Sabbatai Zevi | |
|---|---|
שַׁבְּתַי צְבִי | |
 Sabbatai Zevi, dressed inKaftan, 1669. | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1626-08-01)August 1, 1626 |
| Died | c. September 17, 1676(1676-09-17) (aged 50) |
| Nationality | Ottoman |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism, laterIslam |
| Founder of | Sabbateanism |
Sabbatai Zevi (Hebrew:שַׁבְּתַי צְבִי,romanized: Šabbəṯay Ṣəḇī,[a] August 1, 1626 –c. September 17, 1676)[1] was anOttoman formerJewish mystic andrabbi fromSmyrna who converted toIslam.[2][3] His family wereRomaniote Jews fromPatras.[4]
Active throughout theOttoman Empire, Zevi claimed to be the long-awaitedJewish Messiah and founded theSabbatean movement.[5] Central to his teachings was the belief that during theMessianic Age, acts traditionally consideredsinful would transform intorighteous ones.[6][7] Thisantinomian doctrine led Zevi and his followers to deliberately violateJewish commandments, a controversial practice that later inspired movements like theFrankists.[8][9]
Upon arriving inConstantinople in February 1666, Sabbatai was imprisoned on the order of thegrand vizierKöprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha. In September of that same year, after being moved from different prisons around the capital to the imperial courts' seat in Adrianople (nowEdirne), he was judged on accusations of fomentingsedition. Sabbatai was given the choice of death orconversion to Islam by theGrand Vizier representing SultanMehmed IV.[10] He chose conversion, donning anIslamic turban from then on. The heads of the Ottoman state then rewarded him with a generous pension for complying with their political and religious plans.[11][12] About 300 families who followed Sevi also converted to Islam and became known as theDönme,Turkish for "converts".[13]
Subsequently, the Ottomans banished him twice, first within Constantinople and when he was heard singingPsalms withJews there, to a small town known today asUlcinj in what is nowMontenegro. He died in isolation.[14][15]
Sabbatai Zevi was born in the Ottoman city ofSmyrna, allegedly onTisha B'Av, one of Judaism'sfast days, duringThe Three Weeks in 1626. In Hebrew,Sabbatai meansSaturn; in Jewish tradition, "the reign of Sabbatai," the highest planet, was often linked to the advent of the Messiah.[16]
Zevi's family wereRomaniote Jews fromPatras.[4] His father, Mordecai, was apoultry dealer in theMorea. During theOttoman–Venetian wars, Smyrna became the center ofLevantine trade, and Mordecai became the Smyrnan agent of an English trading house, achieving some wealth in the process.[15] His sister, Orah Gadol, was a learned woman in her own right, well known among the Jews of Smyrna.
Following the prevailing Jewish custom of the time, Sabbatai's father had him study theTalmud. He attended ayeshiva under thechief rabbi of Smyrna,Joseph Escapa. Studies inhalakha (Jewish law) did not appeal to him, but Zevi did attain proficiency in the Talmud. At the same time, he was fascinated bymysticism andKabbalah and was influenced byIsaac Luria.Practical Kabbalah, whose devotees usedasceticism to communicate with God and theangels topredict the future and performmiracles, was especially appealing to him.[15] As well as Luria's writings, he read theZohar and practiced asceticism and Kabbalistic purification exercises calledtikkunim.[3]
During the first half of the 17th century,millenarian ideas about the approach of theMessianic Age were popular. They included ideas about theredemption of the Jews and their return to theland of Israel with independent sovereignty. Theapocalyptic year was identified by Christian authors as1666, and millenarianism was widespread in England. This belief was so prevalent thatMenasseh Ben Israel, in his letter toOliver Cromwell and theRump Parliament, appealed to it as a reason toreadmit Jews into England, saying, "[T]he opinions of manyChristians 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."[15]
As he was the agent for an English trading house in Smyrna, Sabbatai's father must have had business contact with English people. His son may have learned something about Western millenarian expectations at home.[17] Scholars are still assessing how much influence English and DutchCalvinist millenarianism had on the messianic movement that developed around Zevi's activities.[18]
