Zealot-turned-messenger who roams the earth, a placeless stranger at many tables; he’s bringing mashiach! It’s Eliyahu Ha’navi!
He’s a famously genderqueer character who speaks the fire in his heart and struggles to listen to the still small voice, which insists on speaking to him. Eliyahu HaNavi appears in Talmudic texts not only as the preamble to mashiach, but also disguised in many forms. He appears in rabbinic literature as a beggar, as an old woman. He wears many outfits: rags and skirts, undercuts and makeup. We meet Eliyahu in the darkest, most abandoned places. He reminds us that mashiach is just around the corner, olam habah just a little closer, if only we’d work to bring it.
Art by @rena.yehuda
