David Sclar: “Messianic Messages: Paratexts, Secondary Elites, and a New Narrative for the Coronation of Sabbatai Tsevi”

The study of Sabbatianism – the messianic movement centered around Sabbatai Tsevi (1626–76), which persisted in various guises for centuries – has been a driving force in Jewish Studies over the last century. The accepted and longstanding narrative of the movement’s origins has portrayed a sudden rise, seemingly according to a set plan. Using previously unpublished sources – including printed paratexts long hiding in plain sight – this paper upends that narrative, showing it to be a more grassroots development. Tying together Kabbalah, printing, bibliography, art history, and reception history, this paper presents a story that begins with an engraving of a man riding a lion, winds through the meaning of printed Hebrew dating mechanisms, and ends with an exploration of Italian kabbalists and their activities. At the core of it all we find one man, Venturin ben David, a printer who responded to news of the messiah’s arrival so enthusiastically that he maintained his belief in Sabbatai long after the latter’s stunning conversion to Islam. In the process, this paper will offer new perspectives on Jewish messianism, the intricacies of Jewish printing, and the nature of personal lived religion.