Along with general messianic beliefs, there was anothercomputation based on a passage in theZohar, a famous Jewish mystical text, that theIsraelites would be redeemed by the long-awaited Jewish Messiah in 1648.[15]
In 1648, Shabbatai announced to his followers in Smyrna that he was the anticipated messianic redeemer. To prove this, he started to pronounce theTetragrammaton, an act prohibited to all but theHigh Priest of Israel in theTemple in Jerusalem onYom Kippur. Since the Temple had been destroyed in theSiege of Jerusalem (70 CE), this act was highly symbolic. Shabbatai also claimed he could fly, but told his followers that he could not do so publicly because they were "not worthy enough" to witness such a sight. He also claimed to havevisions of God.[19]
Shabbatai revealed his claim to being the Messiah early on toIsaac Silveyra andMoses Pinheiro, the latter the grandfather of the Italian rabbiJoseph Ergas.[15]
However, at a mere 22, Shabbatai was still too young to be considered an established rabbinic authority; his influence on the local community was limited. Even though he had led the pious life of a mystic in Smyrna for several years, the older, more established rabbinic leadership was suspicious of his activities and the local college of rabbis. Headed by his teacher,Joseph Escapa, they watched him. When his messianic pretensions became too bold, he and his followers were subjected to an edict ofḥerem, a type ofexcommunication inJudaism.[15]
In about 1651 (or 1654), the rabbisbanished Shabbatai and his disciples from Smyrna. It is uncertain where he went from there, but by 1658, he surfaced inConstantinople. There, he met a preacher,Abraham Yachini, a disciple of the Talmudic scholarJoseph Trani, who confirmed his messianic mission. Yachini is said to have forged a manuscript in archaic characters that bore testimony to Shabbatai's claim to being the Messiah.[15] It was entitledThe 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."[15]
Equipped with this document, Sabbatai choseSalonica, which was then a hub of Kabbalistic dialogue, as his base. He proclaimed himself the Messiah, or "anointed one," and attracted a large following by hosting various mystical events. For instance, he celebrated his marriage to theTorah, referring to it as the "One Without End" (theEin Sof), and organized a solemn festival to which he invited his friends. However, the rabbis of Salonica, led byAbraham de Boton, expelled him from the city. Reports vary on his subsequent movements, withAlexandria,Athens, Constantinople,Jerusalem, and Smyrna mentioned as possible temporary bases he might have taken. Eventually, he settled inCairo, where he lived for about two years (1660–1662).[15]
There he befriendedRaphael Joseph Halabi, a wealthy and influential Jew who held the high position of mint-master andtax farmer in Ottoman Cairo. Raphael Joseph led an ascetic life, which included fasting, bathing in cold water, andscourging himself at night. He used his great wealth for charity, supporting poor Talmudists and Kabbalists, fifty of whom reportedly regularly dined at his table. He became a supporter and promoter of Sabbatai's messianic claims.[15]
In approximately 1663, Sabbatai moved to Jerusalem, where he resumed his former ascetic practices of frequent fasting and other penances. Many saw this as proof of his extraordinarypiety. He was said to have a good voice and attracted large audiences when he sangpsalms all night long or Spanish love songs to which he gave mystical interpretations. At other times, he prayed and cried at the graves of pious men and women or distributedconfections to children on the streets. Gradually, he gathered a larger circle of adherents.[15]
At the time, the Jewish community in Jerusalem was desperately in need of money to pay the heavy taxes levied by the Ottoman government. Known as the favourite of the rich and powerful, Raphael Joseph Halabi, Sabbatai was chosen to appeal to him for money and support. His success in securing the funds to pay off the Ottomans raised his prestige. His followers dated his public career from this journey to Cairo.[15]
