Jacob Frank
Description
Jacob Joseph Frank was a Polish-Jewish religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676) and also of the biblical patriarch Jacob. The religious authorities of the Jewish community excommunicated Frank and his followers due to his heretical doctrines that included deification of himself as a part of a trinity and other controversial concepts such as neo-Carpocratian "purification through transgression". Frank’s teachings led his sect into scandalous practices, including ritualized orgies, incestuous acts—most notably between fathers and daughters—and the deliberate violation of Jewish moral laws, which he preached were necessary to hasten a messianic redemption through embracing the "abyss" of sin.
Facts
| Born | Jakub Lejbowicz, 1726, Korolówka, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth |
| Died | December 10, 1791(1791-12-10) (aged 64–65), Offenbach am Main, Principality of Isenburg-Birstein, Holy Roman Empire |
| Children | Eve Frank |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Organisation | Frankism |
Life & work in brief
Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| Historical background | There were numerous outbreaks of followers of Sabbatai Zevi in Eastern Poland (now Ukraine), particularly in Podolia and Galicia, between the late 17th and the early 18th century. |
| Early life | Jacob Frank is believed to have been born as Jakub Lejbowicz (Yankev Leybovitsh) to a Jewish family in Korołówka, in Podolia of Eastern Poland (now in Ukraine), in about 1726. |
| Declaration of being a successor to Sabbatai Zevi | At this critical moment Jacob Frank came to Iwania, proclaimed himself as a direct successor to Sabbatai Zevi and Otman Baba, and assured his adherents that he had received revelations from Heaven. |
| Baptism of the Frankists | At the discussion in 1759, the rabbis energetically repulsed their opponents. |
| Prison and later days | Frank's imprisonment lasted thirteen years, yet it only increased his influence with the sect by surrounding him with the aura of martyrdom. |
Prophecies
Key prophetic utterances and visions attributed to Jacob Frank, with sources.
| Prophecy / vision | Source |
|---|---|
| Declares himself the reincarnation of Sabbatai Tsevi and the Antichrist | Frankist sources |
| Abolition of the old law; 'the holy religion of Edom' | Book of the Words of the Lord |