The Sabbatean Prophets

In continuation of looking at the Messianic movement, we like to let others at word, presenting some specific figures in the evolution of Messianics.

In the previous article you could read it does nota always mean that Messianic Judaism combines Christendom or Christianity following the idea that Jesus is the Messiah. We can find Messianic groups who believe in One Singular God, a binary god and a trinitarian god and who mix elements of Judaism and Jewish tradition, but also others who have taken them an other messiah than rabbi Jeshua.

 

Bad times, wars and rebellion have always been ideal moments for persons to proclaim they are the saviour who can bring peace and unity. As such the world has seen many saviours or messiah.

The regions of the Low countries always having been the battlefield for Europe, also having had to face many religious battles formed a very good fertile soil for messianic preachings.

Not only Jews but also several Christians who saw the false teachings of the Roman Catholic church with her heathen rites, made many look for a biblical truth as well some one who could take the burden away of those ‘religious and economical oppressors’.

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Rabbi Juan Bejarano-Gutierrez and the B’nei Anusim Center for Education published some reviews which we like to represent over here as well. The goal of the center is to provide a wide range of information on Crypto-Jews and Crypto-Judaism for those researching their past or interested in reconnecting with their Jewish background. In that light they also read books and review them, like The Sabbatean Prophets by Matt Goldish, in which Goldish focuses on the environment in the 16th and 17th centuries that allowed for the claims of the Jewish Kabbalist Nathan of Gaza [Nathan van Gaza (Nathan Benjamin ben Elisha HaLevi Ghazzati) ] and Shabbatai Zevi or Sjabtaj Tzwi to be taken seriously.

The author looks at how Goldish not only focuses on the rise of esoteric Jewish mysticism of the Lurianic Kabbala (or Cabala) in the 16th century that developed several basic doctrines: the withdrawal (tzimtzum) of EnSof into himself, thereby creating primordial space; the scattering of divine light that emanated from Adam Qadmon, the first ontological man – a light the power of which resutled in “the breaking of the vessels” (shevirat hakelim); the dispersion throughout the cosmos of this divine light, which was covered b y “shells” (qelippot) of evil – which for Luria, explained whey the Jews were in exile; and a “cosmic restoration” (tiqqun) that is achieved when the proper “mystical intention” (kawwana) characterizes prayer.

In this and next posting he looks at the experiences of Conversos, or Jews who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries throughout Mediterranean.

He also looks at the discussion of the mystical and millenarian movements within Christianity and even within Islam at the time and events like the English Civil War, the return of Jews to England, the discovery of the New World in the 15th century and the continuing colonization into foreign lands which helped spread the view that knowledge was spreading and something momentous was at hand.

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Preceding

De Messiaanse beweging onder de loep

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Related articles

1. Who is a Jew?
2. Secret Jews: The Complex Identity of Crypto-Jews and Crypto-Judaism
3. Conversos, Anusim, and Sephardic Identity
4. Christian-Jewish Relations: Marranos, Conversos & New Christians
5. Articles on Conversos, Portuguese New Christians, and Moriscos
6. Books on Conversos Part 1
7. Books on Conversos-Part 2
8. Confused Conversos: Juan del Hoyo
9. Returning to Egypt: Conversos who Returned to Spain and Portugal
10. Converso Settlement Outside the Peninsula
11. The Other Secret Jews: Turkey’s Dönme Elite
12. The Many Lives of Two Portuguese Conversos
13. Persisting on the Shadows
14. Rabbi to Present Lecture about Hispanic Sefardim
15. The Challenge of Modern Day Conversos
16. New Mexico makes the Times of Israel
17. ¿Por qué fueron expulsados ​​los judíos de Castilla y Aragón?
18. Leyendas familiares: ¿tenemos ascendencia judía?
19. Samuel Usque y Los Conversos
20. Los Conversos en la Nueva España – by Alicia Gojman Backal
21. Persistiendo en las Sombras

• Catholics and being catholic, or not
• Liturgy, Vol 32 “Worship in an Age of Reconstruction”
• Celibacy was not always mandatory for priests. When and why did that change?

B'nei Anusim Center for Education

B”H

Traveling on business can be difficult but one benefit is that it gives me the opportunity to read. I started reading The Sabbatean Prophetsby Matt Goldish and so far it has been a fascinating read. Studies on Shabbatai Zevi have focused on the events of the messianic movement. Goldish takes a different approach. He focuses on the environment in the 16th and 17th centuries that allowed for the claims of Nathan of Gaza and Shabbatai Zevi to be taken seriously.

Goldish not only focuses on the rise of Lurianic Kabbalah in the 16th century as well as the experiences of Conversos throughout the Mediterranean. He also discusses the mystical and millenarian movements  within Christianity and even within Islam at the time.  The expectation that the Davidic messiah or messianic age would be revealed soon was something that promoted within Jewish and Christian circles.

Events like the English Civil…

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