Wait—Moshiach Has to Be Crowned KING First?! 🤴 The Rambam’s Shocking Truth They Never Told You

Baruch Hashem

Who Is the King — and Who Is the Moshiach?

Every generation asks: what does it truly mean to crown the King Moshiach?

Is it a mystical idea, a symbol of spiritual perfection — or a real, halachic event rooted in Torah law?

The Rambam, the great codifier of Jewish law, gives us the clearest roadmap. He teaches that before one can be called Moshiach, he must first be a King — a physical, Davidic ruler accepted by the people of Israel and anointed according to halacha.

Only after fulfilling certain concrete missions — defeating Israel’s enemies, rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash, and gathering the exiles — can he be confirmed as Moshiach b’vadai, the definite redeemer.

But why does the Rambam emphasize the natural and legal path over mystical interpretations?

And how does this affect the way we understand the mitzvah of appointing a king — a commandment still relevant in the messianic process today?

The following study explores, according to Rambam and classic sources, how the concept of Moshiach is grounded first and foremost in malchut — real kingship, physical action, and the unshakable truth of Torah law.

1 — First: the Torah mitzvah to appoint (crown/anoint) a king — a physical command

The Torah itself commands appointing a king (Devarim/Deut. 17:15–20). The halakhic consequence: establishing a monarchy (a Jewish king from Israel) is a commanded institution in the Written and Oral Law. Rambam codifies this as a real, positive communal mitzvah — to appoint a king and to treat him as king — with concrete halakhic rules (who may be king, his obligations, limits on his power, etc.).

Primary Rambam location (appointment/crowning):

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot (Laws of Kings and Wars), ch. 1 (see esp. ch. 1 halakhot 1–5): discusses the mitzvah to appoint a king, the qualifications, and the physical act (instating, crowning) of the king.

— The king is installed (נמלך) and given the regalia; this is a real, physical appointment — not merely a spiritual title.

Short plain point: in Jewish law the physical mitzvah connected with monarchy is to anoint/crown and install a king from Israel (with rules), so “being king” is first a halakhic, physical reality.

2 — Rambam: “First a King; only after success he is certainly the Moshiach”

Rambam’s classic formulation shows the order you described exactly: someone becomes a Jewish king (מֶלֶךְ) by being of David’s line and being installed as king; thereafter, if he fulfills certain concrete historical achievements, he is the מָשִׁיחַ.

Key Rambam statements (the clearest, most often quoted):

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot, ch. 11–12:
- Hilchot Melachim 11:1 (and following): Rambam gives the description of the possible Mashiach: “If a king will arise from the house of David, and he will engage in the study of Torah and keep the commandments as it is written, and he will compel all Israel to walk in the way of the Torah, and he will fight the wars of God — if he is successful in restoring the kingship of David, building the Temple and gathering the dispersed of Israel, then he is the Messiah.” (paraphrase; see Rambam MT, Melachim 11:1 and 12:1–5 for exact wording)
- Hilchot Melachim 12:1–5: Rambam is explicit: if the king succeeds in these concrete tasks — defeats the enemies, rebuilds the Beit HaMikdash, reinstitutes the sacrificial service, gathers the exiles — then he is surely the Mashiach. If he fails to accomplish these things, he is not the Mashiach.

Two formal halakhic consequences Rambam draws:

The status of Mashiach is not simply claim or prophecy; it requires results: success in the wars of Israel, rebuilding the Temple, restoring service — i.e., public, physical accomplishments.
Before those accomplishments, he is a king; only upon accomplishing those things do we call him the Mashiach with certainty.

That is precisely the order you stated: first a Jewish king (נמלך — appointed/anointed), then, if successful in the specified messianic tasks, he is the מָשִׁיחַ.

3 — Why Rambam insists on concrete / physical criteria (and not “purely spiritual” readings)

Rambam repeatedly insists on a natural, historical, rational approach to messianic expectations:

• Literal, normative halakha is primary. Rambam codifies the messianic expectation as law (Hilchot Melachim) — not primarily as parable or inner mystical state. He treats the Messianic era as a real-world state of affairs that can be tested by results (restoration of sovereignty, rebuilding the Temple, the sacrificial cultus restored, ingathering of exiles).

• Guard against misplaced allegory: Rambam warns against elevating imaginative, allegorical readings to replace the plain sense of the Torah’s promises. For Rambam, some midrashic and kabbalistic language may have inner meanings, but the halakhic, literal expectations remain binding.

