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Frankism
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Frankism
Frankism was a Sabbatean religious movement originating in Rabbinic Judaism of the 18th and 19th centuries. Created in Podolia, it was named after its founder, Jacob Frank. Frank completely rejected Jewish norms, preaching to his followers that they were obligated to transgress moral boundaries, embracing antinomianism. The Frankists engaged in incest, orgies and sex rituals, such as the infamous 1756 incident in Lanškroun where they were allegedly caught dancing around a half-naked woman symbolizing the Shekhinah.
At its height, Frankism claimed perhaps 50,000 followers, primarily Jews living in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as in other regions of Central and Eastern Europe. Later, Frankists were encouraged to convert en masse to Catholicism.
Frankists believed in Sabbatai Zevi, one of the most famous of all self-proclaimed messiahs in Jewish history. He believed in transgressing Jewish commandments to elevate the "divine sparks" constrained by them[dubious – discuss]. He performed actions that violated traditional Jewish prohibitions, such as eating foods forbidden by kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws, and celebrating prescribed fast days as feast days. He eventually opted to convert to Islam rather than face execution for claiming to be the messiah in Judaism. After Zevi's death, several branches of Sabbateanism evolved that disagreed over which aspects of Judaism should be preserved and discarded.
Jacob Frank claimed to be a reincarnation of Sabbatai Zevi and followed and extended his practice of transgression. Father-daughter incest was commonly practised by his followers, and orgies featured prominently in ritual. Frank claimed that "all laws and teachings will fall", and following antinomianism, asserted that the most important obligation of humanity was the transgression of every boundary.
Jacob Frank stood at the head of Frankism. He regarded his followers as soldiers, and all were members of a company to build an army to secure Frank's rule over a Frankist country. There were four company locations: in Ivanie, Częstochowa, Brno, and Offenbach am Main. Members were required to wear plate armor, shields, and helmets and train hard.
His teachings were not intended for the ears of all Frankists, but only for his personally selected, small circle of so-called "Brothers and Sisters", of whom he demanded blind obedience. Frank tried to maintain absolute control over at least this circle, taking advantage of their tendency to believe in shedim and magic. Within the circle of "Brothers and Sisters", Frank spoke directly only to the "Brothers"; according to his teachings, nothing could be done with women alone, since women had brought death into the world.
The most important Frankist text is the Księga Słów Pańskich ("Book of the Words of the Lord"). This is written in Polish in elementary, almost folk language and consists of short sayings (some fewer than ten words), interpretations and parables, visions and dreams; longer speculations about the elements of the doctrine; various episodes from Frank's life, the Frankist "company" and contemporary rulers; and fairy-tale stories up to 1100 words long. To support them, there are mainly quotations from the Torah and the Zohar as well as popular stories from the surrounding culture, which were quoted verbatim or paraphrased or adapted to his own doctrine. The text begins and ends with a vision: § 1 is Frank's vision of his calling; § 2192 is Frank's final testament to his "company". The Words of the Lord belongs to Jewish literature, but its contents reject Jewish tradition and teachings. Biblical figures such as Jacob, Esau and Esther are the foundations of Frank's teaching.
Frank's "Brothers" compiled the work between 1755 and 1791 as a Zbiór (collection) of materials developed in numerous meetings. The original Polish title Księga (book) is therefore somewhat misleading and is only used once in the collection, in § 2192. It was written down starting around 1773 and distributed exclusively in the handwritten form to his widely scattered followers. The last known complete manuscript (Words of the Lord §§ 1–2192) was destroyed, along with numerous other Frankist sources, during the destruction of Warsaw in World War II. Until recently, all researchers of Frankism have relied on the source material of the extensive biography by the historian Aleksander Kraushar, the most important study of Frankism from the pre-war period.
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Frankism
Frankism was a Sabbatean religious movement originating in Rabbinic Judaism of the 18th and 19th centuries. Created in Podolia, it was named after its founder, Jacob Frank. Frank completely rejected Jewish norms, preaching to his followers that they were obligated to transgress moral boundaries, embracing antinomianism. The Frankists engaged in incest, orgies and sex rituals, such as the infamous 1756 incident in Lanškroun where they were allegedly caught dancing around a half-naked woman symbolizing the Shekhinah.
At its height, Frankism claimed perhaps 50,000 followers, primarily Jews living in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as in other regions of Central and Eastern Europe. Later, Frankists were encouraged to convert en masse to Catholicism.
Frankists believed in Sabbatai Zevi, one of the most famous of all self-proclaimed messiahs in Jewish history. He believed in transgressing Jewish commandments to elevate the "divine sparks" constrained by them[dubious – discuss]. He performed actions that violated traditional Jewish prohibitions, such as eating foods forbidden by kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws, and celebrating prescribed fast days as feast days. He eventually opted to convert to Islam rather than face execution for claiming to be the messiah in Judaism. After Zevi's death, several branches of Sabbateanism evolved that disagreed over which aspects of Judaism should be preserved and discarded.
Jacob Frank claimed to be a reincarnation of Sabbatai Zevi and followed and extended his practice of transgression. Father-daughter incest was commonly practised by his followers, and orgies featured prominently in ritual. Frank claimed that "all laws and teachings will fall", and following antinomianism, asserted that the most important obligation of humanity was the transgression of every boundary.
Jacob Frank stood at the head of Frankism. He regarded his followers as soldiers, and all were members of a company to build an army to secure Frank's rule over a Frankist country. There were four company locations: in Ivanie, Częstochowa, Brno, and Offenbach am Main. Members were required to wear plate armor, shields, and helmets and train hard.
His teachings were not intended for the ears of all Frankists, but only for his personally selected, small circle of so-called "Brothers and Sisters", of whom he demanded blind obedience. Frank tried to maintain absolute control over at least this circle, taking advantage of their tendency to believe in shedim and magic. Within the circle of "Brothers and Sisters", Frank spoke directly only to the "Brothers"; according to his teachings, nothing could be done with women alone, since women had brought death into the world.
The most important Frankist text is the Księga Słów Pańskich ("Book of the Words of the Lord"). This is written in Polish in elementary, almost folk language and consists of short sayings (some fewer than ten words), interpretations and parables, visions and dreams; longer speculations about the elements of the doctrine; various episodes from Frank's life, the Frankist "company" and contemporary rulers; and fairy-tale stories up to 1100 words long. To support them, there are mainly quotations from the Torah and the Zohar as well as popular stories from the surrounding culture, which were quoted verbatim or paraphrased or adapted to his own doctrine. The text begins and ends with a vision: § 1 is Frank's vision of his calling; § 2192 is Frank's final testament to his "company". The Words of the Lord belongs to Jewish literature, but its contents reject Jewish tradition and teachings. Biblical figures such as Jacob, Esau and Esther are the foundations of Frank's teaching.
Frank's "Brothers" compiled the work between 1755 and 1791 as a Zbiór (collection) of materials developed in numerous meetings. The original Polish title Księga (book) is therefore somewhat misleading and is only used once in the collection, in § 2192. It was written down starting around 1773 and distributed exclusively in the handwritten form to his widely scattered followers. The last known complete manuscript (Words of the Lord §§ 1–2192) was destroyed, along with numerous other Frankist sources, during the destruction of Warsaw in World War II. Until recently, all researchers of Frankism have relied on the source material of the extensive biography by the historian Aleksander Kraushar, the most important study of Frankism from the pre-war period.
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