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Shabatsai Tzvi

The Jewish Mystical MessiahL. E. Levine

Faculty Forum April 2003

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Principle 12 of Maimonides’ (Rambam’s) Thirteen Principles of

Faith (1135-1204)

I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may delay, nevertheless I anticipate every day that he will come.

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Portrait sketched by an eyewitness in

Smyrna, Turkey 1666

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Primary Source

Sabbatai Sevi

The Mystical Messiah

By Gershom Scholem

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Basic Information

• Born in Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey

• August, 1, 1626 – 9th of Av, Sabbath

• Significance of day – destruction of First and Second Temples

• Tzvi – family name

• Received traditional religious education

• Ordained at about 18

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More Basic Information

• Accomplished Talmudic Scholar

• Began a life of solitude and piety

• Goal: communion with G-d

• Study of Kabbalah, mysticism

• Mystery of the Godhead

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Strange Behavior

• At 22 married first wife, divorced in short time. Same for second wife

• Manic-depressive

• Illumination and rejoicing

• Depression

• Chmielnicki massacres 1648-1649

• Ukraine 100,000 Jews killed

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Vision (Emotional Upheaval)

• In 1648 he claimed he was told he is the savior of Israel

• Claimed he was anointed

• Pronounced holy name of G-d in public

• Nobody believed him because of his strange behavior

• Denounced and rebuked

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Exile

• Sometime between 1651 and 1654 forced to leave Smyrna

• Went to Salonika, Greece

• Invited rabbis to a banquet

• Married himself to a Torah scroll

• Forced to leave Salonika

• Constantinople – excommunicated

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New Law• Claimed that since he was the Messiah

he could do things forbidden by Jewish Law

• Still suffered from his moods• Left for Jerusalem in quest of a cure• In 1664 left for Egypt and married Sarah

in March 1665• In her youth claimed she would marry

the Messiah

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Nathan of Gaza

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Nathan Ashkenazi

• Brilliant scholar in Jerusalem

• Eloquent writer

• At 20 began study of Kabbalah

• In 1664 had cataclysmic, ecstatic vision

• Lasted for 24 hours

• Saw AMIRAH as Messiah

• Prophet

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Quest for Tikun for his Soul

• Shabatsai sought out Nathan to cure him at end of winter or early spring of 1665

• Surprise cure, you are the Messiah!

• At first Shabatsai demurred

• Spent weeks together, Nathan convincing Shabatsai of his Messianic mission

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Messiah

• On night of Shavuous Nathan has vision to declare Shabatsai the Messiah

• Great messianic awakening begins

• While together Shabatsai explains to Nathan his right to transgress the Law

• Justify his strange actions

• Mystery of Godhead

• Proclaimed king and Messiah

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Movement

• Proclaimed himself Messiah in May, 1665

• Nathan his prophet

• State of manic illumination

• Charismatic personality, shining face

• Beautiful voice, regal appearance

• Nathan spreads news to world

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Belief in Him As Messiah

• Nathan creates an entire literature about Shabatsai as the Messiah

• Scholarly, based on all sorts of Kabalistic sources

• Spreads quickly throughout Egypt, Turkey, Israel, and Europe

• Repentance of the masses

• People prophesizing

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Opposition

• Jerusalem rabbis oppose him

• Excommunication

• Others were silent

• Believers – Ma’aminim; Opposers – Koferim

• Passionate beliefs on both sides

• Can kill Koferim, if necessary

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Movement Gains Wide Following

• Ottoman Empire concerned

• Business stops

• Fights amongst those on both sides of concern to government officials

• Unrest amongst Jews

• Ascetic actions – mortifications, fasting, thorns, burial in snow

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Movement Sweeps Jewish World

• Spreads from Ottoman Empire to Europe

• People go into state of ecstasy and prophesize

• Hacham Tzvi (b. 1658), father of Yaakov Emden– Women – slay demons, collect blood– Smell of Paradise, catch something in air

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Strange Actions of Shabatsai

• Mystical rings with Divine names• Abolished Fast of 17th of Tammuz in

Gaza in 1665 – day of feasting and rejoicing, Great Hallel recited

• He and others ate Chelev, forbidden fat• Blessing – mattir issurim instead of

mattir asurim “Blessed ….., who permittest that which is forbidden”

• Antinomian actions, new law

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Imprisonment

• Arrives in Constantinople: population in a fervor for weeks before

• Officials of Ottoman Empire concerned for stability

• Arrested and imprisoned in Gallipoli

• Not killed, treated well

• Held court in prison

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In Great Illumination

• Shechinah has risen from her exile• Abolished Fasts of Seventeenth of

Tammuz and Ninth of Av • Monday, 23rd of Tammuz (July 26, 1666)

declared as a “festival of lights”• Moved Yom Kippur from Saturday to a

Thursday• Has celebrated 3 festivals in one week

in 1658

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Gallipoli Prison• Bribed officials

• Hundreds of visitors from afar

• Appeared as a king, entourage

• Visit by Polish emissaries

• Reported “the glory which they had beheld, and the abundance of gold, silver, precious cloth and ornaments, royal apparel which he was wearing”

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Denounced to Turkish Authorities