• On miracles: Rambam is famously rationalist; he does not require miracles from Mashiach for validation. The standard is success in the affairs of state (he may succeed by normal means). Thus Rambam avoids making the Mashiach a purely supernatural figure — he is a human king whose achievements make him the Mashiach.

(Compare: Ramban and many mystics stress more miraculous or supernatural elements of the redemption; Rambam tends to naturalize and legalize the expectation.)

4 - Torah study and halakha must be treated as real truth:

we build from the straightforward truth of Torah and the Oral Law;

that is the basis for believing in the institution of kingship and the concrete mitzvot connected to it (including the physical mitzvah to crown a king).

Rambam’s stance on these themes:

Torah’s truth and literal halakha are foundational. Rambam’s entire Mishneh Torah proceeds from the presumption that the Torah and Oral Law are binding, real, and normative. Study presumes the Torah’s truths (he codifies the law as law).
Providence and natural order: Rambam (especially in Moreh Nevukhim — The Guide of the Perplexed) teaches that God’s governance of the world follows rational principles; miracles and providence are not against reason, but God’s involvement is not mere “chance.”
Rambam distinguishes kinds of providence (closer providence for intellectual beings) — but he rejects naïve notions of random, meaningless events.
The practical result: the messianic process is part of history and providence — not accidental.

So the theological upshot you want stated:

we must base Torah study and messianic expectation first on the basic truth of Torah and halakha — that the Torah’s plain meaning and its mitzvot (including the appointment/crowning of a king) are real. Rambam insists on that as the starting point.

5 — The physical mitzvah for Moshiach: crowning a king

Two separate halakhic facts:

The Torah commands a king (Deut. 17). Rambam codifies the laws of monarchy: how a king is appointed and what he must do (Hilchot Melachim ch. 1, and throughout).
Rambam’s messianic test: a Davidic king who is crowned and then achieves the national restoration is the Moshiach. So in practice the physical mitzvah connected to bringing Moshiach into office is to anoint/crown and establish the Davidic king. The halakhic rituals and communal acceptance that create a functioning kingship are part of the process.

In short: the “physical mitzvah” you mentioned—the crown/installation of a king—comes first and is an essential, practical halachic step.

6 — Rambam’s authority and reception

Rambam codified his rulings in the Mishneh Torah and treated his formulations as halakhic rulings; his definition of Mashiach (Hilchot Melachim 11–12) became the standard normative summary for much of later halakhic literature.
Many rishonim and acharonim follow Rambam’s plain, legal formulation. At the same time, other major medieval authorities (Ramban/Nachmanides, and later Kabbalists, Chassidic masters) emphasize additional, more miraculous or spiritual aspects of the Messianic process (and sometimes criticize a purely “naturalist” reading). But Rambam’s definitions are the backbone of halakhic treatment of the subject in mainstream codification and remain the dominant legal framing in later halakha.

7 — Short list of primary sources for study (look these up in any edition)

Deuteronomy 17:15–20 (Torah command to appoint a king).
Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot (Laws of Kings and Wars):

— ch. 1: the mitzvah to appoint a king, qualifications, installation/crowning.

— ch. 11–12: Rambam’s full definition of Mashiach — the “king first, then Mashiach if successful” language and conditions. Read 11:1 and 12:1–5 carefully.
Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a (and related sugiyot) — classical rabbinic discussion of Moshiach, which Rambam codifies and interprets legally.
Rambam, Moreh Nevukhim (Guide of the Perplexed) — his philosophical views about prophecy, providence, and the nature of miracles; useful for understanding why Rambam frames Mashiach in natural-historical terms.
Ramban (Nachmanides) — his critique (especially in his commentary to the Torah and letters) of Rambam’s naturalist approach: useful to see the alternative, more miraculous/spiritual emphasis.

8 — Final summary (short and practical)

Jewish law commands appointing a king (a physical mitzvah); Rambam codifies this (Hilchot Melachim ch. 1).
Rambam: a Davidic king who studies Torah and leads Israel may be king; if he succeeds in concrete tasks (defeat enemies, restore the Temple service, gather the exiles, re-establish Torah-rule), then he is the Moshiach (Hilchot Melachim ch. 11–12). So — king first, Mashiach by successful action.
Rambam insists on a real, historical, halakhic standard (not only spiritual/allegorical). This preserves a halakhic test: success in rebuilding Jewish national-religious life is the proof.
Other authorities (Ramban, kabbalists) add layers of miraculous, prophetic, or spiritual expectation — but Rambam’s legal formulation remains central in halakha.