Jewish Messiahs Abroad: American Encounters With the Sabbatian Past

"Jewish Messiahs Abroad: American Encounters with the Sabbatian Past explores a previously overlooked aspect of Jewish American identity and cultural production: the legacy and retelling of Sabbatian and Frankist narratives in America from the seventeenth century to the present day. Although Sabbatai Sevi and Jacob Frank-two controversial figures in Jewish messianic history-never came to America or developed followings there, stories about them circulated across the centuries in a wide array of American texts and contexts. In large part because it was recalled at a distance of thousands of miles from the events and personalities that were its source, the Sabbatian past in America functioned as a kind displaced archive, surfacing in a number of unexpected places. In reworking Sabbatian history, the book argues, American Jews and some non-Jews found a usable past that allowed them to reimagine themselves in relation to a host of issues, including national belonging, religious tradition, public identity, and anti-Jewish animus"-- Provided by publisher.