Why Jerusalem renters are wary of the Messiah's arrival

This articles tells the story of why people who rent apartments Jerusalem put a special Messiah clause in.


In apartment contracts around the city, there are clauses stipulating what will happen to the apartment if or when the Jewish Messiah, or mashiach, comes. The owners, generally religious Jews living abroad, are concerned that he will arrive, build a third temple, and turn Israel into paradise – and they will be stuck waiting for their apartment tenants' contracts to run out before they can move back.

It made me wonder how many of these Jews are devout, their general age, and what kind of other steps they take to prepare for the Messiahs arrival.  It seems that it would take a fairly serious person to think of this and worry about it, and even more so to put a clause in.
It seems like they are ready for the Messiah, and they have no doubt they will know him when he arrives.  

But what if the apartment owner says the Messiah has arrived and the renter doesn’t agree? This particular disagreement has come up before in Jerusalem’s history, although it was about 2,000 years ago.
Opinion among the property managers and real estate lawyers was unanimous that their clients would know the Messiah when they saw him. “When he comes, we’ll know.  It’s in the Old Testament," says Mrs. Eiferman

Read it for yourself.

Why Jerusalem renters are wary of the Messiah's arrival