Volume II, DIVISION II: JEWISH HISTORY IN THE MISHNAH AND TALMUD PERIOD, IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND MODERN TIMES; THE JEWISH LABOUR MOVEMENT; CONTEMPORARY JEWISH HISTORY; THE HOLOCAUST

World Union of Jewish Studies / האיגוד העולמי למדעי היהדות

/ "משיח" בן המאה הי"ט מאזרביז'אן A NINETEENTH-CENTURY 'MESSIAH' FROM AZERBAIJANAuthor(s): William M. Brinner and ברינר ו"מSource: Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies / דברי הקונגרס העולמי למדעיVolume II, DIVISION II: JEWISH HISTORY IN THE MISHNAH AND TALMUD ,היהדות, כרך הPERIOD, IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND MODERN TIMES; THE JEWISH LABOUR MOVEMENT;CONTEMPORARY JEWISH HISTORY; THE HOLOCAUST / כרך ב, חטיבה ב: תולדות עם ישראלבתקופת המשנה והתלמוד, בימי הביניים ובעת החדשה; תולדות תנועת העבודה היהודית; יהדותזמננו; השואה... תשכ"ט / 196Published by: World Union of Jewish Studies / האיגוד העולמי למדעי היהדותStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23515504 .

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A NINETEENTH-CENTURY 'MESSIAH' FROM AZERBAIJAN

William M. Brinner

Berkeley

This paper is essentially a report of the contents of a manuscript in the Hebraica collection of the Sutro Library in San Francisco, Califor nia. The story of this library itself forms an interesting chapter in the

history of a rather unique corner of the Diaspora — the Jewish communities that arose in northern California during the Gold Rush of 1848-49 and attracted large numbers of Jews, primarily from revolu tion-torn Germany.

The Sutro Library, which constitutes part of the California State

Library and is presently housed in the University of San Francisco, consists of the private collection of the late Adolph Sutro (1830-1898), a Jew from Aachen who built a great personal fortune in the silver mines of Nevada about one hundred years ago and died in the last decade of the nineteenth century after having served as mayor of San Francisco.1 During his last years, Sutro spent great sums to purchase what was to become the largest and best private collection of manuscripts, incunabula, printed books and documents in the Western Hemisphere. At his death he bequeathed the entire library to the State of California with the stipulations that (1) it was to remain perpetually in San Francisco - - although the rest of the State Library is located in the capital, Sacramen to - - and (2) that it was to be available, free of charge, to the general public. Unfortunately, more than half of this rich collection — gathered by Sutro himself and by his agents in Europe, South America, and Palestine — was destroyed in the great earthquake and fire that devastated San Francisco in 1906 and today the roughly 100.000 volumes that survived that holocaust form the basis of an erratic, albeit interesting collection.2

1. The family name is probably a writing of the Aramaic zutra. There is a full scale biography by Robert E. Stewart, Jr., and Mary Frances Stewart, Adolph Sutro, A Biography (Berkeley, California, Howell-North, 1962).

2. The Stewarts give some information on Sutro's collecting methods, op. cit., p. 178-179.



A "MESSIAH" FROM AZERBAIJAN 7

A very small part of this collection which is still extant consists of a

group of Hebraica - numbering no more than 165 items — most of which was purchased by Sutro from the estate of the late and notorious Jeru salem antiquities dealer, Moses Wilhelm Shapira (ca. 1830-1884), after the latter's suicide.3 It cannot be called an important collection in terms of the surviving works included in it. Dr. Goshen-Gottstein, who examined the biblical material in it several years ago, wrote in Textus that it contained nothing of value.4 What should, nevertheless, make the

collection attractive to scholars is that most of the items in it are from Yemen and are of special interest to students of the Yemenite Jews. There are inscriptions and marginal notes in most of the manuscripts,

naming places and individuals, and the collection also contains a few

rather rare items of Yemenite Jewish literature.

During Sutro's lifetime two attempts were made at cataloguing the

collection. One, in 1894, was by Rabbi Solomon Roubin, who became

convinced that one of the Torah scrolls from Yemen in the collection was

an autograph of Maimonides and spent considerable effort trying to

convince the scholarly world of this. The second was by the noted biblio

phile and scholar Ephraim Deinard some two years later. Deinard's

incomplete catalogue, which was at one time in the library of the Jewish

Theological Seminary in New York and has since disappeared, survives

in a photostatic copy and is full of polemic against Roubin, asserting time and again that the latter was an ignoramus.5 Neither Roubin nor

Deinard completed their work and a third attempt was made around 1937

by three San Francisco Jews with some Judaic knowledge, supported by the Works Progress Administration of the United States Government,

but this too was never completed nor published. Several years ago I was

requested by the Library to compile a catalogue which has appeared under

3. Op. cit., p. 177, indicates that Sutro was in Jerusalem almost immediately

after Shapira's death in Amsterdam on March 9: 'In April of 1884 Adolph wrote his

daughter Emma from Jerusalem. His letter... indicates clearly that he had been buying

books in large quantities.' See, too, the rather tendentious account of Shapira's life by

John Marco Allegro, The Shapira Affair, (Garden City, N. Y., Doubleday Sc Co.

