time of the End.’ When I heard this, I was silent, and I hid my face from him. His anger burned within him, and when I looked at him (again), I became frightened. He said to me, ‘Come nearer to me,’ and as he spoke to me, my limbs quaked, and he reached out his hand and steadied me. ‘Don’t be frightened,’ he said, ‘and let your mind show no fear.’ He encouraged me and said: ‘Why did you become silent and hide your face from me?’ I said to him: ‘Because you said, “I am the servant of the Lord, His Messiah, and ‘the light of Israel’ (2 Sam 21:17).”’ Suddenly he appeared like a strong young man, handsome and adorned.”

Sefer Zerubavel, translated by John C. Reeves, Trajectories in Near Eastern Apocalyptic, A Postrabbinic Jewish Apocalypse Reader [6]

“Who has seen the brilliant radiance of that Torah scroll, all luminous light? Its letters, flames of fire in four colors of the supernal world….No one can endure them except the Messiah. ..a crown of pure gold – splendid, precious, hidden invisible now; inlaid and embedded with all kinds of gems – destined to be placed on the head of King Messiah when he ascends that tower…At the moment he begins to read, another aperture will open, from which will emerge the dove sent by Noah in days of the Flood, as is written: ‘He sent out the dove’ (Gen 8:8) – the renowned one, which the ancients did not mention and whose identity they did not know ולא מלילו בה קדמאי ולא ידעו מה היא but from here she went forth and fulfilled her mission. . . no one knew where she had gone – but she returned to her place…And she will take the crown in her mouth and place it upon the head of King Messiah.”

Zohar 3:164b, Rav Metivta, translated by Daniel C. Matt, Pritzker Edition, Volume 9, pg. 83

וּתְשׁוּבָה וּתְפִלָּה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רֹעַ הַגְּזֵרָה.

"But Repentance, Prayer, and Charity cancel the evil decree.”�Unetaneh Tokef