Rejection of Bar Kokhba as the Messiah
Bar Koziba ruled for two and a half years. He said to the rabbis, “I am the Messiah.” They said to him, “About the Messiah, it is written that he smells and judges.” Let us see if he is able to smell and judge. When they saw that he does not smell and judge, they killed him.
Translated by Carol Bakhos.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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