Tale of a Converso

Born by the name of Diogo Pires in Portugal to a family of anusim (conversos), he would become at a young age an important official in the court of the King.

The Reuveni

In the year 1525, another man visited the court of the King of Portugal, named David ha’Reuveni, presenting himself as the brother of a Jewish King in a faraway land among the descendents of the ten lost tribes...

He had traveled North Africa, Israel and the Levant. In Jerusalem, he fasted and prayed in the Shrine of the Muslims on the Temple Mount, actually sleeping there. 

In Italy, David ha’Reuveni approached the Pope (sound familiar?) to persuade him to make a diplomatic and military pact with the Jews, pointing at the interests of the Christian nations (cleverly utilizing the new rift of Protestants frome Rome).

Dreaming of Circumcision

Diogo Pires was apparently quite impressed by the messianic proclamations of the Reuveni and altogether from his persona, so he wrote.

And then, in a dream, Pires understood he must be circumcised. 

But when Pires asked the Reuveni to do it, the latter refused, so Pires did it himself and wrote about it, noting that he lost a lot of blood and passed out. 

The Reuveni was upset and so secretly sent him away, to flee, because he understood the implications of such an act.

Sure enough, the King of Portugal kicked the Reuveni out of Portugal accusing him of bringing anusim back to Judaism.

Independent Career

At some point young Diogo rebranded as Shlomo Molkho, literally King Solomon.

He spent several years, mostly in Saloniki in Greece in the Ottoman Empire, and also some time in Italy. Passing the border into the Ottoman Empire meant of course exiting the Christian Empire, where he was wanted for heresy. 

In Saloniki, Molkho connected with a group of Kabbalistis led by one Rabbi Joseph Taitazak, an expat of Spain. This group was probably responsible for an influential book named Sefer ha’Meshiv.

They had also produced several influential kabbalists that would continue to Tsfat (Safed) in the Galilee, including Moshe Elsheikh, Shlomo Elkabetz, and (most likely) Joseph Karo.

During this period, Shlomo Molkho wrote his own book of Kabbalah named Sefer ha’Mefoar, the book of the magnificent. In his book he speaks of his appreciation to those particular Kabbalists.

Molkho’s 2nd book, written a bit later while in Italy, is about his own life, named Chayat Ka'ne’, Life of a Reed, and it is dedicated to his dear Kabbalistic friends.

In his books, he Molkho does deal a fair amount with calculations of the end times messianic apocalypse, not unsimilar to those of Don Isaac Abarvanel.

Inducing Legacy

Molkho was considered somewhat of a mysterious genius, in that in such short time he managed to gain so significant knowledge and proficiency in Kabbalah.

He formulated concepts of redemption, revelations ecstatic, prophetic visions, combinations of letters, consciousness of sinful nature because of the religious conversion, clashing of kingdoms - Muslim and Christian.

Molkho's thinking was influenced by his personal background and by his activistic apocalyptic mindset: the redemption is close, and we can and must do such and such to hasten it, thus the calling for repentance and purification from forced conversions.

He was active among communities of anusim. He opposed the messianic Christian arguments and lobbied against their influence among the anusim.

He also anticipated the fall of the Christian Empire. Surely he was keen to the weakness of the Pope relative to the Emperor, and the breakout of Protestantism - in those very days. 

Next Level

Shlomo Molkho wrote about the work of Elijah the Prophet in the messianic redemption, and suggests his own association with this figure.

He left Greece, despite the danger, and traveled about Italy, openly sharing of his return to Judaism, and speaking publicly in synagogues against Christianity. 

He went to Rome, as by a divine order, he prayed outside the city, and then entered without his fancy garments, and sat by the Tiber river for 30 days with the poor, praying, just like in the legend in the Talmud with Elijah the Prophet, and like the deed of Abraham Abulafiya, by the words of Nachmanides (noted previously).

There he experienced great revelation, by vision an old man said to him that there will be a flood in Rome and an earthquake in Portugal... 

David ha’Reuveni helped arrange contact between Shlomo Molkho and Pope Clement the 7th, and thus was protected from those who sought his harm.

Molkho even spoke to the Pope about Judaism, and the Pope himself cautioned him not to speak out against Christianity.

Embracing Death

Some of Molkho's prophetic predictions took place, which elevated his position in the eyes of the Pope and among the Jews.

One time he was arrested and brought to a court to be judged and sentenced to the stake, but the Pope secretly intervened, and another man was burned instead. 

Later on, however, in 1532, Shlomo Molkho and the Reuveni met and rode together on their horses in their special garments holding their symbolic flags, to convene with the Emperor Charles V in the city of Regensburg.

There they were arrested and Molkho was sent in chains to Mantua where he was burned at the stake. 

Moments before the fire he was given the opportunity to return to Christianity and Molkho turned down that offer, stating:

“That which I have walked in that religion, my heart is sad and angry, and now do unto me as you see fit, and my soul will return to the house of the father’s of my youth, for it is better unto me then…”

Randomly Impactful

What occurred in the mind of Shlomo Molkho? We may compare him to the spiritual and messianic high consciousness of self that we noted in Abraham Abulafiya and in Jesus of Nazareth.

However, Shlomo Molkho did not go around claiming to be the Son of David the Messiah, it seems rather that he was preaching of the messianic coming, while assuming a major parat in the messianic function.  

Some of his artifacts are preserved until today in a museum in Prague, including his clothing and the flags he carried and an image of his seal. 

David the Reuveni is commemorated in Jewish history, but not much, unlike Shlomo Molkho, who managed to enter into the general and messianic consciousness of Israel - perhaps because of his romantic and mysterious life and tragic death, his innocence and his genius.

Molkho is surely commemorated due to his friendship with famous Kabbalists…

For one, Joseph Karo himself, the great Kabbalist and halachic authority, the author of Shulkhan Aruch, was directly influenced by Molkho, and wrote in his famous book, originally in Aramaic, that he himself desires to die in the Land of Israel as a martyr like him - “Shlomo my chosen one named Molkho, king, who was anointed many anointings from above, ascended an altar…”