A COLLECTION OF TEXTS ON SHABBETAI ZEVI AND THE SABBATEAN MOVEMENT, MANUSCRIPT ON PAPER [17-18th century]

139 leaves (4 blank), various sizes as large as 8 1/8 x 6 inches; 207 x 152 mm, written in various Italian cursive and semi-cursive scripts, some early foliation in ink in Hebrew letters, modern foliation in pencil; corners of sixty leaves renewed without loss, fols. 76,77 silked with edges renewed a few stains, ink-spots and smudges, all leaves guarded, library stamps.  Modern half brown morocco, spine gilt.

Solomon Halberstam (shelf no. 40)

Hirschfeld (ms. no. 471)

Contents

Fols. 1r-6v: Letter by Abraham Miguel Cardozo to the rabbinical court of Izmir
concerning Shabbetai Zevi. Edited from this manuscript by A. Freimann, in
Inyenei Shabbetai Zevi (Berlin, 1912), pp. 81-82, and from another manuscript by G. Scholem in Zion, 19 (1953), pp. 1-22.

Fols. 14r-22v: Writings by Samuel Issachar Loeb Perlhefter concerning Mordecai
Eisenstadt, a follower of Shabbetai Zevi Edited from this manuscript by G.
Scholem, in Sefer Dinaburg (Jerusalem, 1949), pp. 237-262.

Fols. 23r-27v: Sabbetaian text.

Fols. 28r-31r: Raza de-Meheimanuta, a Sabbatean text attributed to Shabbetai
Zevi. Y. Liebes identified the true author as Abraham Cardozo, in Kiryat
Sefer, 55 (1981), pp. 603-616.

Fols. 31v-32r: Writings by Zadok ben Shemariah of Grodno predicting the second coming of Shabbetai Zevi in 1695. Cf. Y. Tishby, in Zion, 12 (1947), p. 88.

Fols. 33r-34v: Pious customs by Abraham Galante of Safed and Abraham Levi
Berukhim. Edited from another manuscript by S. Schechter, Studies in
Judaism, 2 (Philadelphia 1908), pp. 294-299. See also, M. Hallamish, in Alei
Sefer, 14 (1987), pp. 89-97.

Fol. 35r: Biblical verses to recite before havdalah.

Fols. 35v-37r: Commentary on a passage in the Zohar.

Fols. 38r-39r: Letter by Nathan of Gaza, the prophet of Shabbetai Zevi, to Raphael Joseph. Edited from this manuscript by A. Freimann, in Inyenei Shabbetai Zevi (Berlin, 1912), pp. 84-85 and in Y. Tishby's edition of Zizat Novel Zevi by Jacob Sasportas (Jerusalem, 1964), pp. 7-12.

Fols. 40r-75r: Nathan's Tikkunei Teshuvah. Cf. Y. Tishby, in Tarbiz, 15 (1944), fols. 161-190 and especially pp. 162-163 where the contents of the tikkunim in this manuscript are described in detail and Y. Liebes, in Zion, 45 (1980), p. 242, note 141.

Fol. 77r-v: Secret letter concerning Shabbetai Zevi sent in 1669 to the believers in Jerusalem. First edited by G. Scholem, in Zion, 10 (1945), pp. 145-146.

Fols. 78r-84r: Sahaduta de-Mehemnuta, anonymous Sabbatean treatise followed by a commentary, edited by G. Scholem in Be-Ikvot Mashiah (Jerusalem, 1944), pp. 72-87.

Fols. 86r-87r: Nathan of Gaza's pseudepigraphic vision, attributed to a medieval saint, Abraham Hasid, who as it were, foretold the birth and early history of Shabbetai Zevi, edited by Scholem, ibid., pp. 59-65.

Fols. 90r-104v: Derush ha-Taninim by Nathan of Gaza, edited by Scholem, ibid., pp. 14-52. Copied in Jerusalem in Heshvan, 5458 [1697].

Fols. 105r-109r: Another copy of Raza de-Meheimanuta.

Fols. 109v-115v: Anonymous kabbalistic treatise.

Fols. 115r-115v: Commentary on rules by Nathan of Gaza. See M. Benayahu, in Sefunot 14 (1971-1978), book 4, pp. 332-333. Followed by two poems by Abraham Peretz edited by M. Benayahu, ibid., pp. 367-370.

Fol. 116r-v: Sabbatean prophecy based on the story of Jonah. Edited from this manuscript by Scholem, ibid., pp. 67-68.

Fols. 116v-117r: Two Sabbatean poems, edited by M. Benayahu, ibid., p. 370.

Fols. 117r-118r: Letter by Benjamin ben Eliezer to Heshel Zoref of Vilna dated 1691. Edited from this manuscript by A. Freimann, in Inyenei Shabbetai Zevi (Berlin, 1912), pp. 106-108.

Fols. 118v-119r: Brief Sabbetaian homilies.

Fols. 119r-126r: Two letters concerning the Sabbatean movement. The first letter concerning R. Benjamin, was partly edited by Freimann, ibid., pp. 86-87. The second letter sent by Abraham Cardozo to his brother Isaac was edited by Freimann, , ibid., pp. 87-92. Fol. 126v: On transmigration of souls concerning the kabbalists Isaac Luria and Hayyim Vital.

Fols. 127r-135v: Various short works associated with the Sabbateans.

Sabbateanism was the largest and most momentous messianic movement in Jewish history.  The founder of the movement was Shabbetai Zevi, who was born in Smyrna (Izmir) on the Ninth of Av, 1626.  Shabbetai received a traditional education; he studied under the most illustrious rabbis of the time and  seems to have been ordained as a Haham at the age of eighteen.  He suffered from periods of deep despair, followed by periods of ecstasy.  In these manic periods he would sometimes deliberately and spectacularly break the law of Moses, and during a manic spell in Istanbul, he announced that the Torah had been abrogated, crying aloud: 'Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, Who permits the forbidden!'  Expelled by the rabbis of various communities throughout the Ottoman empire, Zevi found his way to Jerusalem where he sought out the company of the kabbalist Nathan of Gaza.  Nathan of Gaza helped to convince Shabbetai Zevi that he was the Messiah and he proclaimed this fact in 1648, announcing the good news to the Jewish communities of Italy, Holland, Germany, and Poland as well as to the cities of the Ottoman empire. Messianic excitement spread like wildfire through the Jewish world, aided in part by the widespread acceptance of Lurianic kabbala in this period. 

When Shabbetai arrived in Istanbul in January,1666, he was arrested as a rebel and imprisoned in Gallipoli.  Forced by the Sultan to choose between conversion or death, he became a Moslem, and apparently remained so until his death in 1676.  The news devastated his supporters, many of whom instantly lost their faith.  But astonishingly, many others remained loyal to Shabbetai. A Sabbateian sect called the Donmeh formed in Salonika, and Sabbatarianism continued to flourish in many Sephardic communities.  The texts in this volume bear witness to the widespread and lasting impact of Shabbetai Zevi.