Sabbatai Zevi - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatai_Zevi Sabbatai Zevi August 1, 1626 – c. September ; יִבְציַתְבַּשׁ :Sabbatai Zevi (Hebrew 17, 1676),[1] also spelled Shabbetai Ẓevi , Shabbeṯāy Ṣeḇī , Shabsai Tzvi, and Sabetay Sevi in Turkish, was a Sephardic ordained rabbi from Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey).[2][3] A kabbalist of Romaniote origin,[4] Zevi, who was active throughout the Ottoman Empire, claimed to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. He was the founder of the Sabbatean movement, whose followers subsequently were to be known as Dönmeh "converts" or crypto-Jews.[5] In February 1666, upon arriving in Constantinople, Sabbatai was imprisoned on the order of the grand vizier Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha; in September of that same year, after being moved from different prisons around the capital to Adrianople (the imperial court's seat) for judgment on accusations of fomenting sedition, Sabbatai was given by the Grand Vizier, in the name of Illustration of Sabbatai Tzvi from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed IV, the choice of 1906 (Joods Historisch Museum) either facing death by some type of ordeal, or of converting to Islam. Sabbatai seems to have chosen the latter by donning from then on a turban. He was then also rewarded by the heads of the Ottoman state with a generous pension for his compliance with their political and religious plans.[6] Some of his followers also converted to Islam—about 300 families who were known as Dönmeh, "converts".[7] Subsequently, he was banished twice by the Ottomans, first to Constantinople, and, when he was discovered singing Psalms with the Jews, to a small town known today as Ulcinj in present-day Montenegro. He later died in isolation.[8][9] Contents Early life and education Personal history Influence of English millenarianism Claims of messiahship In Salonica, Cairo, and Jerusalem Marriage to Sarah Nathan of Gaza Proclaimed messiah Spread of his influence In Constantinople At Abydos (Migdal Oz) 1 of 15 06/25/2021, 02:58 Sabbatai Zevi - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatai_Zevi Nehemiah ha-Kohen Conversion to Islam Disillusion Last Years Death Modern followers See also Notes Bibliography References Further reading External links Early life and education Sabbatai Zevi was born in the Ottoman city of Smyrna, supposedly on Tisha B'Av 1626, the holy day of mourning. In Hebrew Sabbatai means Saturn, and in Jewish tradition "The reign of Sabbatai", the highest planet, was often linked to the advent of the Messiah.[10] Zevi's family were Romaniote Jews from Patras; his father, Mordecai, was a poultry dealer in the Morea. During the war between Turkey and Venice, Smyrna became the center of Levantine trade. Mordecai became the Smyrna agent of an English trading house and managed to achieve some wealth in this role.[9] In accordance with the prevailing Jewish custom of the time, Sabbatai's father had him study the Talmud. He attended a yeshiva under the rabbi of Smyrna, Joseph Escapa. Studies in halakha, or Jewish law, did not appeal to him, but apparently Zevi did attain proficiency in the Talmud. On the other hand, he was fascinated by mysticism and the kabbalah, as influenced by Isaac Luria. He found the practical Kabbalah, with its asceticism, through which its devotees claimed to be able to communicate with God and the angels, to predict the future and to perform all sorts of miracles, especially appealing.[9] He read the Zohar, in addition to Luria's writings, and practiced asceticism and purification exercises called tikkunim.[3] Personal history Influence of English millenarianism During the first half of the 17th century, millenarian ideas of the approach of the Messianic time were popular. They included ideas of the redemption of the Jews and their return to the land of Israel, with independent sovereignty. The apocalyptic year was identified by Christian authors as 1666 and millenarianism was widespread in England. This belief was so prevalent that Manasseh ben Israel, in his letter to Oliver Cromwell and the Rump Parliament, appealed to it as a reason to re-admit Jews into England, saying, "[T]he opinions of many Christians and mine do concur herein, that we both believe that the restoring time of our Nation into their native country is very near at hand."[11] 2 of 15 06/25/2021, 02:58 Sabbatai Zevi - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatai_Zevi Besides being involved in other commercial activities, Sabbatai's father was the agent for an English trading house in Smyrna and must have had some business contact with English people. Sabbatai could have learned something about these Western millenarian expectations at his father's house.