Another significant event during his second stay in Cairo contributed to Sabbatai's reputation in the Jewish community. During theKhmelnytsky Uprising in Poland, a young Jewish orphan named Sarah was discovered by Christians and sent to aconvent for care. After ten years, at around sixteen, she escaped—claiming it was through a miracle—and made her way toAmsterdam. Subsequently, she traveled toLivorno, where reports indicated that she led a life ofprostitution while also embracing the belief that she would become the bride of the Messiah, whose arrival was thought to be imminent.[15]
When a report of her adventures reached Cairo, Sabbatai claimed that such a consort had been promised to him in a dream because he, as the Messiah, was bound to fall in love with an unchaste woman. He reportedly sent messengers to Livorno to bring Sarah to him, and they were married at Halabi's house. Her beauty and eccentricity reportedly helped him gain new followers. Through her, a new romantic and licentious element entered Sabbatai's career. The overturning of her past life was interpreted by Sabbatai's followers as further confirmation of his messiahship, following the Biblical story of the prophetHosea, who had also been commanded to take a "wife of whoredom" as the first symbolic act of his calling.[15]
With Halabi's financial and political backing, a charming wife, and many additional followers, Shabbatai returned to Jerusalem in triumph. Passing through the city ofGaza, which at the time had an important Jewish community, he met Nathan Benjamin Levi, known since asNathan of Gaza (Hebrew:נתן העזתי,romanized: Nāṯān hāʿAzzāṯi), who became very active in Shabbatai's messianic career, serving as his right-hand man and declaring himself to be the risenElijah, who, it was predicted, would proclaim the arrival of the Messiah. In 1665, Nathan announced that theMessianic Age would begin in 1666 with the conquest of the world without bloodshed. The Messiah would lead theTen Lost Tribes back to theHoly Land, "riding on a lion with a seven-headed dragon in its jaws".[15]
The rabbis of Jerusalem viewed Shabbatai's movement with great suspicion and threatened its followers withexcommunication. Acknowledging that Jerusalem was not the best place to carry out his plans, Shabbatai left for his native Smyrna. Nathan proclaimed that, henceforth,Gaza, rather than Jerusalem, would be the sacred city. On his way from Jerusalem to Smyrna, Shabbatai was greeted enthusiastically inAleppo. In Smyrna, which he reached in the autumn of 1665, great homage was paid to him. After some hesitation, he declared himself to be the expected Messiah duringRosh Hashanah in 1665; his declaration was made in thesynagogue with the blowing ofshofars and shouts of "Long live our King, our Messiah!"[15]
His followers then began to refer to him asAMIRAH, aHebrew acronym for the phrase "Our Lord and King, his Majesty be exalted" (Adoneinu Malkeinu Yarum Hodo).
Shabbatai, assisted by his wife, became the community leader and used his power to crush any opposition. He deposed the existing rabbi of Smyrna,Aaron Lapapa, and appointedChaim Benveniste in his place. Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands were already centres of his messianic movement, and the Jews ofHamburg andAmsterdam learned of the events in Smyrna from Christians.Henry Oldenburg, a German savant who became the first secretary of theRoyal Society, wrote toBaruch Spinoza (Spinozae Epistolae No. 33): "All the world here is talking of a rumour of the return of the Israelites ... to their own country. ... Should the news be confirmed, it may bring about a revolution in all things."[15]
Shabbatai's followers soon included many prominent rabbis, such asIsaac Aboab da Fonseca,Moses Raphael de Aguilar,Moshe ben Yonatan Galante,Moses ben Mordecai Zacuto, andChaim Benveniste.Benjamin Musaphia, an adherent of Spinoza, also became a follower. Meanwhile, fantastic reports circulated and were widely believed. For example, it was said, "In the north ofScotland a ship had appeared with silken sails and ropes, manned by sailors who spokeHebrew. The flag bore the inscription 'The Twelve Tribes of Israel'."[20] The Jewish community ofAvignon, France, prepared to emigrate to the new kingdom in the spring of 1666.[15]
Jewish readiness to believe Shabbatai Zevi's messianic claims may largely be explained by the desperate state of European Jewry in the mid-17th century. The bloodypogroms of the Khmelnytsky Uprising had wiped out an estimated 10,000–20,000 Jews in Eastern Europe and destroyed many centres of Jewish learning and communal life.
