The analysis of the Sabattean Movement reveals the essence of Jewish modernity: Dedication to Jewish tradition and the Halakhah, along with the commitment to revolt against it. Sabbatai Zevi embodied this paradox until his death, leaving a void that would continue to shape the Jewish faith of the modern world. Sabbatai Zevi’s popularity among Jews in Europe and the Middle East can likely be attributed to three major factors. First, the revival of Kabbalah and mysticism had reached its height in the 17th century. Second, the influence of English travelers who brought from Britain the notion of the millennium and the coming of the Messiah, and third, the Chmielnicki Massacres of Ukrainian Jews in the years 1648-1649, which, according to the Kabbalah intense suffering and disaster would pave the way for the coming of the Messiah.
After the Expulsion form Spain in 1492 and forced conversions in Portugal, many Jews and New Christians, sought answers for these tragic events, claiming that they were signs for the approaching messianic era. A number of other worldwide developments added fuel to the fire. The Reformation was threatening Christianity and the Ottoman Empire had expanded through Europe and North Africa. Europe during the Age of Discovery found a “New World” with new people in new territories who could be converted by the messiah. Messianic hopes and speculations spawned myths among the Jews and Christians that spread throughout the community.
Scholem describes traditional popular messianism in two main characteristics, utopianism and catastrophe. The Chmielnicki Massacres are significant beyond the horrific number of deaths. They had a long-lasting effect on the psyche of European Jews. Many Jews came to believe t...
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...levated states. The pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton had been reserved to High Priests of the Holiest temples. After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews were banned from speaking the name under any conditions. This put Zevi in direct contradiction of rabbinic law. Zevi was not claiming to be the messiah by use of the tetragrammaton, he was making a statement to the rabbinic authorities that a new day was dawning.
This began a period of time that included many transgressive performances by Zevi that would later lead to his exile from Smyrna. The straw that broke the camels back appears to be when Zevi took a group of his disciples into the mountains and attempted to order the sun to “standstill at midday.” After their failure and embarrassment, Zevi and his followers refused to appear before the elders of Smyrna and were then excommunicated..
Dawidowicz suggests that, “Despite the recurrent cycles of disaster that marked their history, the Jews have been committed to a fundamental and abiding optimism grounded in the teachings of Judaism. All creation, Genesis declares, is good. Whatever God does, the tradition teaches, is for good.” (Dawidowicz, The War Against the Jews, 342). This is a fact, which shows that despite their tragedy, they still tried to continue on with religion and succeeded.
...f the major Optimism of the Jews is that they could not comprehend the killing of all their people. They see it as a task that contains no possible way to be fulfilled. They justify it by saying “Was he going to wipe out a whole people? Could he exterminate a population scattered throughout so many countries? So many millions! What methods could he use?” (6). The answer to their question is yes but there is many chances to escape this fate, although the Jews of Sighet deny it.
The small environment no longer had enough resources to sustain such a large population which motivated them to subdivide and move on. They expanded southward and eastward. They developed seasonal rounds of activity and movement. Climate change expanded the temperate forest throughout North America allowing them to become more familiar with their land. Early Americans. Soon the domestication of plants and animals established. They developed different cultures traditions diets and languages. During the late fifteenth century, Europeans developed the navigational technology and ambitions which allowed them to explore and conquer the world's seas. The Atlantic Ocean once a barrier became a bridge to vast lands and people. The Europeans traveled to the West Indies and India by traveling around Africa. The new discoveries transformed Europe into one of the most dominant continents. European Christians first felt surrounded by their Muslim neighbors. The Muslims were more a more powerful religion extended to North Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. The Europeans Christians got an opportunity to break out of the Muslim world and spread their beliefs to the newly discovered world and search for the trade riches such as gold, silks, and
Oxtoby, Willard Gurdon. "Jewish Traditions." World religions: western traditions. 1996. Reprint. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2011. 127-157. Print.
When a young boy is found brutally murdered in a small Prussian town called Konitz, once part of Germany, now part of Poland, the Christians residing in the town lash out by inciting riots and demonstrations. Citing the incident as an act of Jewish ritual murder, better known as blood libel, Christians rendered blame on the Jews. Helmut Walser’s Smith, The Butcher’s Tale, details the murder account and the malicious consequences of superstitious belief combined with slander and exaggerated press propaganda. Foreshadowing the persecution of Jews which would take place three decades later, Smith analyzes and explains the cause and effect of anti-Semitism in Imperial Germany at the turn of the century. Utilizing Smith’s book as a primary source,
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Europeans began their colonization and settling into America. France and Spain both began exploring the New World to find gold and to spread Catholicism. What differed between them were their priorities in colonization. During the 16th century Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther posted the Ninety Five Theses, accusing the Church of corruption. Because of that, he ended up dividing the Catholic Church, which led to the rise of Protestant Churches in Europe. Spain, as a representative of Orthodox Catholicism, wanted to spread Catholicism further. They then established colonies in America, to convert the Indians to Catholicism and to stop Protestantism. France had entered the New World in search
Gilbert, Martin. "Churchill and the Holocaust: The Possible and Impossible." The Churchill Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the dominant force in Western civilization. As the Dark Ages came to a close, the monarchies of Europe began to consolidate power; providing an alternative power base. With the Protestant Reformation came another blow to the influence of the Church. Spain, the forerunner in the Age of Discovery, was a fervently Catholic country. During the 16th century, the monarchy combined the forces of "cross and crown" in its imperial policy; much to the dismay and ultimate destruction of the indigenous peoples of the New World. Through an examination of Aztec polytheism and the Catholicism of the conquistadors, comes the central role of religion in the successful conquest of New Spain.
