Kabbalah and European Christianity

Since the second half of the fifteenth century, the ideas of Kabbalah became popular among Christians by Jews / Marranos. Jewish Cabbalists started to develop some Kabbalistic epistles in accordance with the language and culture of Christians; and these epistles were very effective in Italy and especially in the cultural center of the house Medici in Florence. According to the Jewish encyclopedia, Renaissance cultural circles believed that they have achieved to original resources and first handed secrets of the universe in these Kabbalistic epistles; a lost epistle that now has appeared and by its application not only the secrets of the writings of Plato and other ancient Greek thinkers could be realized, but can also understand the mysteries of Christianity. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, along with immigration of Maranos, the Kabbalah sect spread in all the major centers of Europe. Historians of Hebrew University of Jerusalem have attributed this development to creativity, spiritual strength and mental abilities of Marranos.
Thus, the Kabbalah School changed to an influential political power among Christians that relied on messianic new Crusades ideals promising imminent emergence of global government of Europeans. As a result to impact of this wave, many European thinkers have concluded that the ideals of Christ's rise must be understood by mysterious concepts and the only authoritative source for understanding, are these Kabbalistic epistles. As a result, a broad approach to learning Hebrew began, especially in Italy.
Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494M.) Of the most famous and influential intellectual figures of the Renaissance, is known as the father of Christian Cabbalism. But he is also co-founder of “Orientalism Science” of Europe. This is due to Pico’s link with a group of Jews who were around him. Some of his Jewish teachers and friends are Yohanan Alemanno, Flavius Mithridates, and Elia Del medigo.
Yohanan ben Isaac Alemanno (1435-1504M.) belongs to a Jewish family in southern France. In late 1480 he moved to Florence and found a prominent place in the aristocratic and cultural centers of Italy. He was close to Pico and promoter of Kabbalah, and he wrote some commentary on the Torah and the Solomon’s Song of Songs and gave them to Pico. Alemanno was familiar with Greek philosophy and Islamic and Arabic and Latin and Pico studied Hebrew literature with him. Yohanan’s son named Isaac was also the master of Giovanni Francesco, the nephew of Pico.
Flavius Mithridates lived in Sicily, Italy, and his original name was Shmuel Ben Nasim al Faraj. He became Christian and named himself as Guglielmo Raimondo Moncada. He taught Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic in Italy, France and Germany and he also taught theology in Rome since he was Christian. He translated parts of the Koran into Latin. Elia Del medigo (1460-1497) was living in Crete and was known as Elia Cretei. He went to Italy when he was young, started to teach philosophy and was known as a philosopher. He had a special place at the court of princes and aristocrats of Italy. Pico was a student and admirer of Del medigo. Because of these links, Pico Della Mirandola became the first cultural face of Europe who was fascinated with the kabbalistic epistles and Jewish mystical knowledge. Del medigo translated some Hebrew texts for Pico. Mithridates raised taught him Arabic and Aramaic and he translated several Kabbalist epistles into Latin. Will Durant writes:
[Pico] placed many Jews in the category of his grandee professors and friends. He studied Hebrew kabbalah, accepted its history naively and declared that he has found perfect reasons to prove the divinity of Christ. The most important action of Pico was delivering 900 religious theses to Christian scholars in Rome in 1486. He gathered these thesis, which were new thoughts, by exploring the various texts and certainly his Jewish friends were actively involved in drafting them. One of the thesis is "no science as magic and the Kabbalah does not prove the truth of Christ to us." Although this Pico’s thesis was rejected by the church, however, his claims and propagations were very effective in attracting Christians to the Jewish Kabbalah School and the epistles which were translated into Latin by his Jewish friends, especially Mithridates, turned to Christian Cabbalism intellectual resource. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia:
Discover of mystical Jewish Kabbalah, which was completely unknown until now, excited the world of Christian thought and next Pico’s writings about Kabbalah helped to draw Christian Neo-Platonists’ attraction, especially in Italy and Germany and France.