Inc., 1965.).

4. Cf. 'Biblical Manuscripts in the United States,' Textus 2 (1962), p. 34; see

also ibid., note 34.

5. The photostats are in the possession of Rabbi Louis I. Newman of Temple

Rodeph Sholom, New York City, who kindly placed them at my disposal. See Rabbi

Newman's study. 'Solomon Roubin and Ephraim Deinard, Cataloguers of the

Hebraica in the Sutro Library...' in Semitic and Oriental Studies... Presented to William

Popper (Berkeley 1951), p. 355-364.



8 WILLIAM M. BRINNER

the title Sutro Library Hebraica: A Handlist, published by the California

State Library in 1966.6 Along with the many tanakhim and works of

Maimonides are a few rare items, as previously mentioned, and among these is a unique manuscripts, number 163 in my Handlist, entitled

Qol Mevasser. It is this work, first called to my attention by Professor

W. J. Fischel several years ago, which is the subject of this paper. In 121

folios of rather poor paper of different sizes and colors are remnants of

what was probably originally a collection of quntresim, as the author

himself refers to the work, bearing the titles Qol Mevasser, Olam-ha

Malbush, and Shirah Hadashah. It is very probable that in the first

two of these works, Qol Mevasser and Olam ha-Malbush, the author was

simply copying existing kabbalistic works or annotating them with h's

additions, as we may perhaps learn from his statement רפס ןקתל בותכנ

There has been no opportunity, as yet, of comparing the רשבמ לוק.7

text of Qol Mevasser with an earlier work of the same name kindly brought to my attention by Dr. M. Benayahu. It is clear, however, from its contents that Shirah Hadashah was an original composition of the author, a Jew

from Azerbaijan named Matityahu ben Shemuel ha-Kohen Mizrahi.

The unique aspect of the entire work, which would make it worthy of study, even if it is essentially a copy of the earlier work by the same

name, are the autobiographical statements, at times of considerable

length, scattered throughout the work by the author. Often these are in the form of didactic remarks addressed to a son; elsewhere they take the form of diary entries, noting the date, place, and the events of the

day. It is from these latter entries that we learn that the work was written at various intervals between the years 5567-5588/1806-1828 in various

places in Kurdistan, Iran, the Caucasus, and in Constantinople. In the course of his wanderings from one Jewish community to another, Mizrahi often comments on the customs of the place and on how they differ from those of his home which he had left some twenty years before, in 1787.8

The language of the manuscripts is a hodgepodge combined in an

ungrammatical Hebrew base. Mizrahi himself, in explaining why he used

6. Available, on request, from the California State Library, Sacramento, Califor

nia.

7. Fol. 21b :18.

8. The dated sections are from Salmas, Senneh, Basra, Bushire, Shiraz, Tehran,

Kazvin, Suram, and Constantinople. Other communities mentioned are Miju (Myujyu)

Shemakhi, Aksu, Derbend, Kuba, Zalm, Shekki, Ushnu, Bajerga and Sakkiz.



A MESSIAH FROM AZERBAIJAN 9

several languages in his gematria, uses the Biblical phrase יתדקפ דקפ as

standing for רבדי םוגרת (sic!)9. יקרוד ,שדוק ,יסרפ Indeed, all four of these

languages, Persian, Hebrew, Turkish, and Aramaic occur. This mixture of

languages points to the birthplace of the author and the linguistic environments in which he wandered. Hebrew and Aramaic were, of

course, the religious heritage of Mizrahi, although in regard to Aramaic, it is interesting to note that in several places he compares Aramaic

terms of what he calls Targum, or literary Aramaic, with Jebeli, the

dialect of the Jews of Kurdistan among whom he spent the years 1810-11, if not a longer time. Turkish and Persian reflected the authors birth

place and, as well, his long stay in Persia around the years 1813-16.

