From Publishers Weekly
Historian and travel writer Freely retraces the 17th-century rabbi Sabbatai Sevi's steps from his birth in Izmir (in Turkey) to his exile and death in Dulcigno (in northern Albania) in this plodding and workmanlike account-part travelogue, part detective story and part religious history.. Sevi traveled through the Ottoman Empire declaring himself to be the Messiah; he claimed to be born on the Ninth of Ab, the traditional birthdate of the Messiah, and fervently studied the mystical texts of the Kabbalah. Although he gathered some followers, most thought he was a madman and a fool. When he began to declare that fast days should become feast days, that women could read from the Torah and that Jews could pronounce the sacred name of God (YHWH), the rabbis in Istanbul drove him out of the country. Sevi became the target of even greater animosity when he converted to Islam. After his conversion he maintained a syncretistic religious lifestyle, trying to convert his followers to Islam, yet still proclaiming himself the Jewish Messiah. After his death, many of his followers declared that he had not died but that his presence was hidden, and that he would appear again at the end of time. Drawing upon the writings of Gershom Scholem and others, Freely offers a fascinating glimpse into a little-known chapter of Jewish religious history. However, he depends too heavily on secondary source material, encumbering his own writing with lengthy quotations that fail to illuminate Sevi's exciting story. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The idea of a messiah who will come to offer salvation and heal the world remains one of Judaism's most enduring yearnings. Freely focuses on one who assumed the mantle of Messiah. In the mid-seventeenth century a messiah appeared, a rabbi named Sabbatai Sevi. As Freely describes him, Sabbatai would be described in modern terms as manic-depressive. In his own time, his "illuminations" (which alternated with moods of deep despair) and his knowledge of the Torah and kabbalah allowed Sabbatai to attract followers. When the respected Nathan of Gaza, serving as Sabbatai's John the Baptist, proclaimed him the Messiah, his fame grew throughout the Jewish world. Freely, quoting extensively from primary sources, follows Sabbatai's movements up to his shocking conversion to Islam, which, perhaps even more shockingly, did not dissolve all of his support. Freely paints a portrait of the Jewish community in the Ottoman Empire that brings time and place alive. He is less successful in describing Sabbatai the man. Although Freely makes us understand the circumstances that made the masses long for a messiah, he fails to show how Sabbatai, a not particularly appealing figure, could have successively assumed that role. Still, this volume gathers the threads of many sources into one fabric, providing a valuable interweaving of history and biography. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

New Statesman
"John Freely has written a careful account of Sabbatai Sevi's life, making the findings of scholarship accessible to the general reader...Freely's narrative is clear, lively and sympathetic."

The Mail on Sunday
"John Freely, an American Second World War veteran turned travel writer, has produced a book that any professional historian would be proud of."

The Independent
"Freely reveals a superb eye for the telling detail, especially as regards the ever-adaptable expectations of the cult mentality."

The Economist
"Sevi's story is remarkable."

Book Description
The Lost Messiah is the astonishing story of Sabbatai Sevi, a seventeenth-century rabbi who through the mysticism of the Kabbalah convinced vast numbers of Jews throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa that he was the long-awaited Messiah. Most of his followers were enraged and stupefied when he embraced Islam (on threat of execution from the Turkish Sultan), but many others continued to believe him. Some even converted to Islam themselves, creating the sect known even today as the Dönme – outwardly Muslim, yet clinging secretly to Judaism. A few Sabbatians still secretly hold true to their beliefs, patiently waiting for their Messiah to return and lead them to redemption; they believe that Sabbatai is not dead but merely hidden from human view, despite more than three centuries having passed since he was last seen. When John Freely came across the name of Sabbatai Sevi in an old Jewish bookshop in Istanbul, he was instantly fascinated by the story and journeyed to Izmir, the principal Aegean port of Turkey and Sabbatai’s first home. Brilliantly evoking the vanished world of the seventeenth-century Jewish Diaspora in the Ottoman Empire, his narrative moves to the ghettos of Venice and Rome, the bazaars of Cairo, and the rabbinical schools in Jerusalem and Safed. The result of thirty years of research and travel, THE LOST MESSIAH deftly interweaves the work of respected scholars – especially the scholarly writings of Gershom Scholem – along with Freely’s own firsthand knowledge of ancient and contemporary Turkey and its environs. Ranging from the Sultan’s palaces in Istanbul to the synagogues of North Africa and out to the isolated Jewish communities of the Yemen and even the remote reaches of Albania, Freely’s remarkable story takes us deep into the esoteric world of Jewish mysticism and the messianic cult which still inspires belief today.

