All the Way Down

From this point on, things start to take a twist..

From the outside, for any critic, the failure is obvious.

But that is easy and not as interesting. 

What is more interesting, is to try and enter the mind of the believers, and see things the way they saw them.

Intense religious experience, particularly those that have a significant anti-rationalist aspect to them, do not give up easily…

Proactive Opposition

Although in most places many if not the majority of Jews believed in Shabbtai Zvi as Messiah, or at least supported him as such, or even supported passively… of course there were many voices of opposition. 

In Kushta (which was Constantinople, which is Istanbul today) there was a clear majority of ‘heretics’. It makes sense that in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, of all places, those close to the center of power, were afraid of the ramifications of signing on to a zealous national-religious movement. 

Also in Jerusalem there was particular opposition, which also makes sense that of all places, there you find ‘institutional’ rabbinical forces, but also because Shabbtai Zvi had lived there for a season, and many of the people there, especially the rabbis, knew him, and did not wish to see him above them or holier than them. They also refused to recognize his messianic status. 

Another interesting circumstance, worth mentioning, was that others saw them as well, for example - the Christians! They mocked and abused those 'ridiculous' and 'evil' Jewish messianic believers. 

They were mocked for believing in some pitiful strange messianic figure, as well as believing that they could actually make their way to Israel. All the Jews paid a price for the messianic fervor taking place.

Just to be clear, it was antisemetic, religious persecution, not just mocking and persecuting - it was religious mockery. How dare the Jews think they are greater than the Christians, and can get up and go to Israel and establish a Kingdom!

Kingdom Divided

It was 1666 now, Shabbtai Zvi had divided the kingdom of the world between his loyal followers, and made certificates that he granted to them. 

Then he got on a boat and sailed to Kushta, the capital. But the Turks arrested him at sea, before arriving at the city port. 

On Passover eve, in April, he was transferred to a fortress in the city of Gallipoli, where he stayed for half a year. Thousands of believers made the journey like pilgrims to see him and praise him as King Messiah. 

The believers named the fortress Migdal Oz (Tower of Strength). They saw his capture as a secret messianic act of tikkun, and that is exactly what Nathan of Gaza was saying and claiming and spreading. 

And Shabbtai Zvi there continued to do what Shabbtai Zvi does - strange actions. His moods would swing up and down, between depression and ecstasy. He commanded to eat the chelev animal fats that are in the Torah forbidden to eat from the offerings. 

He changed the order of the prayers, made new holidays seemingly randomly, and all the while would tweak the blessing “whom frees the captives” by a tiny change in Hebrew into “whom frees (or enables) that which is prohibited” (asirim to asurim). 

"in his fortress... in red garments, and the Torah scroll which he held in his hands was likewise draped in red. . . . Usually the Torah scroll was placed at his right. The walls of the room in which he sat were draped with golden carpets, and the floor was covered with rugs made of gold and silver.

It was a princely room. He sat at a table made of silver and covered with gold, and the inkstand on the table was made of gold and jewels. He ate and drank from gold and silver vessels inlaid with jewels. In his right hand he held a golden staff topped by a scarf of [that is, embroidered with] gold, and in his left hand a fan with a silver handle.

There were many rooms in the fortress, as in the palace of the Turkish king, and also a tower and a beautiful vineyard. Many guards were round the fortress, but his servant was a learned Jew. All day long he was singing hymns of praise to God, . . . and whoever went in, left him with joy and great consolation.

Sabbatai was a peerless kabalist. He told [his visitors] that the Shekhinah was now manifest and had, as it were, risen from her exile; it was now forty years since the Shekhinah had risen . . . and therefore ye need not fast any more on the seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Ab..."

Leyb ben Ozer (in Scholem's Mystical Messiah, 618-619)

But the charade did not go along for long - the authorities knew, and their intentions, originally unclear, after nearly 6 months, in September they brought Shabbtai to Adrianople, before the Sultan himself.

He exited the court with the Turkish turban on his head, as a muslim convert.

Descending Indefinitely

We don’t know historically what exactly happened in that court.

We assume that the messianic candidate was threatened to convert to Islam or be killed, but then again… with Shabbtai Zvi who knows what really happened! It could have been his idea - we don’t know.

All we know is that he went in and came out as a Muslim. 

He was also given a position in the court of the Sultan - kapici bash (keeper of the palace gates), and a pension! His new name was Aziz Mehemed Effendi.

And his wife was brought to him and she converted to the Islamic religion. Then a group of important believers came and did the same.

Lots to Think About

Nathan of Gaza then began to discreetly wander from place to place. He exited the Ottoman empire, probably for safety reasons, due to his association to the messianic movement. 

Many Jews, heretics and believers, were afraid of the authorities and afraid of the non-Jewish persecutors. In many cases Jews were publicly humiliated because of the messianic debacle.

Among the Jews, those who had actively opposed the Sabbatian phenomenon beforehand, accused the false messiah as a fraud and enemy of the faith

Yet the unexpected happened - the Sabbatian messianic faith survived!

Nathan did not cease his activity but rather continued to issue letters and messianic Sabbatian interpretations. He continued to actively encourage and strengthen the faith of the Sabbatian believers. 

He traveled to Italy and spent several days in Rome and conducted a secret messianic tikkun deed, quite similar, seemingly, to that of Shlomo Molcho and Abraham Abulafiya before him. 

He passed through Saloniki where there was a strong Sabbatian community of believers, and then visited Shabbtai Zvi himself in Adrianople, encouraging him. There was a new community of loyal believers forming... 

All Good Things

Shabbtai Zvi did not cease to ascend and descend  in strange acts. He lived a double life, between Jews and Turkish Muslims. 

In the end, the authorities moved him away from access to such Jewish adherents, to Albania. And there he died in the year 1673, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.

Just a few years later Nathan also died, in 1680.