Eschatology

Maʿoz Tzur ends with a request in two variants: God should either raise up the shepherd of the seven or the seven shepherds. These two versions point to different biblical verses and reflect divergent perspectives on what should happen at the end of days.

The book of Zechariah envisions a time when all the nations will come to the Temple in Jerusalem on Sukkot. The festival’s eschatological significance in the Second Temple period is hinted at in the book of Enoch, in the book of Revelation, and on coins minted during the great rebellion and the Bar Kochba rebellion.

Psalm 47 makes no explicit mention of Rosh Hashana. Its reference to the shofar and royal imagery point not to God’s judgment of Israel’s deeds, but to the post-exilic hope that God vindicate Israel and reign over all the earth.

Maʿoz Tzur is an intense anti-Christian text reflecting the mood and experience of Ashkenazi Jews during the Crusades, when dozens of Jewish communities were slaughtered in the name of the cross.