Probably with his consent, Shabbatai's adherents planned to abolish most of thehalakha in an act ofantinomianism. This included thecommandments, because, according to a minority opinion in the Talmud, in the Messianic Age, there would no longer be holy obligations. The fast of theTenth of Tevet became a day of feasting and rejoicing.[15] In contrast to this viewpoint, Maoz Kahane demonstrated that Shabbatai himself did not aim to alter the entirety of halakha, but instead sought to modify specific aspects of it. Furthermore, each of these modifications was justified by a halakhic rationale.[21]Samuel Primo, who became Sabbatai's secretary when he went to Smyrna, directed the following circular to all of the Jews in the name of the Messiah:
The first-begotten Son of God, Shabbethai Tsebi, Messiah and Redeemer of the people of Israel, to all the sons of Israel, Peace! Since ye have been deemed worthy to behold the great day and the fulfilment of God's word by the Prophets, your lament and sorrow must be changed into joy, and your fasting into merriment; for ye shall weep no more. Rejoice with song and melody, and change the day formerly spent in sadness and sorrow into a day of jubilee, because I have appeared.[15]
Primo's message was considered blasphemous because Shabbatai wanted to celebrate his birthday rather than the significant holy day of mourning that isTisha B'Av. There was outrage and dissension in the communities, while many leaders sympathetic to the movement were shocked by such radical innovations.Solomon Nissim Algazi, a prominent Talmudist of Smyrna, and other members of the rabbinate who opposed the abolition of the fast, narrowly escaped death at the hands of Sabbatai's followers.[15]
At the beginning of 1666, Shabbatai left Smyrna for Constantinople, possibly forced out by city officials. Since Nathan of Gaza had prophesied that, once in Constantinople, Shabbatai would place thesultan's crown on his head, thegrand vizier,Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, ordered Shabbatai's immediate arrest and had him imprisoned, maybe to avoid any doubts as to the power still wielded by the Sultanate.[15] However, his imprisonment discouraged neither Shabbatai nor his followers. He was treated well in prison, perhaps due to bribes, which strengthened his followers' belief in him. Meanwhile, Nathan of Gaza, Abraham Yakhini, and others circulated reports about the miraculous activities of the Messiah in the Ottoman capital, and the messianic expectations in theJewish diaspora continued to rise.[15]
After two months' imprisonment in Constantinople, Shabbatai was moved to the castle prison atAbydos, Hellespont, accompanied by some of his friends. The Sabbateans then renamed the fortressMigdal ʿOz "Tower of Strength." As Shabbatai had arrived on the day precedingPassover, he slew apaschal lamb for himself and his followers and ate it with its fat, a violation of halakha. He is said to have pronounced over it the benediction, "Blessed be God who has restored that which was forbidden."[15]
The immense sums sent to him by his rich followers, the charms of the queenly Sarah, and the cooperation shown by the Ottoman officials and others enabled Shabbatai to show off almost royal splendor in prison at Abydos. Accounts of his life there were exaggerated and spread among Jews in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in some parts of Europe, Jews began to unroof their houses and prepare for a new "exodus". In almost every synagogue, Sabbatai's initials were posted. Prayers for him were inserted in the following form: "Bless our Lord and King, the holy and righteous Sabbatai Zevi, the Messiah of the God of Jacob." InHamburg, the council introduced the custom of praying for Shabbatai not only onShabbat, but also on Monday and Thursday; unbelievers were compelled to remain in the synagogue and join in the prayer with a loudAmen. Sabbatai's picture was printed with that ofKing David in most prayer books along with his Kabbalistic formulas and penances.[15]
Such innovations caused great commotion in some communities. InMoravia, excitement reached such a pitch that the government had to intervene, while atSalé, Morocco, theemir ordered a persecution of the Jews. During this period, Shabbatai declared the fasts of theSeventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av (his birthday) would henceforth be feast days and contemplated convertingYom Kippur to a day of celebration.[15]
While Sabbatai was in Abydos prison, an incident ultimately led to his downfall. Polish Jewish communities, hearing of Sabbatai's Messianic claims, sent the KabbalistNehemiah HaKohen to interview him in his captivity.[22] Nehemiah reached Abydos, after a journey of three months at the beginning of September 1666. The meeting did not go well—Nehemiah declared Sabbatai an impostor. Some Sabbataians are said to have contemplated murdering Nehemiah as a rival.[15]
Nehemiah, however, escaped to Constantinople, where he pretended to embraceIslam to get an audience with thekaymakam to tell him of Shabbatai's ambitions. The kaymakam informed SultanMehmed IV. Shabbatai was removed from Abydos and taken toAdrianople,[15] where the vizier gave him three choices: subject himself to a trial of his divinity in the form of a volley of arrows (should the archers miss, his divinity would be proven), be impaled, orconvert to Islam.[12]
On the following day (September 16, 1666), Zevi appeared before the sultan, cast off his Jewish clothing, and put aturban on his head, thereby converting to Islam. Satisfied, the sultan rewarded Shabbatai by conferring on him the titleeffendi and appointing him as his doorkeeper on a generous salary. Sarah and approximately 300 families among his followers also converted to Islam. Thereafter, these new Muslims were known as theDönme.[13] Shabbatai was orderedto take a second wife to confirm his conversion. Some days afterwards, he wrote to the community in Smyrna, "God has made me an Ishmaelite; He commanded, and it was done. The ninth day of my regeneration."[15]
Shabbatai's conversion devastated his followers, and Muslims and Christians alike ridiculed them. Despite hisapostasy, many of his adherents still believed in him, claiming that his conversion was a part of the messianic scheme. Those such as Nathan of Gaza and Primo, who were interested in maintaining the movement, encouraged such belief. In many communities, the Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av were still observed as feast days despite bans and excommunications by the rabbis.[15]
At times, Sabbatai assumed the role of a pious Muslim and reviled Judaism; at others, he acted as a Jew. In March 1668, he announced that he had been filled with theHoly Spirit at Passover and had received a revelation.
