Introduction
Messiah is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with the holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25. In Jewish eschatology, the term came to refer to a future Jewish King from the Davidic line, who will be "anointed" with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age.¹

Jewish Moshiach and the Messianic Age¹
The Talmud extensively details the advent of the Messiah (Sanhedrin 98a, et al.) and describes a period of freedom and peace, which will be the time of ultimate goodness for the Jews and for all mankind. Throughout Jewish history Jews have compared these passages (and others) to contemporary events in search of signs of the Messiah's imminent arrival, continuing into present times. The Talmud tells many stories about the Messiah, some of which represent famous Talmudic rabbis as receiving personal visitations from Elijah the Prophet and the Messiah.

One Jewish understanding of the messiah is based on the writings of Maimonides, (also known as Rambam). His views on the messiah are discussed in his Mishneh Torah. [One of the 13 Principles listed in the Mishnah Torah] refers to the belief in the coming of the messiah.

Maimonides also writes:
"The anointed king is destined to stand up and restore the Davidic Kingdom to its antiquity, to the first sovereignty. He will build the Temple in Jerusalem and gather the strayed ones of Israel together. All laws will return in his days as they were before: Sacrificial offerings are offered and the Sabbatical years and Jubilees are kept, according to all its precepts that are mentioned in the Torah. Whoever does not believe in him, or whoever does not wait for his coming, not only does he defy the other prophets, but also the Torah and Moses our teacher. For the Torah testifies about him, thus: "And the Lord Your Hashem will return your returned ones and will show you mercy and will return and gather you... If your strayed one shall be at the edge of Heaven... And He shall bring you" etc.(Deuteronomy 30:3-5)."

"These words that are explicitly stated in the Torah, encompass and include all the words spoken by all the prophets. In the section of Torah referring to Bilam, too, it is stated, and there he prophesied about the two anointed ones: The first anointed one is David, who saved Israel from all their oppressors; and the last anointed one will stand up from among his descendants and saves Israel in the end. This is what he says (Numbers 24:17-18): "I see him but not now" - this is David; "I behold him but not near" - this is the anointed king. "A star has shot forth from Jacob" - this is David; "And a brand will rise up from Israel" - this is the anointed king. "And he will smash the edges of Moab" - This is David, as it states: "...And he struck Moab and measured them by rope" (II Samuel 8:2); "And he will uproot all Children of Seth" - this is the anointed king, of whom it is stated: "And his reign shall be from sea to sea" (Zechariah 9:10). "And Edom shall be possessed" - this is David, thus: "And Edom became David's as slaves etc." (II Samuel 8:6); "And Se'ir shall be possessed by its enemy" - this is the anointed king, thus: "And saviors shall go up Mount Zion to judge Mount Esau, and the Kingdom shall be the Lord's" (Obadiah 1:21)."

"And by the Towns of Refuge it states: "And if the Lord your Hashem will widen up your territory... you shall add on for you another three towns" etc. (Deuteronomy 19:8-9). Now this thing never happened; and the Holy One does not command in vain. But as for the words of the prophets, this matter needs no proof, as all their books are full with this issue."

"Do not imagine that the anointed king must perform miracles and signs and create new things in the world or resurrect the dead and so on. The matter is not so: For Rabbi Akiva was a great scholar of the sages of the Mishnah, and he was the assistant-warrior of the king Bar Kokhba, and claimed that he was the anointed king. He and all the Sages of his generation deemed him the anointed king, until he was killed by sins; only since he was killed, they knew that he was not. The Sages asked him neither a miracle nor a sign..."

"And if a king shall arise from among the House of David, studying Torah and indulging in commandments like his father David, according to the written and oral Torah, and he will impel all of Israel to follow it and to strengthen breaches in its observance, and will fight Hashem's [Hashem's] wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. If he succeeded and built a Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the disperesed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together, as it is stated: "For then I shall turn for the nations a clear tongue, to call all in the Name of the Lord and to worship Him with one shoulder (Zephaniah 3:9)."

"But if he did not succeed to this degree, or if he was killed, it becomes known that he is not this one of whom the Torah had promised us, and he is indeed like all proper and wholesome kings of the House of David who died. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, only set him up to try the public by him, thus: "Some of the wise men will stumble in clarifying these words, and in elucidating and interpreting when the time of the end will be, for it is not yet the designated time." (Daniel 11:35)."

The Jewish Messiah will be a man and not a demi-god or Hashem incarnate. He will come once and only once there will be no "second coming". The belief in an eventual moshiach (Moshiach ben David - Moshiach, son of David) who will be the last king and ruler of Israel is an ancient belief. There is a belief that a potential moshiach is born in every generation. Most scholars believe that it is the conduct of humankind that will determine when the moshiach will arrive.

Who Will the Moshiach Be?
(1) He must be Jewish (Deuteronomy 17:15; Numbers 24:17);
(2) He must be descended from David through Judah (Genesis 49:10) and Solomon (I Chronicles 22:9-10; Jeremiah 23:5; Ezekiel 34:23-24, 37:21-28; Isaiah 11:1-9; Jeremiah 30:7-10, 33:14-16; Hosea 3:4-5);
(3) He will be well-versed in halachah and will observe the mitzvot (Isaiah 11:2);
(4) He will be the perfect judge able to see beyond words and appearances (Isaiah 11:2-3);
(5) He will be able to vanquish evil at a word (Isaiah 11:4);
(6) He will be the king of an independent and recognized Israel (Isaiah 11:10);

What Will Happen When the Moshiach Arrives
(1) Elijah will proceeded the Moshiach and announce his arrival (Malachi 3:23-24)
(2) With the coming of the Messiah will be the physical ingathering of Judah from the four corners of the earth (Isaiah 11:12, 27:12-13, 43:5-6; Jeremiah 16:15, 23:3; Zechariah 10:6; Ezekiel 37:21-22;
(3) There will be the reestablishment of the Holy Temple (Micah 4:1; Ezekiel 37:26-28; Isaiah 33:20);
(4) There will be world-wide peace (Isaiah 2:4, 11:6; Micah 4:3; Ezekiel 39:9);
(5) In the Messianic age the entire world will believe in G-d (Isaiah 2:4, 11:9, 40:5; Zephaniah 3:9; Jeremiah 31:33; Zechariah 8:3, 14:9,16;
(6) The Jews will be sought for spiritual guidance (Zechariah 8:23);
(7) Death will cease (Isaiah 25:8) and the dead will be ressurected (Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; Ezekiel 37:12-13);
(8) The enemy dead will be buried (Ezekiel 39:12);
(9) The Nations will help the Jews materially (Isaiah 60:5,10-12, 61:6);
(10) Each Tribe of Israel will receive its inheritance (Ezekiel 47:13-14);
(11) Eternal joy and gladness will characterize the Jewish Nation (Isaiah 51:11);
(12) The Egyptian River will run dry (Isaiah 11:15);
(13) Trees will yield new fruit monthly in Israel (Ezekiel 47:12);
(14) The nations will recognize the wrongs they did to Israel (Isaiah 52:13-53:12);
(15) Israel will be perfect in the practice of Torah (Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 31:31-33);
(16) All of Israel will be prophets (Joel 3:1-2);
(17) The Messiah will be universally recognized (Isaiah 11:10)

This is only a partial list of the requirements.