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Shabbetai Zevi. SHABBETAI ZEVI: THE MAN WHO WAS CALLED "MESSIAH". Shabbetai
Zevi would appear an unusual candidate to be called Messiah. ...
... that one should not be constantly yearning for a miraculous messiah." This ideology
was augmented in the 1600s by a false Messiah, Shabbetai Zevi, who later ...
Submitted by jarrettzevi on February 13, 2008
Category: Miscellaneous
Words: 4768 | Pages: 20
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SHABBETAI ZEVI:
THE MAN WHO WAS CALLED "MESSIAH".
Shabbetai Zevi would appear an unusual candidate to be called Messiah. Married to a rumored prostitute, tormented by fits of mental unrest and depression, the breaker of traditional Jewish laws and customs; Shabbetai Zevi would never the less proclaim himself the Messiah by the age of twenty two, with the aim of restoring the kingdom of Israel, and placing the Sultan's crown upon his own head. Perhaps even more remarkable, Zevi's messianic proclamation would spark the interest, and intense devotion of Jews throughout the entire diaspora, in Europe, Asia, and Africa. So great was the Jewish devotion to Zevi during his lifetime, from rich and poor, commoner and Rabbi alike, that in almost every synagogue prayers for Zevi were posted that proclaimed him "Lord and King" and "Messiah".
In the end, Shabbetai Zevi would be arrested by the Constantinople authorities, and the same sultan that Zevi had promised would bow before him, had Zevi imprisoned, converted to Islam, and made a royal gate keeper; though questions linger.
What can account for the unusual devotion to Shabbetai Zevi prior to, and even after his conversion to Islam? Was it because of the shrewd politicising of Zevi's right hand man, Nathan of Gaza? Was it a sign of the times, in that Jews were just looking for a hero to lead them? Was it because Shabbetai Zevi's life aligned with the prophesies of Lurianic Kabbalah? These are a few of the questions concerning Shabbetai Zevi and the Shabbatean Movement that I will answer, as we follow the fascinating rise and fall of Shabbetai Zevi, the man who was called "Messiah".
One of several brothers, Shabbetai Zevi was born in Smyrna in 1626. According to legend, Shabbetai Zevi's birth fell on the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple. Shabbetai's Father...
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