Sabbatai Ṣevi: The Mystical Messiah, 1626–1676 (Bollingen Series Book 208)

Gershom Scholem stands out among modern thinkers for the richness and power of his historical imagination. A work widely esteemed as his magnum opus, __Sabbatai Ṣevi__ offers a vividly detailed account of the only messianic movement ever to engulf the entire Jewish world. Sabbatai Ṣevi was an obscure kabbalist rabbi of seventeenth-century Turkey who aroused a fervent following that spread over the Jewish world after he declared himself to be the Messiah. The movement suffered a severe blow when Ṣevi was forced to convert to Islam, but a clandestine sect survived. A monumental and revisionary work of Jewish historiography, __Sabbatai Ṣevi__ details Ṣevi's rise to prominence and stands out for its combination of philological and empirical authority and passion. This edition contains a new introduction by Yaacob Dweck that explains the scholarly importance of Scholem's work to a new generation of readers. LIST OF PLATES TABLE OF TRANSLITERATION PREFACE INTRODUCTION TO THE PRINCETION CLASSICS EDITION 1. THE BACKGROUND OF THE SABBATIAN MOVEMENT I Historical and sociological explanations of the Sabbatian movement and their deficiencies II Messianism in Jewish history and its two conflicting tendencies: the catastrophic-utopian and the rationalistic forms III The messianic idea in the kabbalah IV Lurianic kabbalah and its myth of exile and redemption V The historical role and social significance of Lurianic kabbalah VI The spread of Lurianic kabbalah until 1665 VII Kabbalism in Poland. The messianic expectations for the year 1648. Contemporary reactions to the great massacres of that year VIII Utopian messianism in Christianity: chiliasm and millenarian movements 2. THE BEGINNINGS OF SABBATAI SEVI ( 1626- 1664) I Sabbatai’s origins and youth. His kabbalistic studies and his “Mystery of the Godhead” II The sickness of Sabbatai Sevi: its nature and significance III Sabbatai’s first “manifestation” and his banishment from Smyrna IV His wanderings in Turkey. Abraham Yakhini and David Habillo V Sabbatai Sevi in Jerusalem VI His sojourn in Jerusalem and mission to Egypt. His marriage to Sarah (1664-65) 3. THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MOVEMENT IN PALESTINE ( 1665) I Abraham Nathan Ashkenazi and his prophetic experience. Sabbatai’s return from Egypt to Gaza. The great prophetic revelation and messianic illumination in May, 1665 II The apocalypse The Vision of R. Abraham III Sabbatai Sevi in Gaza and his excommunication by the rabbis of Jerusalem IV Sabbatai’s travels through Safed and Aleppo to Smyrna. The messianic agitation in Gaza after Sabbatai’s departure V The prophet Nathan’s letter to the chelebi Raphael Joseph in Egypt. Significance of the letter VI Nathan’s penitential tracts VII Nathan’s Treatise on the Dragons and its principal doctrines 4.THE MOVEMENT UP TO SABBATAI’S IMPRISONMENT IN GALLIPOLI ( 1665- 1666) I The spread of the first reports from Gaza and Egypt. The silence of the opponents II Rumors of conquests by the armies of the TenTribes in Persia, Arabia, and North Africa III The movement in Palestine after Sabbatai’s departure (from autumn, 1665, to early spring, 1666) IV The movement in Smyrna until December, 1665 V Sabbatai gains control over the community in Smyrna. The events of December, 1665 VI Mass prophecy, and the appointment of kings by the messiah. Sabbatai’s departure for Constantinople VII The movement in Constantinople. The prophet Moses Suriel (or Saraval). Sabbatai’s imprisonment in Constantinople (February- April, 1666) and his removal to Gallipoli 5. THE MOVEMENT IN EUROPE ( 1666) I Conditions and factors making for the success and spread of the movement. General description of the penitential awakening II Italy. Allegations regarding a “ reign of terror” in the Italian communities III Amsterdam IV The Jewish communities in the German lands V Hamburg. Jacob Sasportas and his Sisath Nobel Sevi. Moses Abudiente and his Fin de los Dias VI Poland 6 THE MOVEMENT IN THE EAST AND THE CENTER IN G ALLIPOLI U N T IL SABBATAFS APOSTASY ( 1666) I Sabbatai Sevi in Gallipoli (“ the Tower of Strength” ) during the months May-July, 1666 II New festivals and the abolition of traditional fasts. The visit of the Polish emissaries III The spread of the movement in Turkey, Egypt, and North Africa. Abraham Miguel Cardozo IV The movement in Yemen V Nehemiah Kohen and his visit to Sabbatai Sevi VI Complaints to the Turkish authorities regarding an alleged Jewish revolt. Sabbatai’s appearance before the sultan and his apostasy in September, 1666 7. AFTER THE APOSTASY ( 1667- 1668) I The effects of the apostasy on believers and unbelievers. The crisis of faith II The rabbis of Constantinople attempt to calm the public III Nathan’s departure from Palestine. Steps by the rabbis of Constantinople against Nathan and the Sabbatian believers IV Nathan’s travels in Asia Minor and his attempts to meet Sabbatai in Adrianople. Sabbatai Sevi during 1667. Nathan’s travels in Greece V “Believers” and “ infidels” after the apostasy in Europe, especially in Italy and Holland VI Nathan’s journey to Italy in 1668. His examination by the rabbinic court at Venice and his mystical mission to Rome. His return to the Balkans and residence in Kastoria VII The prophet Sabbatai Raphael and his travels in Europe VIII The theology of the Sabbatian believers after the apostasy IX The doctrine of the apostate messiah and of the significance of the Law according to the writings of Nathan of Gaza X The letter Magen Abraham by Abraham Miguel Cardozo 8. THE LAST YEARS OF SABBATAI SEVI(1668-1676) I The consolidation of the Sabbatian group in Adrianople II The revelations of the year 1668 and the tract The Testimony of the Faith. Sabbatai Sevi and his circle until 1672 III The doctrines of the Sabbatian circle. Israel Hazzan’s commentary on the Psalms IV The imprisonment and trial of Sabbatai Sevi in 1672 V Sabbatai’s banishment to Dulcigno. The messianic revival in the years 1674-75 in Amsterdam and in North Africa VI Sabbatai’s last years. His “Mystery of the Godhead” and the tract The Mystery of the Faith VII The deaths of Sabbatai and of the prophet Nathan BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX A SURVEY of Jewish history during the period immediately preceding the outbreak of Sabbatian messianism would unduly surpass the limits of the present study.