The Lost Messiah: In Search of the Mystical Rabbi Sabbatai Sevi

by John Freely

A dual portrait of controversial religious figure Rabbi Sabbatai Sevi and his Jewish cult traces Sevi's early life and education against a richly detailed backdrop of Jewish community culture, discussing how he acquired an international following despite his conversion to Islam in 1666. Reprint.

Genres: History, Judaism, Nonfiction, Religion, Biography

287 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2001

About the author

John Freely was born in 1926 in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrant parents, and spent half of his early childhood in Ireland. He dropped out of high school when he was 17 to join the U. S. Navy, serving for two years, including combat duty with a commando unit in the Pacific, India, Burma and China during the last year of World War II. After the war, he went to college on the G. I. Bill and eventually received a Ph.D. in physics from New York University, followed by a year of post-doctoral study at Oxford in the history of science. He worked as a research physicist for nine years, including five years at Princeton University. In 1960 he went to İstanbul to teach physics at the Robert College, now the Boğaziçi University, and taught there until 1976. He then went on to teach and write in Athens (1976-79), Boston (1979-87), London (1987-88), İstanbul (1988-91) and Venice (1991-93). In 1993 he returned to Boğaziçi University, where he taught a course on the history of science. His first book, co-authored by the late Hilary Sumner-Boyd, was Strolling Through İstanbul (1972). Since then he has published more than forty books.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jewish people await the arrival of the Messiah, and have been doing so for many, many centuries. Every now and then someone comes along, claiming to be the Messiah. Jesus Christ was one of these, and many people, mostly non-Jewish, believe that that is what he was/is. 1600 years after Christ was born, another man claiming to be the Jew's Messiah was born in Izmir in Turkey. He was known as Sabbatai Sevi. Like Jesus, he attracted a great number of Jewish followers, in his case mostly Jewish, some of whose descendants might still be living today with this belief.

John Freely, the author of a number of books about Turkey and other parts of the former Ottoman Empire, came across Sabbatai Sevi whilst browsing in an antiquarian bookshop in Istanbul. His interest sparked, he spent more than 30 years researching the life and influences of this man. This fascinating scholarly but readable book describes how he did it and what he discovered.

It appears that many Jews in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean and also further afield, including influential rabbis, were persuaded that Sabbatai Sevi was the 'true' Messiah. Sabbatai's followers created great upheaval both in the Jewish communities and the Ottoman world in the 17th century. I was amazed to read how even skeptics became persuaded that Sabbatai Sevi was indeed the Messiah. His numerous followers continued in their belief of him even after he converted to Islam. Many of his followers emulated his example by 'taking the turban', that is by converting to Islam. Though Moslem, these converted believers in Sabbatai continued to practise Jewish worship, sometimes not openly. They worshipped according to Sabbatai Sevi's controversial modifications of traditional Jewish ritual, such as for example eating on certain days that had been previously defined as fasting days. Eventually, the followers of Sabbatai Sevi who had become Moslems formed a special sect of Islam known as the Dönme.

Much of Freely's book is about the life of Sabbatai Sevi and some of his followers as derived from a variety of sources dating back to when Sabbatai was still alive. The author demonstrates a great skill in both discovering the material and also presenting it to the reader.

The last section of the book, which I found particularly interesting, is devoted to Freely's search for Sabbatai Sevi's burial place. This took him to Ulcinj in what is now Montenegro and to Berat in Albania. I will leave it to the reader to discovere what he found out.

[Mehmet Fatih Çömlekçi · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Freely zaten fazlasıyla enteresan bir hikayesi olab Sabetay Sevi'nin hayatını, Mesihlik iddiasını ve din değiştirme macerasını, çoğunlukla Yahudi kaynaklarına (anlatılarına) dayanarak, popüler söylentilerle fazlasıyla magazinleştirmeden, enine boyuna araştırıp öyküleştirmiş. Tarihçi titizliğiyle yazılmakla beraber bir macera kitabı olarak da okunabiliyor. Freely'nin kişisel merakı ve özel ilgisiyle tetiklenen, Sabetay Sevi'nin serüveniyle yazarın iz sürme serüveninin iç içe geçtiği, epey iyi bir kitap.