About the Author
John Freely was born in New York in 1926. At seventeen he joined the navy and served during WWII, later returning to New York where he received a PhD in Physics from New York University in 1960. He has lived in New York, Boston, London, Athens, Istanbul, and Venice, and has written more than twenty books, including INSIDE THE SERAGLIO.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Sabbatai Sevi was and remains one of history's most controversial and enigmatic religious figures. It was he, in the seventeenth century, who used the mysticism of the Kabbalah to convince vast numbers of Jews throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa that he was the long-awaited messiah. Many of his followers were dismayed, however, when, on threat of execution from the Turkish Sultan, Sevi converted to Islam - though many continued to believe in him. Even today there are a few Sabbatians who maintain the belief that their messiah will return and lead them to redemption." In The Lost Messiah, John Freely follows Sevi's trail across Europe and into Africa, tracing the cult that grew up around this "false messiah," as he is often called, and within Judaism. Freely evokes the vanished world of the seventeenth-century diaspora in the Ottoman Empire, as the narrative travels from Sevi's birthplace in Izmir, on the Aegean coast of Turkey, to the ghettos of Venice and Rome, the bazaars of Cairo, and the rabbinical schools of Jerusalem and Safed. This exotic tapestry is placed into a rich context also detailing the then-current state of Jewish communities in these areas.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Historian and travel writer Freely retraces the 17th-century rabbi Sabbatai Sevi's steps from his birth in Izmir (in Turkey) to his exile and death in Dulcigno (in northern Albania) in this plodding and workmanlike account-part travelogue, part detective story and part religious history.. Sevi traveled through the Ottoman Empire declaring himself to be the Messiah; he claimed to be born on the Ninth of Ab, the traditional birthdate of the Messiah, and fervently studied the mystical texts of the Kabbalah. Although he gathered some followers, most thought he was a madman and a fool. When he began to declare that fast days should become feast days, that women could read from the Torah and that Jews could pronounce the sacred name of God (YHWH), the rabbis in Istanbul drove him out of the country. Sevi became the target of even greater animosity when he converted to Islam. After his conversion he maintained a syncretistic religious lifestyle, trying to convert his followers to Islam, yet still proclaiming himself the Jewish Messiah. After his death, many of his followers declared that he had not died but that his presence was hidden, and that he would appear again at the end of time. Drawing upon the writings of Gershom Scholem and others, Freely offers a fascinating glimpse into a little-known chapter of Jewish religious history. However, he depends too heavily on secondary source material, encumbering his own writing with lengthy quotations that fail to illuminate Sevi's exciting story. (Feb.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

An American author with a Ph.D. in physics, Freely (Strolling Through Istanbul) here combines his interest in exploratory travels with his passion for a major historical figure in Jewish history, Sabbatai Sevi (1626-1676). Freely followed Sevi's life path, traveling from the coast of Turkey, where Sevi was born, to Italy, Cairo, and Jerusalem. Known as the "False Messiah," Sevi was a mystical figure in Turkey who came to prominence during a dark period in Jewish history following the Chmielnicki massacres (1648-49), whereby thousands of Jews were murdered. Sevi became a cultlike figure for many Jews, though in time he was exposed as a fraud. Scholars have long studied his life as a symbol of the turmoil and tensions of a key turning point in Jewish history. The magisterial life of Sevi remains the thick study Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah by Gershom Scholem, the pioneering scholar of Jewish mysticism. But Scholem's book remains a daunting one for the everyday reader, while Freely's is an entertaining and informative read. His tale should circulate well in most libraries that boast a diverse religious and New Age book selection.-Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Physicist turned travel writer Freely (Inside the Seraglio, not reviewed) counts three decades spent tracking down a 17th-century rabbi who became one of the most curious figures in the history of Judaism.

Figuratively walking the length and breadth of the Levant, the author initially neglects to ground his readers, preferring to mete out history piecemeal as he unfolds the story. But the essential facts congeal: hounded from Catholic Spain for a century, murdered in Catholic Poland, Jews from all over Europe found tolerance, security, and even comfort in the seats of power of the Turks￯﾿ﾽ Ottoman Empire, the mightiest Islamic kingdom ever known. Thus, in Izmir (Smyrna), a charismatic rabbinical student named Sabbatai Sevi proclaimed in 1648 that he had been anointed as Messiah, Redeemer, King of the Jews who would lead them back to the Holy Land. Given to both spiritual visions and unholy depressions, Sevi apparently had a riveting gaze and a melodious singing voice, and seems to have been regarded as something between a rock star and Bonnie Prince Charlie by Jews, Muslims, and gentiles alike. He rapidly gained both fanatic followers and powerful enemies, the latter primarily in the conservative orthodoxy, and no wonder: He constantly tinkered with the liturgy, flip-flopped feast days and fast days, blew away the Torah￯﾿ﾽs sexual prohibitions, and even encouraged women to peruse the holy writ, forbidden to them by tradition. As an ultimate outrage, Sevi readily embraced the Islamic faith under a sultan￯﾿ﾽs death threat, then blithely convinced members of his cult, known thereafter by the Turkish word for "turncoats," that it was all part of God￯﾿ﾽs great plan for him. Remarkably, directdescendants of those Islamic, crypto-Jewish believers, ostracized and persecuted over three centuries, remain in a few distinct Levantine communities to the present day, and the author has visited several.