The events which have become to be known as The Holocaust have caused much debate and dispute among historians. Central to this varied dispute is the intentions and motives of the perpetrators, with a wide range of theories as to why such horrific events took place. The publication of Jonah Goldhagen’s controversial but bestselling book “Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust” in many ways saw the reigniting of the debate and a flurry of scholarly and public interest. Central to Goldhagen’s disputed argument is the presentation of the perpetrators of the Holocaust as ordinary Germans who largely, willingly took part in the atrocities because of deeply held and violently strong anti-Semitic beliefs. This in many ways challenged earlier works like Christopher Browning’s “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” which arguably gives a more complex explanation for the motives of the perpetrators placing the emphasis on circumstance and pressure to conform. These differing opinions on why the perpetrators did what they did during the Holocaust have led to them being presented in very different ways by each historian. To contrast this I have chosen to focus on the portrayal of one event both books focus on in detail; the mass shooting of around 1,500 Jews that took place in Jozefow, Poland on July 13th 1942 (Browning:2001:225). This example clearly highlights the way each historian presents the perpetrators in different ways through; the use of language, imagery, stylistic devices and quotations, as a way of backing up their own argument. To do this I will focus on how various aspects of the massacre are portrayed and the way in which this affects the presentation of the per...
an And The Controversy Over The Bombing Of Auschwitz." Journal Of Ecumenical Studies 40.4 (2003): 370-380. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Jan. 2014 Rice, Rondall. "
The mid-fourteenth century Black Death created panic and fear among Western Europe, causing the population to react violently. The primary document, Flagellants Attempts to Ward Off the Black Death, 1349, discusses a witness’s account of the flagellant movements that spread through Western Europe as a result of the Black Death. The flagellant movements were confraternities of men and sometimes women that came together in procession in order to repent their sins through flagellation or self-penance. Many of the flagellant movements became heretical and exemplified violence as the confraternities led the persecution of the Jews. This paper will analyze the interpretations historians have regarding the severity of the flagellant movements and persecution of the Jews during the Black Death in order to determine if the violent movements were justifiable.
When most people think of the Black Plague, the persecution of the Jews is not the first thing that enters into their mind. John Aberth, the author of The Black Death describes this unusual, unknown fact when he says “scapegoating of minority groups seems to be a common calling in times of crisis, and medieval Christian society during the Black Death was no exception” (Aberth 117). By saying this, Aberth is comparing the persecutions of the Jewish population during the Black Death to other judgments that have been laid upon minority groups throughout history. This pattern is very common during tragedies such as the plague because it is human nature, especially during this time period, to place blame on someone or something. But, why exactly did the blame of the Black Death fall on the European Jewish people’s shoulders? By focusing on the horrific treatment of Jewish people during the Plague, I will show that the Christians used the Plague to diminish their debt to the Jews, specifically by the murder of Jews throughout Europe.
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Bastards entails a Jewish revenge fantasy that is told through a counterfactual history of events in World War II. However, this story follows a completely different plot than what we are currently familiar with. Within these circumstances, audiences now question the very ideas and arguments that are often associated with World War II. We believe that Inglourious Basterds is a Jewish revenge fantasy that forces us to rethink our previous understandings by disrupting the viewers sense of content and nature in the history of World War II. Within this thesis, this paper will cover the Jewish lens vs. American lens, counter-plots within the film, ignored social undercurrents, and the idea that nobody wins in war.
The Holocaust an event so horrendous that uttering its name makes grown men tremble. The Nazi Party's wrath seemed unstoppable, likewise to a school bully picking its victims without the slightest of remorse. The events of the Holocaust were inhumane and discusting and are incapable of adaquate description through this paper or any for that matter. Eventhough the Holocaust has such an infamous negative connotation, it remains to be one of the most internationally well-known historical topics. The mystery that is Hitler, the mastermind behind the entire plot, is one code that may stay uncrackable for eternity. We are not completely in the dark as to his thoughts toward the "Final Solution" he meticulously devised though.
The atrocities of the Belgian Congo and the Holocaust are two of the main events in history that have been responsible for the mass murdering of millions of people. Although these events significantly changed the course of humanity, and the story behind each one is very different, there are significant factors that make them alike as well as different. Many would agree that comparing two atrocities that affected the lives of so many people and gave a 180-degree turn to each of their countries would be something very difficult to achieve. However, by comparing the behavior of both the perpetrators and the victims of both cases, we might be able to further understand the lack of morality and the inspiration that led to these awful events. The perpetrators in both atrocities tended to have a similar pattern of behavior when it came to the way they saw their victims.