[Chuck Skorupski]

A fascinating moment in religious history that I knew nothing about before stumbling upon this book. A very educational, interesting and entertaining read.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FINE BIOGRAPHY OF THE 17TH CENTURY SELF-PROCLAIMED ‘MESSIAH’ OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

John Freely (1926-2017) was an American physicist, teacher, and author, who taught science at Robert College (later Boğaziçi University).

He wrote in the Preface to this 2001 book, “This is the story of my search for Sabbatai Sevi, known to history as the False Messiah. But I prefer to call him the Lost Messiah, for though he died more than three centuries ago his followers remain as a distinct group, some of them perhaps still waiting for his return. The chapters that follow tell the story of Sabbatai Sevi, interwoven at the beginning and the end with an account of my own travels on the trail of the Lost Messiah… I have tried to recreate the period in which Sabbatai lived---actually a microcosm within an age, for the esoteric Jewish mysticism that enveloped him made his world utterly different from that of his contemporaries … within the Ottoman Empire, where he spent his entire life, the rationalism of the seventeenth-century Scientific Revolution did not penetrate. My search as made difficult because of many missing pages in his story… due both to the total secrecy of his followers and to the censorship of orthodox Jewry, not to mention the layers of myth… upon every incident in his life… Throughout, I was deeply dependent on the pioneering work of Gershom Scholem, particularly … ‘Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah’ which was my principal source of information.”

He recounts, “when the [Ottoman] Empire began its long decline in the seventeenth century the situation of the Jewish communities declined too… in Christian Europe… animosity against the Jews reached its peak during the Cossack riots of 1648-9… [These] massacres had a profound emotional effect upon Jewish communities everywhere, giving rise to fears that an apocalyptic cataclysm was approaching, along with hopes that the Messiah would soon appear.” (Pg. 12)

He notes, “Apparently Sabbatai began to study the Kabbalah somewhere between the ages of eighteen and twenty… he studied it without a teacher… Sabbatai’s Kabbalistic studies focused on the Zohar, the Book of Splendor… It summarizes the ancient traditions of the Kabbalah, the esoteric teachings and mysticism of Judaism, dating back to antiquity.” (Pg. 16-17)

He reports, “When Sabbatai was somewhere between the ages of twenty and twenty-to he married for the first time… But he did not consummate the marriage… Soon afterwards Sabbatai married again… again there was a divorce… the Jewish community … attributed Sabbatai’s failure to consummate the two marriages to his saintliness and purity… It is possible that the two failed marriages may have been at least partly due to Sabbatai’s mental state, for at about this time he began to show signs of what many thought to be madness.” (Pg. 20-21)

He continues, “sometime between 1651 and 1654, Sabbatai was driven out of Izmir by the elders of the Jewish community…The reasons for Sabbatai’s banishment are obscure. One possible reason is that, as all sources agree, he used to speak the unutterable name of God… Thus Sabbatai was … beginning a phase in his life known as his ‘years of darkness.’” (Pg. 26-28)

He explains, “Nathan of Gaza … described the revelations that led to his prophetic awakening… ‘And with the utmost clarity my heart perceived towards whom my prophecy was directed.’ The person whom God had spoken of in his vision was Sabbatai Sevi, but Nathen says that his identity ‘remained hidden in my heart until the redeemer revealed himself in Gaza and proclaimed himself the Messiah.’ … Nathan’s mystical vison changed him from a reclusive scholar into a charismatic prophet… When Nathan addressed him as the Messiah, Sabbatai laughed at him and said, referring to his messianic mission, ‘I had it, but have sent it away.’” (Pg. 52-54)

