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 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 www.upenn.edu/pennpress 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 the memory of my father This page intentionally left blank 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 This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface xi Introduction 1 Chapter 1. In the Shadow of the Herem 21 Chapter 2. The Peril of Heresy, the Birth of a New Faith 41 Chapter 3. Where Does Frankism Fit In? 63 Chapter 4. The Politics of the Blood Libel 92 Chapter 5. How Rabbis and Priests Created the Frankist Movement 127 Chapter 6. Ghosts of the Past, Heralds of the Future 157 Chapter 7. The Fall of Edom 180 Chapter 8. The Vagaries of the Charlatans 199 Chapter 9. The Ever-Changing Masquerade 232 List of Current and Historical Place Names 265 List of Abbreviations 266 Notes 267