Language:
Polish
Year of publication:
2021
Titel der Quelle:
Kwartalnik Historii Żydów
Angaben zur Quelle:
278 (2021) 455-486
Keywords:
Frank, Jacob,
;
Shabbethai Tzevi,
;
Jewish messianic movements
;
Frankism History
Abstract:
For historians it is obvious that Frankism was born as a messianic movement and stayed that way until Jakub Frank’s death in 1791. The assumption of a messianic background of the Frankist élan has far-reaching implications for the understanding of the history of Frankism, its inner conflicts and the figure of its charismatic leader himself. This is why I suggest looking for answers to several questions related to this matter, namely, who Jakub Frank was for Podolia Sabbateans—whom we describe as Frankists today—where he intended to lead them and how he saw his own role in this journey? And also: how did they see his redemptive effort after his death? To historians it appeared obvious that the founder and leader of a messianic movement acts as the messiah. However, this is not so obvious with regard to Frankism. The movement was born among Polish followers of messiahs who were no longer alive: Sabbatai Zevi and Baruchja. It is not, however, certain if it was the messianic motifs that persuaded them to start a confrontation with the rabbinical orthodoxy in 1756, followed by baptism. The doubts regarding the messianic nature of the movement stem from the fact that it was not connected with messianic propaganda. In this community, no redemption dates were set, nor are we aware of messianic prophecies gaining ground in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time. In early Frankist sources we will not find a promise of coming salvation, which should, after all, be the main driving force of messianic actions. Frank was not anointed as messiah by Baruchja, who died before he was born, nor by his son and successor, whom he only ever met once. His first teachers who gave him an insight in the Sabbatean doctrine introduced Baruchja’s son to him as the messiah. Later on, Frank insisted that he was called to serve as the messiah by the heavens themselves. It was the heavens that ordered him to complete the mission which Sabbatai Zevi and Baruchja started but were unable to complete. Therefore he succeeded them by the divine will. He could not dissociate himself from his predecessors because he acted among their followers, who were by then a little wearied of waiting for the messianic revolution and desperate because of the failure of successive promises of redemption. As a self-styled leader he had to seek credibility in their eyes by following the path chosen by his predecessors, while at the same time distancing himself from them and name the reasons for their failures. He posed as the third messiah after Sabbatai and Baruchja, who will complete the work begun by them. However, he lacked consistency with regard to the questions of the nature of a messiah and his divine reincarnation that were central to Sabbataism and we present the twisted arguments presented in his teachings in detail in this article.
Note:
With an English abstract.
URL:
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