He goes on, “a few days later, while at prayer with Nathan and the other rabbis… Sabbatai proclaimed that he was the Messiah… His face shone with such radiance that the entire congregation was awestruck.” (Pg. 56) And “many of the Jews in Gaza and Jerusalem became followers of Sabbatai soon after he proclaimed that he was the Messiah… Thus did Sabbatai depart for Jerusalem, leaving Nathan behind… to spread the word that the Messiah had finally appeared… they had given rise to a movement that would quickly spread throughout the Jewish world…” (Pg. 58-59) Later, he adds, “in the last days of 1665, his movement had already taken wing, as letters and rumors spread throughout the dispersed Jewish world that the long-awaited Messiah had finally arrived to lead the Jews back to the Land of Israel and their redemption.” (Pg. 95) Nevertheless, “A number of prominent rabbis held back from the general conversion to Sabbatianism.” (Pg. 100)

He recounts, “of Sabbatai’s arrival in Istanbul, on 7 February 1666… his caique was intercepted … by … Turkish officers, who arrested him and escorted him to the port of Istanbul… The guards then locked Sabbatai up in a dungeon, after which his disciples fled to their homes… they fasted and prayed, waiting for their Messiah to show a sign or perform a miracle.” (Pg. 110) He continues, “Everyone except Sabbatai’s disciples thought that he would be executed, but instead he was spared and taken to the ‘fairly comfortable quarters’… Sabbatai was spared because Fazil Ahmet Pasha took a liking to him, but it may also have been because the Grand Vizer did not consider the supposed Messiah to be a threat and did not want to alienate a large part of the Jewish community by executing him.” (Pg. 112) He adds, “During the early months of 1666 thousands of Jews converged on Istanbul to join Sabbatai while he was till imprisoned in the city.” (Pg. 120) He cites “Nehamiah’s complaint that Sabbatai was ‘a lewd person’ … And so Sabbatai was removed from the fortress… He had lived there more like a debauched sultan than a messianic king, if the accusations made against him were true---which they may very well have been, given Sabbatai’s statement that God ‘permittest that which is forbidden.’” (Pg. 129-130)

He goes on, “when Sabbatai was offered the chance of saving his life by embracing Islam he hesitated at first and whispered to his interpreter… saying that if he apostatized he would disgrace himself in the eyes of his followers. Hayatizade told Sabbatai not to be concerned, for after his conversion he could justify his actions to his followers and persuade them to convert too. Thus reassured, Sabbatai agreed to become a Muslim.” (Pg. 136-137) He adds, “The news of Sabbatai’s apostasy was announced first by the Ottoman authorities… the Sabbatians were mortified… Nevertheless, many of the Sabbatians kept the faith, adopting the view that Sabbatai’s apostasy was part of an apocalyptic drama known for the moment only to him, and which he would explain at the proper time… different interpretations had arisen among Sabbatai’s followers concerning the meaning of their Messiah’s apostasy…” (Pg. 137-139) He continues, “Nathan … told the disciples to hold fast to their belief in Sabbatai… [He reassured] the believers that Sabbatai would soon dispel all doubts that now troubled them..” (Pg. 141-142)

He reports, “After Sabbatai’s apostasy the anti-Sabbatian rabbis concentrated their efforts on discrediting Nathan of Gaza… for they realized that, as the prophet, he was the one who had given the spark to the messianic movement, which would not die out as long as he remained its spokesman.” (Pg. 145) He adds, “Sabbatai’s apostasy led many Jewish communities to destroy all records dealing with the Sabbatian movement.” (Pg. 161)

