The Mixed Multitude
JEWISH CULTURE AND CONTEXTS
Published in association with
the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
of the University of Pennsylvania
David B. Ruderman, Series Editor
Advisory Board Richard I. Cohen Moshe Idel Alan Mintz Deborah Dash Moore Ada Rapoport-Albert Michael D. Swartz
A complete list of books in the series
is available from the publisher.
The Mixed Multitude
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Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement, 1755 –1816
PAWEŁ MACIEJKO
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS
PHILADELPHIA
Publication of this volume was assisted by a grant
from the Herbert D. Katz Publications Fund
of the Center for Avanced Judaic Studies.
Copyright © 2011 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for
purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book
may be reproduced in any form by any means without
written permission from the publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maciejko, Paweł, 1971–
The mixed multitude : Jacob Frank and the Frankist movement, 1755– 1816 / Paweł Maciejko. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Jewish culture and contexts)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8122-4315-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Frank, Jacob, ca. 1726–1791. 2. Jewish Messianic movements—Europe, Eastern—History. 3. Judaism—Europe, Eastern—History—18th century. 4. Judaism—Europe, Eastern—History—19th century. I. Title. II. Series: Jewish culture and contexts.
BM755.F68M33 2011
| 296.8’3—dc22 | 2010036520 |
To my mother and thememory of my father
And the People of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot, who were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, and very many cattle.
—Exod. 12:37-38
It is them [the mixed multitude] who cause the world to revert to the state of waste and void. The mystery of this matter is that because of them the Temple was destroyed, “and the earth was waste and void” [Gen. 1:2], for [the Temple] is the center and foundation of the world. Yet as soon as the light, which is the Holy One, blessed be He, comes, they will be wiped off the face of the earth and will perish.
—Zohar 1:25b
Contents
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Chapter 1. In the Shadow of the Herem
Chapter 2. The Peril of Heresy, the Birth of a New Faith
Chapter 3. Where Does Frankism Fit In?
Chapter 4. The Politics of the Blood Libel
Chapter 5. How Rabbis and Priests Created the Frankist Movement
Chapter 6. Ghosts of the Past, Heralds of the Future
Chapter 8. The Vagaries of the Charlatans
Chapter 9. The Ever-Changing Masquerade
List of Current and Historical Place Names
Preface
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The linguistic and political complexity of the region where Frankism developed means that several variants of place and personal names exist. Where there is an accepted English spelling, I have used it (therefore Warsaw, Prague, Vienna). Otherwise, I have preferred the official forms as they were during the time that