Although he mentions his birthplace on numerous occasions, the

following is typical of the way in which Mizrahi worked autobiogra

phical information into the text:10

ו'גימ רפכ אד -ךצראמ [יבא תיבמו ךתדלוממו ךצראמ ךל ךל- אוה אדו

.יכאמש ריעמ -ךיבא תיבמו- ןאוריש ריעמ -ךתדלוממו"Born in the village of Miju, Mizrahi grew up in Shemakhi, then the chief

city of Shirvan. The latter name figures with special prominence because,

by a transposition of its letters, it becomes the Hebrew name קרושי As he says:11.קר ושי יטבש טויתוא ןאוריש ריעמ לכה תליחת הלואג ליחתר. About his family background and his birthplace, Mizrahi writes further:12

־מוא תחא המוא קפצל חרזמ קב ...ןטסל אצמנש קדבאו גרהו הכמ ינימ המכ הארת

התייהנ אל הז רחא הז םינש המכ ונילע וטלש םה .םכילא אל ןגימרב יגזל םמש םיד

יתחנ אל םינש המכ -תיב איבת םידורמ םיינעו- זומרל םהילעו םלועה לכל םה ומכ

אל רשא תודרמ תכמ רעצ הנידמה ינב לכל ןתונו םדחפמ יתולש אלו יתטקש אלו

אישנ היה רודה ותוא יראמ אבא רומ וליפא -יל קחצי עמושה לכ- ...והומכ התייהנ

היהו םינטלושו םירשו םיכלמ ינפל הברה ודובכ היהו יכאמש קוריש ק-קל םהילע

יתחרב לובסל יתלוכי אל םינפ לכ לע ,םיבשו רבוע םימכחל החותפ דעו תיב ותיב

עריא תוערואמ ולא ...היבשל וכלה םהמ הזיאו ...ותמ םימכח הזיא ...ןאכלו ןאכל

...םלזו יכשו אבוק דנברד ופאק דימצו ונלש ק-קל םלוכFrom historical works on the area in question we learn that the

period during which Mizrahi began his wanderings was indeed full of

unrest in the khanate of Shirvan which had become a battleground

9. Fols. 2b:39~3a: 1. The Persian and Turkish glosses are not many, e.g.,

do, 'two;' in ,וד ';man, I ,ןמ ';pamba, 'cotton ,הבמפ ';abrisham, 'silk ,םושורבא

Persian, and קפיא, ipek, 'silk;'ןס, sen,'thou;י קובמפ, 'cotton,' in Turkish.

10. Fol. 13b :23.

11. Fol. 7a :26.

12. Fol. 87a:9.



10 WILLIAM M. BRINNER

of conflicting Persian and Russian interests - Shemakhi itself having fallen to the Russians in a compaign which ended in 1796. An English historian writing in 1866 - a few years after Shemakhi had ceased being the administrative and cultural center of the area in favour of Baku-says: 'The attacks of the neighbouring Lesghis and the frequent recurrence of

earthquakes did much to destroy Shemakhi.'13

Driven by this unrest to leave his homeland, Mizrahi began his

wanderings through Kurdistan mentioning several communities which he

visited and in which he spent some time. Part of the time he travelled

with an elder brother, Abraham, who eventually left him to go to the

community of Siyakhal in Gilan on the Caspian. A younger brother,

Jacob, remained in Shemakhi. The route through Kurdistan led from Salmas and Urmiya to Ushnu, Bajerga, Sakkiz, and Senneh. In one

lengthy passage in which he reminisces about the piety and beautiful customs of his homeland he contrasts this with the Kurdish Jews about whom he writes:14

םניא ןאדסודרוכ ירע לכ וליפא ...םיפי םיגהנמ םש יתיאר אלו תונידמ המכל יתעריא

ונשוא אגריגב סמלס ימרוא תונידמה הלא ..,.האירה תקידב ץד וא החיפנ ץד םיעדוי

זוקס קלבס יגקולב לש תוכרב רדס אלו ותכלהכ תוקונית דמלמ םהל ןיא וליפא -

הנובלעמ םהל יוא .םר לוקב םירמוא שחלהו הלפת רדס םיעדוי אלו -המשנ יהלא"

.ץדה םויל םהל רא ,הרות לשIn several places the autobiographical information is highly personal and serves solely to give us a fuller picture of Mizrahi himself, as when he writes about his own educational background:15

ריעמ ןאכמו ןאכמ יתחרב אלא ןבר תיב לש תוקוניתב יתדמל אל יל םרג יעשפו יאטח

תולגל יתלפנשכו םיאיבנו הרות אלא יתוברמ יתדמל אלו ...םיכלמה תארימ ריעל

.םוש ירכוזב ראשנ אלו ינממ חכשנ םה םג םינש עבראו םירשע ולאל

Elsewhere, however, his remarks, while personal, throw a sudden light on some aspect of the Jewish community among which he is living at the time:16

