"practical" Kabbalah who
claimed to perform miracles, demonstrations of which he gave before Christian
notables in Germany and elsewhere. As a result, he was siezed by authorities
in Westphailia, and was sentenced to be burned as a sorcerer, but managed
to escape and in 1742 came to England where he spent the rest of his life
with occasional trips to Paris.
There are many legends about Falk's miraculous powers, none of them
authenticated to my knowledge, and, like
Yakov Leib Frank, he
amassed a large fortune as a result of the "wonders" he performed. However,
he was vehemently attacked by the Orthodox Rabbis of his time, particularly
the emminent R. Jacob Emden who accused him of being a follower of Sabbatai
Zevi. However, he also enjoyed the friendship of many notable
Jews in London, including its Chief Rabbi Tebele Schiff. Concerning Falk
and his alleged Sabbatianism, Gershom Scholem wrote:
"There is full proof that a fair number of men of great talmudic learning, and even officiating rabbis, joined these groups [of Jews who denounced Sabbatai Zevi in public but worshiped him in private]...Kabbalists and Ba'alei Shem from Podhgayce [Falk's alleged home town] who became known in Germany and England such as Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk, the "Ba'al Shem of London". . . came from these circels."On the other hand, Scholem later writes:
(Kabbalah, p.282)
"In the 18th century, Samuel Jacob Hayyim Falk, the "ba'al shem of London," achieved considerable prominence. He was called 'Doctor Falk' by Christians. The theory propounded by several scholars that these wandering ba'alei shem [such as Falk] were responsible for spreading Shabbateanism has not been proven, although some of them were indeed members of the sect." (ibid, page 311)Thus, it would appear that Falk was undoubtedly a prominent force in 18th century Kabbalah, and may even have been responsible for spreading Sabbatian doctrines to the occult schools of non-Jews such as Yeats and his group. If so, this is one more piece of evidence for the major (but little-known) influence Sabbatianism has had on western culture and religious belief - not only among Jews, but Gentiles as well.
Richard Brzustowicz
One more interesting thing about Falk: it is his portrait that is widely circulated among Hasidim as the image of the Ba'al Shem Tov. This portrait, which I believe is in the family of Cecil Adler, either J.S.Copley or Philip Jacques Loutherberg and entitled "The Baal Shem." After the passage of some time it was appropriated and widely reproduced as a portrait of the Besh"t!
Pinchas Giller
posted on the Donmeh mail list
Wed, 9 Jun 1999
Jewish Renewal, Hermetic Cabala, and
Sabbatai Zevi
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