Moshiach for the Intellectual
The whole world will become intellectualized.
There won’t be much else to do.
There’ll be no worries (you’re not used to that!), no trouble to get into, and how much can material leisure satisfy?
Here we start to sense what the Messianic Age is really all about:
What will be discovered?
Until now, our collective research has only scratched the surface of science, social theories, and other philosophies. Their full depth will be revealed entirely in the Messianic Age. How?
Through the Torah. The Torah is the “program” of the world, and the deep levels of the Torah that will be revealed in the Messianic Age, will directly impact secular knowledge. There will be so much more to know.
And you will not stay behind...
How will we handle it all?
The eruption of wisdom mentioned above will be matched by a worldwide boost in IQ, so we will have the right tools to absorb this information in all its depth:
Jews
The Jewish People will be great scholars and know the hidden matters, and will achieve knowledge of their Creator to the utmost human capacity, as it says (Isaiah 11:9), “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea”.” (Maimonides, end of his Mishneh Torah)
The reference to “great scholars” is not only Torah scholarship (depicted by “knowledge of their Creator”), but also in general knowledge.
Everyone knows how much Jews have contributed to philosophy and sciences over the ages. However that was vastly through their secular minds.
Although many Sages also had their fingers in general knowledge, their main occupation was in Jewish Law and theory. Exceptions to that are the astrology and astronomy books complied by the Sages in the times of the prophets albeit these books were lost.
The novelty in Messianic Times will be that such exceptions will be the norm.
Gentiles
The Gentiles will follow the light of the Jews and their paths of wisdom (Isaiah 60:3). They will no longer need to work hard to feed themselves, for the earth will yield as never before. They will thus have ample time to fulfill their increased potential.
Animals
Wild animals will become tame and will no longer devour one another, as all animals will revert to their original vegetarian diet. What will cause them to “downgrade”? Their lust will be weakened in inverse proportion to their increased wisdom.
Wisdom in animals is not such a novelty: Our Sages call the fox the “smartest” of all animals, and the Ox also “knows” (Isaiah 1:3). It can be further and naturally attributed to an “overflowing” effect of the increase in human knowledge, for example the donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair that would not eat untithed barley. In addition, the improved quality of earthly produce will not be a bad alternative to their former carnivorous diet.
Vegetation
Produce will grow larger, but the real wonder will be that trees will have a mind of their own. One purpose of this upgrade is to warn humans against committing accidental errors.
Inanimate Objects
Apparently lifeless objects will come to life and have knowledge of their own: “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of G-d” (Isaiah 11:9) – the earth itself. Moreover, physical objects will even be able to speak: “For a stone shall cry from the wall, and a chip shall answer it from a beam.” (Habakkuk 2:11)
People are affected by the food they eat. This is one of the reasons given for the fact that the kosher dietary laws only allow a Jew to eat tender (domesticated, vegetarian) animals.
Not only humans, but all the above categories receive their nourishment from the earth, and if the earth becomes infused with intellect, it is little wonder that everything else will get an IQ boost!
Now what?
So intellectual pursuits will be more popular. After all, that’s the whole purpose of the blessings for material prosperity and peace blessings. But is that what it’s all about?
Actually yes. But it’s more about what we are going to know and understand...
The TOrah is the "Program of the world: Zohar Vol 2 p161.
Astrology and Astronomy books written by the Sages of Israel during the First Temple: Mishneh Torah, Laws of New Moon, 17:24.
People will not need to work hard as the Earth will yield like never before: Maimonides,
in the introduction to his commentary on Mishnayot, Sanhedrin Ch 10.
People will have ample time to know G-d: Maimonides, ibid: "The occupation of the ENTIRE world will only be to know G-d."
Wild animal will become tame: Leviticus 26:6.
Animals will revert to vegetarian diets: Ramban on Leviticus 26:6 and also see Abarbanel on Isaiah 11.
Increased wisdom by animals will reduce their lust for prey: Sefer Halikutim, term "לעתיד לבא" p645.
The fox is the smartest of all animals: Talmud, Berachot 61b.
donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair that would not eat untithed barley: Talmud Chulin 7b.
The improved quality of early produce will be good supplement for meat-eating animals: Maimonides, in his famous letter regarding the Resurrection of the Dead.
Trees will warn against accidents: See Midrash Tehillim Ch 73 at the end, for a fig that will scream to a Jew about to partake from it on Shabbat.
The earth itself will be filled with the knowledge of G-d: Sefer Hamaamarim Melukat Vol 2 p45.
Little wonder everything also gets an IQ boost when the earth does: Also note all the above changes, which are summarized in Chapter 11 of Isaiah, end off with this reason-statement: "FOR the earth be filled with the knowledge of G-d."
The whole purpose of the future material and peace blessings is to enable intellectual pursuits: Maimonides, Laws of Repentance 9:2.