• R. Nehemiah Hakohen – martyr messiah of Joseph

• Met with Shabatsai and refused to recognize him as the Messiah

• Changes in Judaism

• Charges of immorality

• Fomenting rebellion against authorities

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Sultan’s Court

• Jews were convinced that Sultan would give his crown to Shabatsai

• When questioned he denied any messianic pretensions

• Offered choice of death or conversion to Islam

• Apostatized!! (9/16/1666) Aziz Mehemed Effendi

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After the Apostasy

• Colossal blow• Some cursed him, renounced him• End of movement - no• Entire Diaspora had been infused with

a spirit that the redemption had already started

• Many people felt that it was indeed here• Their view of the world did not

correspond to reality

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“Justifying” the Apostasy

• Danger to Jews from the Turks – he saved them

• Holy sparks that are encompassed by evil

• Messiah had to descend into the evil to redeem these holy sparks for the final redemption – Esther and Purim

• Messiah comes when either all good or all bad

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Shabatsai After Apostasy

• In general did not insist that followers also convert

• A few did initially, some of these returned to Judaism

• Shabatsai vacillated back and forth• Torah scroll in one hand Qur'an in

other – requested prayer book • Turks hoped he would lead mass

conversion of Jews – did not

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Faithful Followers• Movement not over by any means• Nathan and others justify Shabatsai• In 1675 Shabatsai married daughter of

Rabbi Joseph Filosoff– Nathan’s disciple in Sabbatian Kabbalah – Highly esteemed scholar in Salonika– Deposed from rabbinate – Shabatsai: Filosoff is an incarnation of

Saul, called daughter Michal

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End of Shabatsai

• Further angered authorities by strange actions

• Banished• In 1676 experienced last great

illumination• After Passover wrote last letters and

royal proclamations• Died on September 17, 1676 at 50, Yom

Kippur

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Dealing With His Death• Demise kept secret and not widely

known until summer of 1677• Nathan “the prophet” remained silent

initially – despondent • Then formulated the Doctrine of

Occultation – did not “really” die• “Whoever thinks that he died like all

men and his spirit returned to G-d commits a grave sin.”

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Movement After Death

• Two approaches– Most followers stay within the framework

of Judaism– Appear outwardly to be “ordinary”

observant Jews, do not convert to Islam

• “Radical” Sabbatians– Whoever is as he appears to be cannot be

a “true” believer– True faith must always be concealed

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Redemption Through Sin

• Shechinah began to rise from dust

• Messianic age has begun, even though many do not see it

• Two Torahs – Torah of Creation and Torah of emanation

• Torah is still valid even though some of its laws are now suspended

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Those Who Remain Jewish

• Appear and behave externally as Jews

• Live by commandments

• Maintain belief in Shabatsai Tzvi

• Secret lives – Marranos

• Rabbi Yaakov Emden– Learned person, life devoted to Talmudic

study– Broke commandments

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Sabbatian Movement

• Still widespread

• Turkey and other oriental countries

• Salonika

• Sabbatian Rabbis – Eibeschutz

• Leaders of Jewish enlightenment

• Louis Dembitz Brandeis

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The DÖNMEH I

• 1683 – 200 to 300 families converted en masse – Salonika

• Led by Joseph Filosoff, last father-in-law of Shabatsai, Jacob Querido, brother-in-law

• Kept close contact with other Jews in Salonika

• Behaved outwardly as Muslims

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The DÖNMEH II

• Secret lives as external Muslims and internal Sabbatians

• Two Torahs, Torah of creation and Torah of emanation

• Bittulah shel Torah zehu kiyyumah - The violation of the Torah is now its true fulfillment

• New Marranos

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Antinomianism

• Eighteen Commandments

• Repeated 10 Commandments but with marked Sabbatian modifications

• Intermarriage with Turks forbidden

• No forcible conversion of “believers” who remain Jews to the “faith of the Turban”

• Sexual restrictions of Torah abolished

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Came to Attention of World

• Creation of Turkey and Greece after WWI

• Give each people its homeland – 1922-24: 1 million Greeks moved to new Greece, 350,000 Turks to Turkey

• Identity defined according to religion by Treaty of Lausanne

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Who is a Jew?

• Jews could stay put wherever they happened to live

• Salonika – large Jewish population

• Port closed on Jewish Sabbath

• 10,000 to 15,000 Donmeh did not want to move

• Not Turks but Jews – Jews who only practiced the Moslem religion

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Appeal Denied

• For last 240 years only pretended to be Moslems!

• Treaty defined Turks by religion not by ethnic origin – claim rejected by authorities

• A few Donmeh asked rabbis of Salonika to accept them back as Jews

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Request Refused

• Did not dispute the Donmeh’s contention

• Donmeh are mamzerim – bastards

• Annual orgies – Sheep Night

• Special feast night – ate mutton

• End of feast – wife swapping

• Redemption through sin!

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Jacob Frank (1726-91)

• Corrupt and degenerate • Sabbatian who took “redemption

through sin” to new heights (lows)• Totally immoral• Hated rabbinical Judaism and rabbis• Blood libel to Christian authorities• Spoke against Talmud – burnt• Followers converted to Christianity

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Vestiges Still Around

• Donmeh West

• http://www.donmeh-west.com/

• Subscribed to email list

• Questioned about violation of Shabbos

• Thrown off list!