After Pico, Johann Reuchlin, the famous Hebraist of Frederick III‘s court and apprentice of Jacob Ben lake, had a prominent role in promoting Kabbalah in Christian intellectual circles. Reuchlin met Pico in 1490 in Italy and was impressed by him and he became interested in Kabbalah. Certainly Reuchlin also had a serious role in Jacob Ben Lake’s conversion to Kabbalah. Reuchlin wrote books about magic names (1494) and about the science of Kabbalah (1517). At this time, Paul Rychus Christian and Jewish physician of Emperor of Maksimilian’s court, the son of Frederick III, also was engaged in writing books on Kabbalah. The writings of Pico and Reuchlin, the first two characters of European culture, had a deep influence, and attracted the attention of cultural and patrician circles of Europe to this new-emerged sect. from the beginning of the sixteenth century we witness the repeated and repeated prophecies from Kabbalah’s leaders about the end times and Christ. In the early years of the sixteenth century, when Kabbalists such as Asher Lamlin , Joseph Della Reina and finally Don Isaac Abravanel, the great Jewish plutocracy thinker, that now was settled in Venice, prophecies about the imminent advent of Christ. The Cabbalist diviners, emigration of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula and their deployment in the Mediterranean were all signs of the coming of Christ and the establishment of his global empire. This prophecy was not useless. Suddenly a mysterious man named David Reubeni in Europe emerged and created a complex and wonderful adventure.
David Reubeni was one of the main factors stimulating the first big wave of messianic vision in the post-war atmosphere of futile Crusades. His struggles in the second decade of the sixteenth century coincided with the Europeans overseas invasion on one hand and the battles of the Ottoman Empire and Christian Europe on the other hand. Even today it is not clear that who David Reubeni was, where he came from and to which land he belonged. David Reubeni entered the port of Venice in the fall of 1523. He was forty years old at the time, and he immediately went to visit the city's Jewish leaders and said that the son of King Solomon and brother and commander of the Josef’s army is king of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, that has an independent unknown state in a land named Khyber (Saudi Arabia). He also urged Muslims to carry out an important mission in order to help the Pope. It just coincided with the rise of Clement VII (October 1523), the second pope of the Medici.
Jewish oligarchs of Venice, especially Jewish family Kastlazu, took responsibility of David Reubeni’s journey and first of all, they deceived some Christian aristocrats of the city. Reubeni entered Rome and went to Pope’s court (Vatican) while riding a white horse, and a number of prominent Jews of Venice were accompanying him, In February of 1524.
Clement VII accepted him as an ambassador and army chief of lost tribes of Israel government. After long negotiations, Pope and Reubenii signed a treaty indicates alliance of Pope’s government and the Christian world with Bani Israel’s government against the Islamic governments.
Reubenii stayed a whole year in the Vatican and at this time he had full support of Jewish oligarchs of Italy, in particular Abravanel family and Daniel and Vitale Da Pizza, Jewish bankers in Rome. Abravanel Family produced a magnificent flag for Ruebeni on which the lost ten tribes of Israel were engraved. He travel in Italy with this flag and partners in the pedal, and represented a show of the children of Israel’s unknown government’s glory. One can imagine that in this year what an uproar was in Italy, what passion and enthusiasm Christians had felt to march to Palestine and fight along Christ. (The common belief at the time was that when the lost tribes of Israel are founded, it would be an usher in the advent of Christ.
In 1525, David Reubeni moved to Lisbon. With the two introduction letters from the Pope to the King of Portugal and the Christian king of Ethiopia. John III, son of wealthy Manuel and king of Portugal, welcomed him as official ambassador of Israel’s government. Reubeni became a controversial figure in Lisbon. Seemingly Christian Marannons visited him in groups, and kissed his hand like a saint and a prophet and they know his presence as imminent advent of Christ in everywhere. Reubeni launched his personal magnificent court in Lisbon and accepted to visit the ambassadors of different countries. Ambassadors of some Islamic states, perhaps out of curiosity, went to visit. Reubeni met with the ambassador of Fes, and he made it clear that soon the Jews of Jerusalem and the land of Israel will be out of the seizure of Muslim rulers. He also began writing letters to the Jews of North Africa and enunciated them imminent military expedition of Israel and establishment of worldwide Jew’s government.
