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ABRAHAMMIGUELCARDOSO'SMESSIANISM:
A REAPPRAISAL
by
BRUCEROSENSTOCK
Introduction
4. For a discussion of this topic, see Idel 1988, esp. pp. 30-32; Dan 1994; and Wolfson
1994, pp. 272-273.
66 BRUCE ROSENSTOCK
WhenSabbataiemergedfromhis meetingwiththesultan,hehadnotcompelled
the sultanto becomehis servant.Instead,the Messiahhadconvertedto Islam,
althoughhe continuedto proclaimhimself the now "occulted"Messiahof
Israel.
Someof thosewho wishedto remaintrueto theirbeliefthatthe messianic
age had been inauguratedwith SabbataiZebi decidedto follow the lead of
their Messiah and follow him into apostasy.Otherstook a more moderate
course, consideringSabbataiZebi's apostasyto be a uniqueact which was
not intendedto be a model for others.The most prominentspokesperson
for this position was AbrahamMiguel Cardoso.Scholem saw Cardoso's
continuedallegianceto SabbataiZebi as an exampleof the attractionwhicha
"hidden"Messiahhadon formercrypto-Jewswho themselvesmayhavespent
a considerablepartof theirlives in hidingtheirreal identities(see especially
Scholem1971c,p. 95). ForCardoso,at least,the Messiah'sapostasywas not
an act which he soughtto emulate.
Cardososet out to definethe theoryand practiceof the Sabbatianfaith
by downplayingthe apostasyandthe imageof a debasedMessiah.Cardoso's
Jewishtriumphalistmessiansim-he believedthatIsrael'sredemptionwould
meantheacknowledgment by bothChristianityandIslamthattheirrevelations
wereutterlywithoutmerit6--couldnotcountenancethecentralityof a debased
Messiah,nor the practiceof self-debasementthroughapostasywhich some
Sabbatiansadoptedin imitationof SabbataiZebi.Cardosowas fully awareof
how closely the imageof the debasedMessiahresembledthatof the Christian
Messiah.7Althoughhe was not afraidto use the SufferingServantpassage
in Isaiah53 as a prooftextfor the messianicstatusof the debasedSabbatai
Zebi, he soughtto distinguishSabbataiZebi'sdebasementfromthatof Jesus
by claimingthat SabbataiZebi would not die in a conditionof debasement
as Jesus had: "And we say that between the abasementand the glory of
the Messiahson of David, theremust be no death,for the Messiahson of
David does not have to die" (from an unpublishedmanuscriptof a letterof
AbrahamCardosoto his brother,quotedin Yerushalmi1971, p. 337). When
in fact SabbataiZebi died in 1676 withouthavingemergedin glory fromhis
apostasy,Cardosodevelopeda theoryabouttwo Messiahs,one thedescendant
of David,the otherthe descendantof Ephraim.(The latteris also sometimes
spokenof as the Messiahson of Joseph,Ephraim'sfather.Cardosoprefersthe
designation"Messiahson of Ephraim.")Cardosoidentifiedthe Messiahson
of Davidwith SabbataiZebi, andthe Messiahson of Ephraimwith himself.8
Cardosouses the notionof two Messiahs,I will argue,to get beyondthe focus
on an apostasizingandhumiliatedMessiah.
In the next section I will examine a text in which Cardoso'sclaim
to be the Messiah son of Ephraimis the main focus of the discussion.
Then, in the following sections,I will attemptto situateCardosowithinthe
intellectualtopographyof his day.I arguethatthe way Cardosounderstands
his messianic role serves to position him against both the anti-Sabbatian
rabbinicestablishmentas well as its many intellectualopponents,including
certainphilosophizingkabbalistsandrationalistcritics.Cardoso,I will argue,
representshimself as an "anti-elitist"Messiahwho will sharethe secretsof
Israel'sredemption-bearing knowledgewith the whole Jewishpeople.
