Sabbatai Zevi and the World-To-Come

CHAPTER 1
MESSIANITY (p. 237)

"Sabbatai Zevi will take the dominion from the Turkish king without war, for by the power of the hymns and praises which he shall utter, all nations shall submit to his rule."--Nathan of Gaza (p. 272)

A Great And Tragic Chapter In Jewish History

If we study "Jewish religious civilization" as set forth in its literature, we can observe that the leading factor in its evolution has been the advent, in every generation, of Jews who pass beyond received tradition. These Jews perceive truths which were hitherto unknown. The messiah, the mystic, the prophet, the tzaddik--these are the people on whom tiqqun olam, the transformation of the world, depends. As Scholem says:

In every generation a few souls escape from the qelippah [the 'shell' and sphere of evil] and enter the cycle of purification and tiqqun ['mending,' 'restoration,' and 'regeneration'], migrating from one body to another throughout the four kingdoms of nature until their [personal] tiqqun is complete.
--Gershom Scholem, Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah, p. 40

In our traditions we see abundant illustrations of the importance of these great exemplars of Judaism. But the greatest exemplar of them all would be the true messiah:

The messiah will be a very great king, whose government will be in Zion. He will achieve great fame, and his reputation among the nations will be even greater than that of King Solomon. His great righteousness and the wonders that he will bring about will cause all peoples to make peace with him and all lands to serve him.--Maimonides (1135-1204), commentary on Sanhedrin 10:1

Throughout the centuries, whenever normative Judaism loses its meaning to some, or Jews are denied rule of Israel, messiahs arise. One of them, Bar Kochba in the 2nd century, led an abortive revolt against the Romans in Judea in the 2nd century. The historical Jesus, about whom little is known, was probably also a messianic claimant.

In more modern times messianic cults form around

• Isaac Luria in the 16th century,
  
• Jacob Frank in the 18th
  
• and Menachem Schneerson in the 20th.
  

Whatever we may think of their respective cults, messiahs have had a major impact on Judaism.