The Train Wreck part 3

The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, the periods of the rise of Shabbateanism and Frankism, were no easy time for Christian Europe either. 1666, the year of the promised redemption, according to the Shabbateans, as well as the year of his conversion to Islam, had been predicted by several Christian leaders as the year of the Second Coming. The results for Christians, as well as their Jewish neighbors, was a crisis of faith. Europe experienced at this time a series of wars between Catholics and Protestants. In Western Europe in particular, philosophers wrote books about the Rights of Man, and questioned the very foundations of religion. These were the same ideas that were soon to lead to the American and French Revolutions. Men like Descartes, Locke, Newton, Kant, Voltaire and others were now changing Man's understanding of the world. Into this, a Jewish scholar was about to enter. On the surface, he appears to have no connection with Shabbateanism, Frankism, or even Kabbalah. But he would prove to be a game changer. His name was Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786). Son of a rabbinic scribe (sofer), he trained to be a rabbi. He had many tutors, but especially took to the teachings of RAMBAM's "Guide".He concluded that a fundamental principle of religion is reason. He wrote extensively in favor of the existence of G-d and the immortality of the soul. He defended the Talmud against its critics, saying that the Written Word is no longer understood after a few generations, and, in fact, becomes an idol. Only the Oral Word maintains its meaning forever. His main criticism of the Jewish world was that because of our way of life, as well as persecution from the outside, we had no culture (read: German Culture). He scandalized Germany by writing a pamphlet that a Jew is capable of nobility of character. He became friends with many leaders of the European Enlightenment. He said that Judaism is true, but we can't know these things for sure, and attempts to convert people from one religion to another are therefore immoral. In order to bring Jews to German culture, he translated the Torah into fine High German, together with an original commentary, based on Talmud and Midrash. This lead to an abandonment of the medieval dialect of Yiddish spoken in Germany at that time (Western Yiddish, which no longer exists.) Surprisingly, after his death, his students and colleagues taught that he was, in fact, an atheist, and sought to destroy the Talmud. I have searched in vain for an explanation of this phenomenon, but found none. In fact, there is a very simple one, discovered by the great historian of Kabbalah, Gershom Scholem. ALL OF MENDELSSOHN'S STUDENTS WERE SONS OF FRANKIST FAMILIES! Shabbateans sought an end to halachic observance. Frankists sought a destruction of all that is, in the hope of a birth of something far better in its place. They simply read these ideas into Mendelssohn's teachings. The results were many new movements, all based on antinomian ("against law") principles. To be discussed next time.

The Train Wreck part 2

In the immediate aftermath of the Shabbatean debacle, several things happened. First, many communities threw out Kabbalah entirely. Kabbalah had been too closely associated with the Shabbatean movement. In fact, the Shabbateans were often referred to as "Zoharites". Western European communities jettisoned anything that smacked of Kabbalah. Central and Eastern European communities greatly restricted Kabbalah. This is when the "rule" that one must be over forty years of age, and well versed in Talmud came in. Kabbalists who followed these rules were required to pray in their own synagogues or prayer rooms. Books of Kabbalah written at this time were generally dry and non inspiring. Emotion played little part. In fact, neither did ideology. Scholars kept their noses in the books, and didn't dare speculate. In fact, even Talmudic study was, at this juncture, limited to eight tractates that didn't deal with speculative or spiritual matters. Thus was born the Lithuanian Yeshiva approach; deep study with no spirituality. In my opinion, this is one of the great tragedies of the Shabbatean aftermath. The creation of a text-wise but virtually G-d absent Judaism, that has become "normative Orthodoxy", and has remained so ever since. RAMCHAL was excommunicated and banished because he claimed prophetic powers. That would not have raised an eyebrow a few years earlier. The Spanish-Portuguese communities all across Europe, were terrified of Kabbalah and its implications. The great community of Amsterdam, not only jettisoned Kabbalah, but actually brought in secular humanist rabbis from Italy. Many East European smaller communities maintained a close connection with Kabbalah, but were unwittingly using Shabbatean texts! Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all was the redefining of Judaism at this point. Medieval Judaism, especially in Spain, had two streams of intellectual thought. One was solidly based on the Spanish Kabbalah. The other was philosophical, largely based on RAMBAM's "Guide". Little by little, the philosophical approach almost died out among scholars. But now, without Kabbalah, an ideology was badly needed. Although most stuck to Talmudic study, without raising the great existential questions of life, a significant portion went to philosophy. But "The Guide" interpreted the Mitzvot not as great spiritual exercises, bringing tikkun to the Universe, but as educational exercises meant to impress the person with important lessons. G-d didn't really care. A synthesis of these ideas was soon to mix with Shabbatean ideas, with far-reaching results. Next time.