Either Shabbatai or one of his followers published a mystical work claiming he was the true Messiah despite his conversion, and that his goal was to bring thousands of Muslims to Judaism. However, he told the Sultan that he was trying to convert Jews to Islam, and the Sultan permitted him to associate with other Jews and preach in their synagogues.
Gradually, the Turks tired of Sabbatai's antics, ending his doorkeeper's salary. At the beginning of 1673, the sultan had Zevi exiled toUlcinj (Dulcigno,Turkish:Ulkum), where his wife died in 1674. Zevi then married Esther, the daughter of rabbi Joseph Filosoff of Thessaloniki.[23]
In August 1676, Sabbatai wrote to the Jewish community inBerat, Albania, requesting religious books.[14] Shortly thereafter, he died in isolation—according to some accounts, on September 17, 1676, theHigh Holy Day ofYom Kippur.[23] Upon his death, his widow, brother, and children by his first wife moved to Thessaloniki.[23]
His tomb was believed to have been in Berat at aSufi lodge built in the yard of theKing Mosque, Berat (Albanian:Xhamia e Mbretit), where a tomb stood until 1967. Research done in 1985 suggested that he was buried inDulcigno.[24] His biographer,Gershom Scholem, mentioned that his tomb was visited by Dönmepilgrims from Salonika until the early 20th century.[14]
By the 19th century, the Dönme had become prominent in the tobacco and textile trades. They established progressive schools and some members became politically active. Many joined theCommittee of Union and Progress (CUP), the revolutionary party known as theYoung Turks. With the major Dönmeh city ofSelanik (now Thessaloniki) becoming part of Greece in 1912, Greece expelled the Muslims, including the Dönme, from its territory, with most migrating to Turkey. This was finalized with the1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. By the mid-20th century they were becoming highly assimilated.[13]
Although little is known about them, various groups called Dönme continue to follow Sabbatai Zevi today, mostly inTurkey.[25] Estimates of the numbers vary. As of 2016 there are 'perhaps 2,000' believing Dönme still living in Turkey, though this is dwarfed by the numbers of individual with descent from the group.[26] They have been described as presenting themselves as Muslim in public whilst practising their own forms of messianic/mystical Jewish beliefs in private.[27] Some claim that Dönme still play a role in Turkish politics (one of interference), particularly some political parties in Turkey like theMHP. However, others dismiss it as anantisemiticconspiracy theory.[28]
The Dönme eventually split into three sects, each with quite different beliefs, as Ottoman Jewish scholarsAbraham Danon, andJoseph Nehama pointed out in French-language Jewish Studies journal articles over a hundred years ago.[29][30] In the 1930s a comprehensive study on the history of the sects was also published in French by Abraham Galanté.[31] More recently, Professor Cengiz Şişman has published a new study calledThe Burden of Silence.[32][26] According to a review published in the Israeli newspaperThe Jerusalem Post, the branch known as Karakaş follow Sufi-influenced practices, while the Kapancıs have not been influenced by Islam at all and are now completely secular.[26]
A house in the centre of İzmir close to the Agora has long been associated with Sabbetai Zevi. Having been left in ruins as recently as 2015, it has since been restored to its original style.[33]
Most likely, the Turks gave Sabbatai a choice: conversion or death.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Kaufmann Kohler &Henry Malter (1901–1906)."SHABBETHAI ẒEBI B. MORDECAI". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
| Communities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History |
| ||||
| Culture | |||||
| Notable people | |||||
| Museums | |||||
| Antisemitism | |||||
