402 A History of Judaism
(except in criminal cases, which came to the Ottoman courts). Excite-
ment was high both among the Jews and among the (more sceptical)
gentiles as Sabbetai Zevi approached, and the Turkish authorities inter-
cepted his boat on 6 February 1666, throwing him into prison. It seems
likely that the decision not to put him to death was taken to avoid turn-
ing him into a martyr and inflaming Jews throughout the Ottoman
realm. He was moved to Gallipoli, and there his prison was in effect
transformed by bribery into a protected castle where he held court,
receiving emissaries from many parts of the Jewish world:
So our Lord dwelt in great honour in his ‘tower of strength’. God made the
superintendent of the tower to be kindly disposed toward him, to such an
extent that he became [Sabbetai’s] servant. (‘I am serving two kings’, he
used to remark.) Men, women, and children, of our people and of other
peoples as well, came from all over the world to see him, talk with him, do
obeisance to him, kiss his hands. His fame as messiah had spread
everywhere.^35
Dissenters were excommunicated by the rabbis of Constantinople for
seeing fit ‘to believe the worst about an angel in human form ... on
account of certain acts that on the surface seem peculiar but in truth are
marvellous’. In much of the diaspora, Jews fasted, purified themselves
and scourged their bodies. Some sold their property to prepare to travel
to the Holy Land. In small towns in Germany and in communities in
Morocco, Jews waited impatiently for letters from the Holy Land and
gathered to hear them read. Poems were written in praise of Sabbetai
Zevi and his prophet in countries from Yemen to Amsterdam. Preachers
encouraged repentance, and editions of the special prayers mandated by
Nathan were published in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Prague, Mantua and
Constantinople.^36
As the summer of 1666 approached, expectation rose, not least (it
seems) for Sabbetai Zevi himself, who declared that the fasts of 17 Tam-
muz and 9 Av, which commemorated the destruction of the Temple,
should be replaced by new festivals: 17 Tammuz became a celebration
of the revival of the spirit of Sabbetai Zevi, and 9 Av the celebration of
his birthday. In Constantinople the rabbis sought and received divine
guidance before agreeing to take so drastic a step:
When the decree reached Constantinople the people of the city, believers
though they were, were in doubt whether to take such a grave step. So
their rabbis poured out prayers and petitions before the Lord their God,