He recounts, “Nathan, in a letter to his followers… includes a message from Sabbatai, who explains with enthusiasm why he abandoned traditional Judaism for Islam: ‘…I recognized that the true God… has willed I should come with all my heart into the Islamic religion… and to nullify the Torah of Moses until the time of the end…’ … Sabbatai … expressed his hope that he would soon reveal the Mystery of the Godhead not just to a select few but to a broader gathering of his disciples.” (Pg. 177-178) He adds, “voluntary conversion to Islam was not necessary in the inner circle around Sabbatai… Some of those who converted to Islam were criticized by other believers, though the criticized by other believers, though the critics never questionee Sabbatai’s motive, because they believed that his actions were divinely inspired.” (Pg. 190-191)

He notes that in 1673, “Sabbatai was banished … The Grand Vizer would have put him to death, had it not been for the strong faction at court who supported him.” (Pg. 197) Sabbatai died on 17 September 1676, and “his inner circle kept his death secret for some time, probably because they were devastated by his demise and uncertain as to what it meant for the future of the messianic movement.” (Pg. 205) He explains, “At the time of Sabbatai Sevi’s death… the great majority of his followers… remained within the Jewish faith…. some 200 families had followed their Messiah into Islam… The apostates … regarded themselves as an elect group who had been chosen by the Messiah himself. Outwardly they were good Muslims … but privately the practiced a messianic Judaism based on the teachings of Sabbatai Sevi, and their interpretation by others… principally Nathan of Gaza.” (Pg. 218)

For those of us not willing to spend the time and money to read Gershom Scholem’s 1000+ page biography of Sabbatai Sevi, this book will be of great interest.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sabbatean debacle cast a long shadow over the Jewish world of its time and the years that followed. It impoverished and immiserated Jews on 3 continents. The memory of the disaster bore directly on the subsequent treatment of greats like the Ramchal and the early Chassidic masters. But precisely because of how completely unmitigated the disaster Shabbatai Zvi precipitated proved to be, we tend to elide over the subject of what exactly happened and how. I picked up this book because I wanted to know more about the underlying story. I did so, because I had a hunch that something so epochal must have things to teach us, at least as cautionary tales. I wanted to start to find out what.

I’m not sure I’m much closer to answering that question for reading it. I say that for 2 reasons: (a) because it’s not at all the question the author sought to answer; and (b) some details late in the book raise serious questions as to the trustworthiness of the whole.

On the first: the author isn’t telling a cautionary tale. He’s just fascinated by a (maybe) forgotten would-be messiah and those that followed him. That’s an interesting story of its own, I suppose. But the connecting of dots that interests me is not the pattern the author sought to depict.

On the second, there is a lot of history here I either do not know at all or do not know at all well. After all, that’s why I’m reading this thing to begin with. And, sure, it lacks footnotes, but surely an author is entitled to some leeway and trust in how he sets down his reconstruction of history largely eclipsed by myths that are themselves largely forgotten. Sure. But then toward the end we reached history I DO know, stated briefly. That’s where I ran into problems, in that there are at least two really glaring, indefensibly inaccurate assertions of fact that are just totally, completely wrong.*, ##

That’s a bad way to finish out a book on history that’s otherwise unknown territory. It tosses major grains of salt on how seriously I can take everything that preceded it.

Still, I’m inclined to accept much of what came before as an at least arguable recitation of the known and contested facts. And I hope that’s right as I start trying to work out what the lessons should be from how we managed to get things so very wrong in the 1600s…






* - Louis Brandeis was indeed nominated to the Supreme Court by Woodrow Wilson and the Senate did indeed confirm him as a Justice. He served for 23 years. But Wilson did NOT nominate Brandeis to serve as Chief Justice, so he never had any such role. At his ascension, the CJ was Edward Douglas’s White, who was followed by CJ Taft and CJ Hughes, before Brandeis’s retirement in 1939). This is extremely clear history the book blasé asserts incorrectly.

## - Similarly the work’s assertion that Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson declared himself the Moschiach in the 1950s is utterly and completely baseless. A few of his followers, late in the Rebbe’s life, became convinced that he could be the messiah. Fewer still continued to argue the point after his death. He never encouraged any of this, however, and its slanderous to assert otherwise.