[12] The more precise extensions of the overall combined influence of English/Dutch Calvinist millenarianism within the messianic movement that developed around Zevi's activities is still being studied and assessed by scholars.[13] Claims of messiahship Apart from this general Messianic belief, there was another computation, based on an interpreted passage in the Zohar (a famous Jewish mystical text), and particularly popular among the Jews, according to which the year 1648 was to be the year of Israel's redemption by their long-awaited Jewish Messiah.[9] At age 22 in 1648, Sabbatai started declaring to his followers in Smyrna that he was the true Messianic redeemer. In order to prove this claim he started to pronounce the Tetragrammaton, an act which Judaism emphatically prohibited to all but the Jewish high priest in the Temple in Jerusalem on the Day of Atonement. For scholars acquainted with rabbinical, and kabbalistic literature, the act was highly symbolic. He would also claim that he could fly, but explained to his beholders that he couldn't do so in public because they were 'not worthy enough' to witness the sight. So too, he declared regularly that he was having various visions of God.[14] He revealed his Messiahship early on to Isaac Silveyra and Moses Pinheiro, the latter a brother-in-law of the Italian rabbi and kabbalist Joseph Ergas.[9] However, at this point he was still relatively young to be thought of as an accepted and established rabbinic authority; and his influence in the local community was not widespread. Even though Sabbatai had led the pious life of a mystic in Smyrna for several years, the older and more established rabbinic leadership was still suspicious of his activities. The local college of rabbis, headed by his teacher, Joseph Escapa, kept a watchful eye on him. When his Messianic pretensions became too bold, they put him and his followers under cherem, a type of excommunication in Judaism.[9] About the year 1651 (according to others, 1654), the rabbis banished Sabbatai and his disciples from Smyrna. It is not certain where he went from there. By 1658, he was in Constantinople, where he met a preacher, Abraham Yachini (a disciple of Joseph di Trani), who confirmed Sabbatai's messianic mission. Yachini is said to have forged a manuscript in archaic characters which, he alleged, bore testimony to Sabbatai's Messiahship.[9] It was entitled "The Great Wisdom of Solomon", and began: "I, Abraham, was confined in a cave for forty years, and I wondered greatly that the time of miracles did not arrive. Then was heard a voice proclaiming, 'A son will be born in the Hebrew year 5386 [the year 1626 CE] to Mordecai Zevi; and he will be called Shabbethai. He will humble the great dragon; ... he, the true Messiah, will sit upon My throne."[9] In Salonica, Cairo, and Jerusalem With this document, Sabbatai chose Salonica, at that time a center of kabbalists, for his base. He proclaimed himself the Messiah or "anointed one," gaining many adherents. He put on all sorts of 3 of 15 06/25/2021, 02:58 Sabbatai Zevi - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatai_Zevi mystical events—e.g., the celebration of his marriage as the "One Without End" (the Ein Sof) with the Torah, preparing a solemn festival to which he invited his friends. The rabbis of Salonica, headed by Rabbi Hiyya Abraham Di Boton, banished him from the city. The sources differ widely as to the route he took after this expulsion, with Alexandria, Athens, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Smyrna mentioned as temporary centers. After wandering, he settled in Cairo, where he resided for about two years (1660–1662).[9] Raphael Joseph Halabi ("of Aleppo") was a wealthy and influential Jew who held the high position of mint-master and tax-farmer in Cairo under the Ottoman government. He led an ascetic life, which included fasting, bathing in cold water, and scourging his body at night. He used his great wealth for charity, supporting poor Talmudists and Kabbalists, fifty of whom reportedly dined at his table regularly. Sabbatai befriended Raphael Joseph, who became a supporter and promoter of his Messianic claims.[9] New Mosque, built by Donmeh community of Salonica during the About 1663 Sabbatai moved on to Jerusalem. Here he resumed Ottoman period. his former ascetic practice of frequent fasting and other penances. Many saw this as proof of his extraordinary piety. He was said to have a good voice, and sang psalms all night long, or at times Spanish love-songs, to which he gave mystical interpretations. He attracted crowds of listeners. At other times he prayed and cried at the graves of pious men and women. He distributed sweetmeats to children on the streets. Gradually he gathered a circle of adherents.[9] The important community of Jerusalem at the time was also in need of money to keep up with the heavy taxes imposed on it by the Ottoman government.