The Zohar Prophecy of 1648 and the Shabbatean Heresy

Rabbi Efraim Palvanov

The Zohar famously predicted that the year 5408 (or 1648) would be an auspicious time to usher in the Messianic Age. Together with the end of the Thirty Years' War and the tragic Chmelnitsky Massacres, the events of the day inspired the false messiah Shabbatai Tzvi to launch a heretical movement. This short video explores the birth of the Shabbatean heresy and how it was ultimately stamped out by the rabbis and by the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism.

Further Reading:

'The Zohar Prophecy that Changed History': https://www.mayimachronim.com/the-zohar-prophecy-that-changed-history/

See also 'The Zohar's Prophecy of Another Great Flood' in Garments of Light, Volume One, available here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/efraim-palvanov/garments-of-light-70-illuminating-essays-on-the-weekly-torah-portion-and-holidays/paperback/product-1wryq9vn.html

For more on the Tamuz 26 holiday commemorating the defeat of the Frankists, see here: https://www.kotzkblog.com/2017/05/124-letters-from-cherson-geniza.html
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