I conclude by returningto Cardoso'smessianicclaims, and I offer an
analysis of his teachingabout the unity of the Messiahson of David and
the Messiahson of Ephraim.Cardosomakesthe two Messiahsinto a single,
powerfulicon of redemption.Thissingleicon is the imageof thetwo Messiahs
joined togetheras one. Cardosois constructinga messianiciconwhichwould
carrythe same force amongthe broadspectrumof Jews as the image of the
unity of God and his Shekhinahcarriedfor the elitist, mysticaltraditionof
ecstaticKabbalah.Justas the vision of this unionbroughtthe mystic into a
transformed state,so the imageoriconof theunionof thetwo Messiahswould,
Cardosohoped,drawthe entireJewishpeople forwardinto redemption.
In QodeshYisra'elCardosoplayswithacronymsderivedfromthefirstand
finallettersof severalbiblicalphrases,as well as of the phrases"Messiahson
of David"and "Messiahson of Ephraim"(MashiahbenDavid andMashiah
ben 'efraim,respectively).At one point Cardosoequatesthe sequence of
Hebrew letters mem, bet, alef of "Messiahson of Ephraim"with that of
"Michaelson of Abraham,"his own name. He goes on to declarethat he
possesses somethinglike a divine nickname,r'oshiy, "my head,"also the
name of a sort of supernalalter-egowho appearsto him as his spiritual
"guide"(maggid). This nicknameis fraughtwith kabbalisticsignificance.
In the context in which Cardosointroducesthe name, and in his further
discussionof it, it is clear,as we will see below,thatis is connectedwith the
sefirahof Yesod,the divine phallus.Cardosoexplainsthatthe consonantsof
this namecan be foundin the firstwordof the HebrewBible, ber'eshiyt,"In
the beginning[of]." The first name of the Messiahson of David, Sabbatai
(Shabtay),may also be foundin this word,butone mustrearrangethe letters.
In other words, Cardoso'snicknameis written"in order"within the first
word of the Bible, whereas SabbataiZebi's found "out of order."Cardoso
explainswhy this shouldbe so in a passageof tremendoussignificancefor
an understanding of his self-image.
Considerthat r 'oshiyis the head [r 'osh] of the tenthsefirah,9 and this pours
out in a straightline uponMalkhut,1oand for this reasonthe lettersof r 'oshiy
arein a straight
lineandclearlyvisiblein thewordber'eshiyt.Remaining
over
from the word are the lettersb [bet] t [tav], and she [bat means "daughter"]
is Malkhut.Because it [r 'oshiy]is from Yesod[the ninthsefirah,the divine
phallus],it is a "speculum
whichshines,"anditsnameshinesinthelightof the
wordber 'eshiyt.Andbecausethe Messiahson of Davidis fromMalkhut,"I
and
Malkhutis a "speculum whichdoesnot shine,"his deedsarehiddenandhis
nameis notin orderin thelettersof thewordber'eshiyt.Andlikewiseat the
endof theTorah,inthewordYisra'el,r 'oshiyis found,butnotinorder,because
he too [i.e.,Cardoso]
will cometo be withinIsraelin a stateof confusion.
12. Liebes 1993a, p. 14 and passim points out that in the Idra Rabba,the Messiah is
identifiedwith the configurationof Yesod.
13. Althoughit is certainlyanachronisticto read "heterosexual" in the use of the term
"straight"by Cardoso,it is not imposinga foreignsense on the word if we see it as having
ABRAHAMMIGUELCARDOSO'S
MESSIANISM 71
And the reasonwas not thathe was afraidof Pharaoh,or of the Egyptians,but
the core of his reasoningis foundin his statementthatthe Israeliteswill not
believe in him. But the questionariseswhatvalue suchbelief or lack of belief
in him has, if the exodus is the effect [of a chain of events, beginningwith]
Pharaoh'schoice, then the conflictwith Moses, then the battlewith Pharaoh,
and at the very end of it all, withouttheirwilling it, Israelwill leave Egypt.
