but he fell into Satan’s net.”
From his childhood, Shabtai Zvi was a peculiar individual who
studied the usual Jewish books but his main interest was the study
of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. He had a few like-minded friends
but most of the time he was a recluse, disappearing in his room or in
the wilderness for days immersed in prayers, repentance, cleansing
himself by immersion in the sea and by self-inflicted pain. The book
opens with Shabtai Zvi and his friend Moshe Pinharo taking a stroll
on the beach on an early morning in their home town of Smyrna
(Izmir in current Turkey) on the coast of the Aegean Sea, in the early
part of the 17th century. They talked about the sad situation of the
Jewish diaspora, the recent horrible massacre of Jews in Poland, and
theimminence of a messiah’s arrival – a messiah who would be the
redeemer and deliver the oppressed and scattered Jews to the land of
Israel, bringing peace to all. On his wedding day to the beautiful Rachel, daughter of a prominent rabbi in town, he experienced visions
of sitting on a heavenly throne, and was utterly indifferent to the
wedding festivities around him. The marriage eventually remained
unconsummated because Shabtai saw himself as the messiah and
therefore had renounced worldly pleasures. including union with
his bride. This was a major embarrassment for the families of both
the groom and the bride. There are descriptions of phantasmagoric
dreams, illuminations and visions, and rumors were rife that the
young Shabtai might be the awaited messiah.
There are many other intrigues well narrated in this absorbing
book, including his friend Moshe Pinharo’s lust for Rachel (who
annulled her pointless marriage and eventually married Moshe
instead). The “strange behavior” of Shabtai included his utter dedication to sacred books (becoming a poresh), and