Jewish messiahs abroad : American encounters with the Sabbatian past / Nan Goodman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goodman, Nan, 1957- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Frank, Jacob, approximately 1726-1791--Influence.

Frank, Jacob.

Shabbethai Tzevi, 1626-1676--Influence.

Shabbethai Tzevi.

Jewish messianic movements--United States--History.

Jewish messianic movements.

Sabbathaians--United States--History.

Sabbathaians.

Jewish messianic movements--History.

Sabbathaians--History.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Other Title:

American encounters with the Sabbatian past

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2026]

Summary:

'Jewish Messiahs Abroad' explores a previously overlooked aspect of Jewish American identity, thought, and cultural production: the legacy and retelling of Sabbatian and Frankist narratives in America from the 17th 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. More specifically, the book examines stories about and references to the Sabbatian past in a 17th-century Puritan sermon by Increase Mather, an 18th-century conversion narrative of a Jew turned American missionary, a 19th-century law review article by Louis Brandeis, plays and novels by Isaac Bashevis Singer, David Pinski, Scholem Ash and Moyshe Nadir, 20th- and 21st century conspiracy narratives and finally, the New Age spiritual movements and avant-garde poetry of the 1960s to the 1980s.

Contents:

Introduction: the American encounter with the Sabbatian past

Increase Mather, Sabbatai Sevi, and Puritan political identity

Frankist apostasy and American expatriation

Frankist sensibility: the Brandeis family and the law of privacy

“Appearance again and again”: the literary messiah and Jewish American immigrant identity

Sabbatian conspiracy theories: “phony” Jews and “real” Jews

Epilogue: a Sabbatian practice and poetics.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Oxford Academic, viewed October 13, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version : Goodman, Nan, 1957- Jewish messiahs abroad

ISBN:

9780197845929

0197845924

OCLC:

1614496041

Publisher Number:

CIPO000441993

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license