On the eve of the Sabbath and Festivals a hymn is regularly sung in all Synagogues and Jewish homes, called ‘Yigdal’ (Magnificat). It contains in poetic form thirteen principles of the Jewish faith, originally formulated in the twelfth century by Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher who had such a profound influence on his contemporaries (such as Thomas Aquinas), and among them there is a verse which runs, ‘He will send our Anointed (Messiah) at the end of days to redeem them that wait for the end—his salvation'.

That is one of many allusions to the coming of the Messiah in the Hebrew Prayer-book in general use today. Some of them actually mention his descent, as the phrase in the Festival Amidah: ‘May our remembrance rise and come and be accepted before thee … together with the remembrance of Messiah, the son of David'.