The novel alludes to the hopes for redemption in the stories ofthe Jewish tradition: the journey into the promised land, thecomingoftheMessiah, the renewal ofthe covenant between God and his chosen people.
In Christian commentaries on the Hebrew Scriptures, it is stressed that Sukkot was associated with the advent oftheMessiah and with thecomingof all nations to worship in Jerusalem.
Montazeri, Bayat, San'ei, Borujerdi and Zanjani, are especially annoyed at Mr. Ahmadinejad's claim of being in contact with the "Hidden Imam" a messiah-like figure of Shiism whose second coming is supposed to occur at the end of times.