ונייהד ףרוחה ימיל עיגהשכו ...רכזנה אתמ ןאכ ונבשי ונחנא ...זארישד אתאמ הפ

םילש םהמ החא ...ןיפד המכ שדוקה ירפס םירפס טעמ םהמ יתחקל וילסכ שדוח

יתב ראשמ ץפדו ץפד המכ יתאבהו דוע יתפסוהו םילש יתלב םהמ התאו םירפס 'ה

דחא ןאכ שי יכ םירפס ג''כ םלשינש דע ןוקית יתלב היהש המ םילשהל ידכ תויסנכ

םילש יתלבו םילש םירפס םיתאממ רתוי םיאצמנ דחאו דחא לכל תויסנכ יתב רשע

...זונגה תיבל םיזונג ןוקית יתלבו

13. Cf. R. G. Watson, History of Persia (London, 1866), p. 92.

14. Fol. 98a:ll.

15. Fol. 81a:21.

16. Fol. 99b :6.



A "MESSIAH" FROM AZERBAIJAN II

Somewhere in the course of his wanderings two things happened to

Mizrahi which changed the course of his life. First in Salmas while

very ill and afraid that he would lose his eyesight, he vowed that if

he recovered his eyesight he would make his way to Safed. From

that time on, he writes poignantly of his longings for Zion and his

efforts to reach the holy city. Secondly, as he continued his quntresim and working out by kabbalistic means the end of the days, he became

convinced that he had the key to the beginning of the Messianic era.

This seems to have come to him in Persia, where he tried to comfort the

Jews faced by the phenomenon which became increasingly common in

Persia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the forcible

conversion to Islam, which reached its peak in Meshed around 1840.17

ינתפזשש" רפאו קשו םינונחתו תוליפת םינש המכ ...הזה רמה תולגב "הרוחש" "ןיש"

םהמ הזיא סונא ידי לע םהמ הזיא ריעו ריע לכ (ב)וברתנ םידמושמה תביסמ "שמשה

ףלא תלחתהל לומת םג ישי ןב אב אלו ןמזו ץק רבע םירמוא םויו םוי לכ .םחרוכ לעב ...םויה םג ישש ףלא תלחתמ לומת םג אב אל אוה םא םהל יתרמא ...םויה םג ...ישישה

הלואגה ןמ ושאייתנ םהמ הברה ידמו םרפ ירע לכו םייצרפ ישנא ...ץ"קתל ונב ןב אב

.םתרצ בורמ העושתהמוThe end of days was thus to come in the year 5590 (ץ"קת) or 1830.

This was but a few years away and it would seem, as one reads various

comments by the author, that the conviction was growing in his own

mind first that his elder brother Abraham was the Messiah and later

that he and Abraham were, in fact, both Messiahs, representing Moses

and Aaron respectively, whose identity would be made known in the

year already mentioned previously, 5590 or 1830. The lengthy poem, Shirah fladashah, mentioned previously, deals almost entirely with

this theme.

Although this rather sensational aspect of the work is not, by any means, its most important feature, it adds a special note of poignancy and mystery. The year of the expected revelation of the Messiah was to

be 1830 and the last dated entry in the manuscript is in Constantinople in 1828. Mizrahi was on his way to Safed and we may perhaps surmise

that he reached Palestine. How else did the manuscript come into the

possession of Shapira and eventually end up in Sutro's library in San

Francisco? But one may wonder, too, how Mizrahi explained the year 1830 and the non-appearance of the Messiah if indeed, he lived to see

that year.

17. Fol. 2b :21.



12 WIEEI/N M. ERIKNER

As has been mentioned, the chief value of the manuscript lies in the

sporadic comments by Mizrahi on the places visited during his wan

derings, such as the examples presented here. It is portions such as

these that should be edited and published together with comparisons with whatever contemporary material is available on Jewish communities

in the places mentioned.18 It is here that the 'Messiah5 from Shemakhi

in Azerbaijan will have made his lasting contribution to his people.

18. Cf. especially the travels of David d'Bet Hillel, 'Masa' le-Kurdistan

Paras u-Bavel,' a translation by W. J. Fischel in Sinai (5699/1939), and Joseph J.

Chorny, Seferha-masa'otb'erets Qavqaz(St. Petersburg, 1884).



Documents

Volume II, DIVISION II: JEWISH HISTORY IN THE MISHNAH AND TALMUD PERIOD, IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND MODERN TIMES; THE JEWISH LABOUR MOVEMENT; CONTEMPORARY JEWISH HISTORY; THE HOLOCAUST