[Avodah] Change Has Come To Modena

[Prof. Levine]

 From http://tinyurl.com/7t4nzd2

The Kitzur Shelah by Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein, 
was first published in Fürth in 1683. It was not 
truly an abridgement of the Shnai Luchos HaBris, 
but rather a Sefer which stood on its own. It was 
used for many years by people in smaller 
communities as a guide for what to do at 
different times of the year. As many know, it is 
reputedly the source of the actual Pesukim 
recommended for the custom of saying Pesukim Lishemot Anashim.

<Snip>

In fact, this custom of reciting a Pasuk 
associated with one’s name is recorded there at the very end.

Chapter 5 of Post Sabbatean Sabbatianism by Rabbi 
Dr. Bezalel Naor goes into the reasons why Rav 
Yakov Emden blacklisted this book. It is based on 
the Hakdamah which uses the expressions Mashiach 
Ha'Amiti and Y'Mot HaMashiach, which equal 814 
and is also the Gematria for Shabbetai Zvi.[4] 
The copy I have from 1707 comes with the original 
quotation marks, functioning like italics, on 
both Mashiach Ha'Amiti and Y'mot Hamashiach.

<Snip>

I was looking through the book to find the part 
that speaks about the Pesukim L'Shemot Anashim 
and found it at the very end. I was fascinated to 
see that immediately before the final section, 
Rabbi Epstein concludes his Sefer with a hope for 
the coming of Moshiach, and he refers to Moshiach as Nezer Rosheinu.

I was curious about the words Nezer Rosheinu to 
describe Moshiach, and suspecting foul play, I 
did two things. Firstly, I wrote to Dr. Shnayer 
Leiman and asked him about the Kitzur Shelah and 
its use of the word Nezer Rosheinu. This is what 
Dr. Leiman answered (posted with permission).

“Briefly, Kitzur Shelah is a Sabbatian work. It 
is suffused with Sabbatian material, so one 
needn't look for evidence just at the beginning 
and end. It was already identified as Sabbatian 
by R. Yehezkel Katznellenbogen in the first quarter of the 18th century.

[Nezer Rosheinu] is surely a reference to 
Sabbetai Zevi. The latter name in gematria totals 
814, a sacred number for Sabbatians.

See the above URL for the entire article. YL


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