The Train wreck part 1

I have in the past expressed my opinion that the events surrounding the Shabbatean debacle of the Seventeenth Century, was by far the greatest calamity to befall the Jewish people. I am perturbed that most writers portray it as a minor glitch; a small fender bender. I have read in many popular books that only a small number of people were involved, while all the rabbis urged caution. This is a blatant lie...or deliberate cover-up. In fact, nearly all rabbis at the time were enthusiastic followers of the false Messiah, with a very small group opposing him, and a somewhat larger group taking a wait and see attitude. The fender bender was, in reality, more of a train wreck, from which we never recovered. I have spoken of this some in earlier posts. Now, I wish to delve into it in more depth. First, a brief historical review. Shabetai Tzvi was born in Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey, in 1626. He was a rabbi and scholar, but suffered from what we today call bipolar disorder. In his "up" phases, he would perform strange acts, like uttering the Divine Name, eating forbidden foods, and even marrying a Torah scroll! In his "down" phases, he would deeply regret his actions, and do acts of penance. The great massacres of Jews in Poland and Ukraine in 1648 and 1649 made a deep, dark impression on him, as they did most Jews. Messiah fever was in the air, which has often caused us more suffering than the persecutions themselves. Shabbetai travelled around the Meditteranean basin, in search of a cure for himself. He hesitatingly declared his Messiahship on several occasions. In the early 1660s, he met the acclaimed Kabbalist, Nathan of Gaza (yes, Jews lived in Gaza). I can not explain what happened. The night before Shabbetais arrival at his home, Nathan had a vision of the Divine Chariot. Sitting on the throne above the chariot, was a figure Nathan did not recognize. He lay motionless on the floor all night. The next day, Shabbetai arrived, and Nathan recognized him as the figure in his vision. Nathan devised an entire theology around Shabbetain, at once explaining his strange behavior, as well as containing a message of deliverance. According to Nathan, Shabbetai's soul had been, from creation, in an abyss inhabited by dragons and monsters. These creatures were torturing him even now, in a vain attempt to prevent the Redemption. Worst of all, this abyss also contained the soul of Jesus, desperately trying to prevent the revelation of the true Messiah. What's more, this plane of existence was on a level where the laws of the Torah didn't apply, therefore making Shabbetai not bound by the normal rules of Jewish behavior. 1666 would be the year of the final Redemption. Many Christian mystics had named that year as the date of the Second Coming. The tension was great. Rumors had spread throughout Europe that Shabbaetai had raised a huge army, and had already destroyed Mecca. He was now marching on Rome! Fear gripped Christendom! Shabbetai went to Turkey, with the idea of converting the Sultan to Judaism. Instead, he was put in prison, and given a choice of death, or conversion to Islam. He converted, which sent shockwaves through the Jewish world. Most of his followers abandoned him at that point. He began signing letters as "The G-d of Israel". Nathan wrote books telling people not to despair. This was merely another stage of Shabbetai's battle with evil. Many followers still followed him to his prison island, where he ordered some 300 of them to likewise convert to Islam. But it wasn't really Islam. It was, and is (!) Islamic in form, but with the worship of Shabbetai instead of Allah. Some 9,000 still live in Turkey. Shabbetai lived for another decade, with Nathan as his loyal propagandist. Even after his death, secret bands of followers existed, usually incognito. Even many famous rabbis were secret adherents of the new cult. A century later, a Polish Jew named Jacob Frank, declared himself to be the reincarnation of Shabbetai Tzvi. Together with 10,000 followers, he converted to Catholicism. But he founded a cult with Shabbetai, and himself, at its center, rather than Jesus. His approach was Nihilism; destroy everything that is, and something much greater will come about in its place. He organized orgies, were both incest and adultery were practiced. There is documentation of Frankist cells operating as late as World War I. Some claim they still exist. What is abundantly clear to me, is every Jewish group that now exists, has been tainted by Shabbateanism and Frankism. I will divide these into three groups. First, those that sprouted directly from these movements, albeit with shifts in ideology. Second, those groups that arose in opposition to these movements, that, in my view, jettisoned the baby with the bathwater. Spirituality and emotion were thoroughly banished as too dangerous. Third, those groups that ignored these movements, but inadvertently adopted some of their ideology or practices. I shall analyze these in this series.