We do not have much information about the details of four or five years of Reubeni’s struggles. Once again, we find him in Venice traveling and visiting different regions of Italy In November 1530. The David Princess sparked a wave of emotions throughout Italy again with the help of Jewish missionaries and especially Marannons. Reubeni was based at the court of Frederick, ruler of Mantua in Italy, until 1532. Solomon Mulkhu (1500-1532) was the Portugal’s court clerk since he was 21 years, coinciding with the rise of John III to the throne. He has four years of employment at the court of Lisbon, traveled to Damascus and Constantinople and Thessaloniki. He was accused of spying In the Ottoman land, escaped to the ports of Italy and started to promote the ideas of a mystical sect of Kabbalah . Later in the guise of beggars he went to Rome city, he sat in public in the streets and fasted. It has been said that he predicted about the earthquake that occurred in Portugal which occurred, and then, it brought him a widespread fame as an "oracle". He claimed that he is the ambassador of lost tribes of Israel’s government and is in search of David Reubeni. Pope Clement VII paid attention to him.
David Reubeni with Solomon Molcho went to the court of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1532. They entered the imperial capital as the Ambassadors of the Israel’s government and also carried their flag. They invited Charles to unite with the Jews and Israel’s government in order to crusade against Ottomans and to occupy Palestine.
We have no information about the end of David Reubeni and Solomon Molcho. Jewish sources claim that Frederick, ruler of Mantua, realized that they are frauds and announced it to Emperor. Molcho on charges of Judaism was murdered. Reubeni was imprisoned and at the time of transfer to Spain, he died on the way in 1535. Kabbalistic resources know David Reubeni and Solomon Molcho as "martyr" and "saint". How should this strange story be analyzed? Was David Reubeni only a great trickster that played with the pope, the king of Portugal, rulers and nobles of Italy and Portugal and even the Holy Roman Empire?
Without any doubt, we must know Molcho and David Reubeni as intelligence officers of John III’s court and Jewish oligarchs and this scenario as a part of extensive universal attempts that was aware of the court of Lisbon and its Jewish collaborators. Reubeni’s imprisonment and Molcho’s murder because of being Jewish is unacceptable. If it's a murder it is because these two were engaged in intrigues against Charles V and so they became the victims of this. Jewish sources claim that Jewish leaders of Italy and Portugal were deceived by David Reubeni and that is the reason why they cooperated with him. It is also not accepted. To be sure, the story of Reubeni was made with the complicity of Jewish oligarchs of Venice and Rome. Pope was impostor enough not to be deceived by Reubeni and Molcho . He casted this scenario, too. It has been already spoken About the Link between Clement VII and Jewish plutocracy. We should add that this pope was named Giulio de 'Medici who was the illegitimate son of a member of the Medici family of Florence. During his rule over the Church of Rome, , the Renaissance culture dominated the center of Christianity; at the same time, magnificent palaces were built and Michelangelo’s paintings were recorded on buildings of pope. The politicians rich Pope had no "holiness", so discredited that his death sparked the joy among Christians and people of Rome were often contaminated his grave.
Jewish sources, try to make the story of Reubeni and Molcho as a spontaneous religious movement and social foundations. Jews say the pain of Jewish people forced Reubeni miserable and made him do this action.
This claim is not accepted. The story of David Reubeni is a political fraud - propaganda to incite religious sentiments among the masses of ordinary Europe Christian. Reubeni’s appearance confronted with intense interest of Kabbalah sect and according to Jewish Encyclopedia, a "political wave of Christianity" was provoked "among Christians". This wave should have become social center of military endeavors against the Ottoman government.
Reubeni’s story began three years after the beginning of the reign of Suleiman the Ottoman Empire. Solomon began the invasion of Europe of the first months of his reign, and castle Belgrade was occupied on August 8 1520M. Thus, the "defense of Christian Europe was broken on the shore of the Danube and the last part of Serbia was occupied by the Ottomans".
At this time the struggle between Charles V, Holy Roman emperor, and Francis I, King of France, made the arrangement of forces in Christian Europe. Francis I in order to deal with his sovereign enemy, Charles V, advanced the alliance with the Ottoman and this is the time when Solomon had begun the invasion of Hungary. Finally, for the first time, the Ottoman’s advance in the heart of Europe caused the siege of Vienna The heart of the Habsburg dynasty (September 27 to October 15 1529M.). Ottoman authority and the risk of imminent collapse of the power of Europe frightened all European authorities and according to Stanford Shaw "revived the idea of a new crusade" to that place that even Francois promised to attend the common battle with Muslims.