But Moses knew that the promiseof salvationwould not be fulfilledeasily,
but with greattribulationsandwith immensetrouble,if the belief in whatwas
promisedwas lacking. Because of this he [Moses] was afraidneitherof the
sword of Pharaohnor of any other dangerexcept for the dangerposed by
those who lackedfaith,lest Israelnot believe in him. And in exactlythe same
way the secondredeemer[SabbataiZebi]requiresfaithaccordingto the secret
teachingregardingthe verse"righteousness shallbe the girdleof his waist,and
faithfulness['emunah]the girdleof his loins"[Isaiah11:5,RSV translation].'5
Whatthis meansis thatjust as a girdlestrengthensthe loins of the one whomit
girds,so faithincreasesthe strengthof the redeemer.Anotherreasonis thatthe
one who believes in him is joined to him in just the way a girdleis joined to
the loins of a man.And the secretteachingis this:the redeemingangel is [the
sefirahof] Malkhut,and also the Messiahis calledMalkhut.And it is evident
fromthe Zoharandthe Tiqqunim thatthe one who establishesthe kingdomof
the houseof Davidon the earthrequiresthe effluxof the higherlevels, and [the
sefirahof] MalkhutQadishahis calledfaith['emunah]andalso "thespeculum
which does not shine."And so long as he [the Davidic Messiah]lacks the
powerto shine as does the "speculumwhich shines,"which is the Torahas it
is issued forththroughpropheticpower like the light of the sun, but he only
shines as in a diminishedvision, then for so long faithis required.For if faith
were to shine like the sun it would not be faithbutknowledge.
('iggeretle-Dayyaney'izmir,pp. 314-3 15)
God, may He be blessed, does not desire that people have faith in him like
fools,'"but thatpeople have discernmentand know in truthand with wisdom
His divinity,as it is written,". .. and you shall know that I am the Lord,"
"to you it was shown, that you might know that the Lordis God."And the
instructionwhichthey [Israel]receivedfromMosesourteacherwas not so that
they mighthave faithbut so thatthey mighthaveknowledge.
('IggeretGimmel,p. 193)
18. Wemay certainlysee in this expressiona referenceto Prov 14:15,"A fool will believe
everything,"butI thinkit is not going too farto readin it also a referenceto Erasmus'In Praise
of Folly. We shall see below that Cardosowas most likely conversantwith the theological
positionknownas fideism,and Erasmus'work was one of the most famousdefensesof this
position.
76 BRUCEROSENSTOCK
19. For the identificationof the headwith openedeyes and Yesod,see Wolfson1994, pp.
355-383, andWolfson1995a.I note in passingthatCardosoin this passagemay be influenced
by the verytext quotedin Wolfson1995b,p. 112,in which"thebeautifulmaidenwithouteyes"
is invokedin relationto the Shema' since Cardosotoo hadjust been discussingthe proper
ritualperformanceof this liturgy.
20. He deniesthathe hadmadeany claimof messiahshipabouthimselfin 'aniMekhuneh,
p. 127,a late autobiographicaltext, butthis passagemustbe understoodin its context.Cardoso
is discussinghow he acquiredhis knowledgeof the natureof the divinityof Israel'sGod, and
he refersto the talmudicdictumthatonly fourmen "knowGod innately[me-'azmo],"namely
Abraham,Job, Hezekiah,andthe King Messiah.This dictumis used by Cardosoin one of his
earliestwritings,Maggen 'Abraham, p. 138,as well as in thelaterautobiographical
writingslike
'aniMekhuneh,p. 127,and 'iggeretGimmel,p. 198,alwaysin referenceto SabbataiZebi.What
Cardososeems to be saying is that SabbataiZebi "knewGod innately,"but thathe, Cardoso,
was given the powerto know God froman "illuminated" readingof the Torah,aggadot,and
Kabbalah,and thereforehe is not the King Messiah.I would take this to be Cardoso'sway
of seemingto distancehimself froma claim to be Messiah,but what it reallysays is thathe,
Cardoso,has a highergrade of knowledgethan SabbataiZebi. Cardosodispenseswith the
messianictitle and pays an "underhanded compliment"tothe figurewho retainsit. Whether
he claims a messianictitle or not, he continuesto claim a messianicfunction.(See also the
polemicaltractateSeferMaribatKadesh,p. 18, in Freimann1912foranotheruse of the "innate
knowledge"motifby Cardoso,wherehe clearlystatesthatthis appliesonly to the Messiahson
of David, but thatthe Messiahson of David and the Messiahson of Ephraim"havea single
mysterywhich is sharedby them.")
ABRAHAMMIGUELCARDOSO'S
MESSIANISM 77
21. I am following here the argumentof Kaplan1989a, pp. 215-216, that Cardosodoes
not place Orobioand his brotherIsaac in the categoryof naturalistas,or rationalistdeists,as
Yerushalmi1971,p. 326, firstproposed.
