Rabbi, Mystic, or Impostor?: The Eighteenth-Century Ba'al Shem of London

by Michal Oron, Todd M. Endelman (Introduction)

Overview

The enigmatic kabbalist Samuel Falk, known as the Ba'al Shem of London, has piqued the curiosity of scholars for generations. Eighteenth-century London was fascinated by Jews, and as a miracle-worker and adventurer, well connected and well read, Falk had much to offer. Interest in the man was further aroused by rumours of his dealings with European aristocrats and other famous characters, as well as with scholars, Freemasons, and Shabbateans, but evidence was scanty. Michal Oron has now brought together all the known source material on the man, and her detailed annotations of his diary and that of his assistant give us rich insights into his activities over several years. We learn of his meetings and his travels; his finances; his disputes, his dreams, and his remedies; and lists of his books. We see London's social life and commerce, its landed gentry and its prisons, and what people ate, wore, and possessed. The burgeoning Jewish community of London and its religious practices, as well as its communal divisiveness, is depicted especially colourfully. The scholarly introductions by Oron and by Todd Endelman and the informative appendices help contextualize the diaries and offer an intriguing glimpse of Jewish involvement in little-known aspects of London life at the threshold of the modern era.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781904113034
Publisher:	The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in association with Liverpool University Press
Publication date:	03/31/2020
Series:	Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	739,318
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 6.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Michal Oron is Professor Emerita of Jewish Mysticism, Department of Hebrew Literature, Tel Aviv University.

Table of Contents

List of Plates x

Note on Transliteration and Conventions Used in the Text xi

Translator's Note xiii

Note on the Editing of the Diaries xvi

Introduction to the English Edition Todd M. Endelman 1

Introduction

I A Brief History of Ba'alei Shem 15

II A Biography of Samuel Falk 28

III Falk's Activities According to the Diary of Zevi Hirsch 35

IV Samuel Falk as Seen by Jacob Emden 44

V Samuel Falk and the Freemasons 49

VI The Diaries and Their Research 62

The Diaries

The Diary of Zevi Hirsch of Kalisz 69

The Diary of Samuel Falk 165

Appendices

A People Featuring Prominently in the Diaries 243

B Falk's Dreams 248

C The Letter of Sussman Shesnowzi to His Son 251

D The Letter of Jacob Emden 261

E Falk's Library 265

F Falk's Will 273

Glossary 283

Bibliography 287

Index 297

Editorial Reviews

"Oron's translation and annotation of Falk's diary is a fascinating window into the lives of both Falk and his associates... Falk's diaries only add to the complexity of a figure who was undoubtedly anything but conventional."
Joel S. Davidi Weisberger, Jewish Link & the Times of Israel

"The legend of Samuel Falk is tantalising... Dr. Oron examines Falk's magisterial 'successes' in the line of self-isolation, survival and prophecy."
Stephen Massil, editor of Jewish Book News and Reviews

"A glimpse into the kind of "superstitious," bizarre, "irrational" beliefs and practices that the Enlightenment thought was part of a past that rational people had cast aside [...] Without [Oron's] invaluable notes, much of this material would remain incomprehensible."
Achsah Guibbory, The North American Conference on British Studies

From the Publisher