However, when Solomon went deep the continent of Europe at that time, suddenly Ottoman territory had turmoil. The most important event among all was the rebel of man named Cabalistic Qalandar in Anatoly in the year 1527M and this rebel advanced so much that Solomon was forced to recall its troops from Europe. In the 1532M, for the second time, after the invasion of Safavid Persia by Sultan Selim I, a basic rotational occurred in the Ottoman military strategy and its purpose was inverted from the invasions of Europe to the Safavid Persia and Mesopotamia. During this invasion, Baghdad was attached to the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
If you value the informative and insidious struggles in the vital war of Ottoman Empire and Christian Europe in 1520M and we do not recognize the war as a simple military event; therefore, we must admit that these years have been the boom years competent and conversant centers in this field. In the meantime, meanwhile we know that the story of David Reubeni is the most mysterious event.
In the second half of the sixteenth century, the ideas of mystical Kabbalah was so in attractions of Christian circles that even some important religious figures such as Cardinal Egidio da Viterbo and Francesco Giorgio Veneto have repeated the themes and concepts of Kabbalah in their works. At this time, Zohar book became famous and using it as a reference was widespread. Finally, French Guillaume Postel (1510-1581), one of the leading figures of the Renaissance, started to translate and publish Zohar book to Latin and he also published his detailed description with it. The Hebrew translation of Zohar was not published yet. Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), new Kabbalsitic theorizer was emerged at this time the main focuses were around this school in Italy and around Luria and his students.
Isaac ben Solomon Luria belonged to a prominent Jewish family that its branches existed in many European and Islamic countries. His brother, Mordecai, was a wealthy tax contractor in France. Isaac went to Egypt when he was a teenager and lived on an island near Cairo that belonged to his uncle and his father-in-law. In that period Luria became one of the main leaders and theorizer of Kabbalah sect.
Luria's ideas, along with the Zohar book, were one of the two main intellectual sources of Kabbalah . New Kabbalistic ontology and mapping the world in Ein Sof (The same Perch) was formed by Isaac Luria. Captivity thought Zamzam (the divine spark) was shined in this concept by Sitra Achra (forces of evil) who ruled the Kelipot land (Caliphate / Islam). Dialectical process of emancipation of Zamzam, which is called tikon (renaissance) is, also owned by Luria. The Kabbalistic concept of tikon, which is likely derived from Kon (becoming) in Islamic mysticism, process throughout all the history of the Jewish people in Christian process in order to accomplish the divine mission. We will speak in detail about Kabbalistic Ontology and tikon process and its links with political thought in considering the views of Nathan of Gaza. In Luria’s view, “worshipping women” has a special place. The concept of Shekhinah in Kabbalistic thoughts meant the spiritual manifestation of David earlier. In Luria’s Kabbalism, this concept became a symbol of female. In the story of the Fall of "old man" (Adam Kadmon), that is compliant with the fall of the Jewish people, evil forces removed "locusts" (King, King) from the "Shekhinah" or "Sfyra Mlkhut"( Queen). All subsequent scrambling are for getting to the "Shekhinah" and connecting to him. "Shekhinah" turn to the symbol of female and the mystical interpretation of "separation" and "connected" with certain sexual concepts, later in sexual mysticism of Jacob Frank and similar sects was placed in the twentieth century. In Lurianic school of Kabbalah, the fall of Adam is not only because of "sin" but it is for accomplishment of a divine mission and that mission is gathering divine sparks that have landed on the "Caliphate and are captured.
Luria’s followers knew him as Jesus ben Joseph who opened the way for Christ, the Messiah Ben David (King promised the Jewish people), paved. Thus, Jewish and Christian communities affected by them, which were a lot, with the expectation of the imminent advent of the Messiah Ben David walked to the seventeenth century. In the first half of the seventeenth century, the main focus was concentrated in the port of Amsterdam and had close links with the Netherlands overseas oligarchs. At this time, an important part of the efforts of Amsterdam’s presses dedicated to spread the Messiah advent and they were focused on the lost ten tribes of Israel. When the center of Kabbalah was in Amsterdam, the "tikon" process, fight with the "forces of evil" (Sitra Achra) inhabited in the land "Kilopt" (caliphate) - was highly prominent in the school of Kabbalah and had the main place in this school. At this time, Kabbalism obviously became the ideology of war against the Muslim world and "satanology" became one of Kabbalah’s leader’s importance and lots of epistles were published at this time. One example is Samson Ostropoler. He was a prominent leader of the Kabbalah sect in Poland, who wrote epistles about "evil forces" and the country "Kilopt". (He was killed during The Khmelnytsky Uprising in 1648.)