22. We see the same conflictplayed out in the disputebetweencertainJews who reject
rabbinicauthorityandappealto the Karaitetraditionas theyunderstand it, andthe defendersof
the OralLaw.See Rosenberg1987 andKaplan1990.Rosenberg1987speaksof the Karaitesas
possessinga Protestanttemper,andhe alignsCardosowith this groupbecause,while Cardoso
does not attackthe talmudicrabbis,he opposes"therabbinictraditionandcalls for a returnto
the originalsourcesof the relgion"(p. 295).
23. Fora discussionof suchrationalistdefensesof faith,see Kors 1993.
MESSIANISM
ABRAHAMMIGUELCARDOSO'S 79
24. I am using the terms employedby Ruderman1995, p. 97, in his discussionof the
epistemologyof the Mahral.In what follows I will arguethatthe Maharaloffersus an earlier
and somewhatmore explicitly formulateddichotomizationof faithandknowledgewhich can
help us understandCardoso'spositionbetter.
80 BRUCE ROSENSTOCK
1975, pp. 40-60. See also Rosenthal1961 for a letterby Alphonsoon this subject,and an
extendedresponsefromR. Yosef Shalom.Like Cardosomuchlater(cf. 'al Ziufha-'emunah,
p. 296) Alphonsoseems to have linkedthis claim with the line in the prophecyof Azariahto
Asa, recordedin 2 Chon 15:3, that Israelwill be (he takesthe line to referto the future,not
the past as the contextsuggests)"withoutthe trueGod, withouta teachingpriest,andwithout
law [torah]"(RSV trans.).Alphonsotakes"trueGod"('elohey 'emet)to referto the trinitarian
pluralitywithinthe divinewhichthe Jews fail to acknowledge,and,althoughhe interpretsthe
divinepluralitydifferently,this is the samepolemicalpointthatCardosois makingagainstthe
rabbis.I intendto offera full accountof the exegeticalhistoryof this prophecyin a projected
book-lengthstudyof Cardoso.
ABRAHAM MIGUELCARDOSO'S MESSIANISM 87
Cardoso'strajectoryfromimpurityto purityandSabbataiZebi'strajectory
frompurityto impuritymustboth,of course,culminatein a single point,the
redemptionof Israel. Cardosowants the Jewish people to keep their sight
on that futurepoint of conjunctionand not despairover the debasementof
the Messiah son of David. In a sense, SabbataiZebi has not only stepped
outside Israel, he has steppedbackwardsin time as Israelmoves forward
towardredemptionwith the aid of Cardoso,the Messiah son of Ephraim,
who representsIsrael'sfuture.The deathof SabbataiZebi has lockedhim in
thatpast, and only Israel'sredemptioncan save him and bringback to him
his body (throughresurrection).It is not going too far to say that Cardoso
undertakesto redeemthe Messiahson of David as he undertakesto redeem
Israel,as he suggests in numerouspassagesin Qodesh Yisra'el with which
we beganthis study.In the veryfirstlines (p. 253) we read:"TheMessiahson
of David is not completewithoutthe Messiahson of Ephraim,and the son
of Josephis not a completeredeemerwithoutthe Messiahson of David."Of
course,each Messiahneeds the other,butonly the messiahson of Ephraimis
alive now: "Beneaththe heavensthereis no one besidesthe Messiahson of
92 BRUCE ROSENSTOCK
configurations find their unity and in whose image the human Adam was
created. In contemplating the union of the two Messiahs, Israel is able to
reach an understanding of the highest levels of the divine pleroma and of
the perfect image of humanity which the messianic age will restore. The
messianic image of Sabbatai Zebi and Cardoso together is a medium in which
may be seen the restored perfection of the divine and human realms, and it
is this vision which will lead Israel toward its redemption. In the following
passage Cardoso begins with a concrete image of the union of the male and
female sefirot and then explains how the unity of two the Messiahs, Sabbatai
Zebi and himself, both represents and brings into being this higher unity. In
the conclusion of the passage Cardoso states that the resurrectionof Sabbatai
Zebi will take place during his own lifetime.
Conclusion
Universityof California,Davis
Davis, Calif.
References