Letter to Shabbetai Tzvi

Eliah ben Michael Judah Leon

Nathan of Gaza

Indeed, in order to do the will of my Father who is in heaven, I came in fear, trembling and trepidation, with a bow of my head and a prostration of my body, “spreading out my arms and my legs” [b. Megillah 22b]. I will fall at the feet of the splendor of the “gazelle,” the hosts of Israel,¹ and I know that I will not be ashamed, for my loins were…

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Creator Bio

Eliah ben Michael Judah Leon

17th Century

Eliah ben Michael Judah Leon was a member of Amsterdam’s Portuguese Jewish community who was the scribe for a letter hailing Shabbetai Tzvi as the Messiah in 1666, signed by twenty-four prominent members of the community.

Nathan of Gaza

1644–1680

Nathan of Gaza (also known as Nathan Benjamin ben Elisha Hayyim ha-Levi Ashkenazi) was born in Jerusalem and moved to Gaza around 1663. The son of a respected religious scholar, he too became a scholar of Talmud and also of kabbalah. In 1665, he had a vision that Shabbetai Tsvi was the Messiah and urged him to proclaim himself. He served as Shabbetai Tsvi’s prophet, writing letters that spread news of the messianic movement to Jewish communities around the world.

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Letter to Shabbetai Tzvi

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