Frank, Jacob

Frank, Jacob
(1726–91)
   Founder of Frankist sect. Frank was born in Korolowka, Podolia, the son of a respected Orthodox merchant. He himself became a merchant, trading from Bucharest in cloth, jewels and various other articles. Much of his time was spent in the company of followers of the pseudo- Messiah SHABBETAI ZEVI in Smyrna and Salonika. When he made his first public appearance in Podolia late in 1755, as the leader of a new movement, he posed as a Sephardi Jew, a Turkish subject, and for this reason was called a Frank, Yiddish for Sephardi. He adopted this as his surname. His movement spread rapidly, attracting many followers in Podolia. In a scandal in which some of them were arrested in 1756 it was alleged that the sect practised redemption through sin by means of sexual orgies. After Frank and his followers were excommunicated by the rabbis in that year, he appealed to the anti-Semitic bishop of Kamenetz-Podolski, seeking his protection on the grounds that his sect were ‘anti-tal-mudic’ Jews. In a public disputation between Jews and Frankists, ordered by the bishops and held in Lvov in 1757, Frank enumerated the principles of his sect, cunningly making it appear that references which were in fact to Shabbetai Zevi applied to Jesus. The upshot of this disputation, in which the Frankists were declared the victors, was the burning of the Talmud in Lvov. After a further disputation held in 1759 some of the Frankists were baptized.
   But Frank aroused the ire of the authorities when it was discovered that his followers still regarded him as the Messiah, and he was arrested. He was exiled in 1772. After living in Bruen in Moravia, in 1786 he settled in Offenbach. In both places his followers flocked to his court, pretending to follow Catholicism but keeping to the practices of the sect, many of which were of a deliberately exotic and ‘eastern’ nature.
   On Frank’s death he was succeeded by his daughter Eva, who was proclaimed the female principle of the faith. She acted like the royal princess her father claimed her to be, and died in 1816, leaving massive debts. The sect, members of whom tried to marry only among themselves, persisted for many years, but was eventually absorbed into Polish Jewish society. Groups such as the Frankists, whose beliefs were founded on a popular sort of mysticism, did much to engender rabbinical suspicion of the chassidic movement that was founded shortly after by ISRAEL BEN-ELIEZER BAAL SHEM TOV.

Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament. . 2012.

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  • Frank Jacob — (* 1966 in Freiburg im Breisgau) ist Professor für Interface Design an der Muthesius Kunsthochschule in Kiel. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Auszeichnungen und Preise 3 Veröffentlichungen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Frank, Jacob — orig. Jacob Leibowicz born 1726, Berezanka or Korolowka, Galicia, Pol. died Dec. 10, 1791, Offenbach, Hessen Jewish false messiah. He was an uneducated visionary who claimed to be the reincarnation of Shabbetai Tzevi. He proclaimed himself… …   Universalium

  • Frank, Jacob — orig. Jacob Leibowicz (1726, Berezanka o Korolowka, Galicia, Polonia–10 dic. 1791, Offenbach, Hessen). Falso Mesías judío. Fue un visionario sin educación que pretendía ser la reencarnación de Shabbetai Tzevi. Se proclamó mesías en 1751 y fundó… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Frank, Jacob — (1726–91)    Sect Founder.    Frank was born Jankiev Lebowicz of Jewish parents. He was influenced by the Donmeh cult of Turkey – a group of Jews who had followed the false messiah Shabbetai Zevi into Islam. Frank seems to have believed that he… …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Frank, Jacob — (1726 91)    Polish communal leader, founder of the Frankist movement. He was born in Podolia. He was regarded as the successor to Shabbetai Tzevi. His mystical festivities were alleged to be accompanied by sexual orgies. He and his followers… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • FRANK, JACOB, AND THE FRANKISTS — Jacob Frank (1726–1791) was the founder of a Jewish sect named after him which comprised the last stage in the development of the Shabbatean movement. He was born Jacob b. Judah Leib in Korolowka (Korolevo), a small town in Podolia. His family… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Frank, Jacob — soprannome di Lejbowicz, Jakob Jozef …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • Jacob Frank — Jacob Franck Jacob Frank Jacob Frank, ou Jakob Franck (1726 1791), fut un prétendant juif à la messianité à la suite de Sabbataï Tsevi. Ses disciples firent sécession avec le judaïsme, et créèrent un mouvement empreint de christianisme, le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacob Franck — Jacob Frank Jacob Frank, ou Jakob Franck (1726 1791), fut un prétendant juif à la messianité à la suite de Sabbataï Tsevi. Ses disciples firent sécession avec le judaïsme, et créèrent un mouvement empreint de christianisme, le frankisme. Le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacob Frank — Frank and his followers were excommunicated due to his extremely unconventional doctrines that included acceptance of the New Testament, Enlightenment and some controversial concepts such as purification through transgression.Frank arguably… …   Wikipedia

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