Francesa Sarah of Safed

Francesa Sarah
Francesa Sarah
פרנסיזה שרה
Born	16th century
Known for	Jewish mysticism, early Sabbateanism, having a magid
Notable work	Prophesies recorded in the Sefer ha-Ḥezyonot

Francesa Sarah (Hebrew: פרנסיזה שרה; 16th-century) was a Jewish mystic. She is described in the Sefer ha-Ḥezyonot ("The Book of Visions") by Hayyim Vital.^[1] She was a holy woman in the early Sabbateanism in Safed, and unique in Jewish religious history as the only woman regarded to have had a magid, an angelic spirit with the ability to foretell the future. A magid was, in accordance with belief, granted only to very select few among the highest scholars, and she was the only woman credited such. She is depicted as extremely wise and righteous, and made several famed prophesies. Little biographical fact is known about her life.

Allegedly, she made a prophecy to the daughter of Rabbi Solomon Alkabetz that the Messiah would come in Vital's lifetime. The Toledot Ha'ari, a text written around the end of the 16th century,^[2] records two stories about Francesa. The first story concerns a rabbi who responds to her prophecy of a plague by declaring a day for fasting and prayer. She foretells his death. The second story concerns a different rabbi who plans to settle in Ankara with his business partner. Francesa informs the rabbi that his business partner is already dead and therefore there is no point in settling in Ankara. The rabbi instead decides to travel to Ankara to collect his investment and return to Eretz Yisrael; Francesa informs him that he will surely find success this time, as God wants the rabbi to not leave the Land of Israel. J. H. Chajes writes that the Francesa described in the Toledot Ha'ari evokes imagery of the Witch of Endor.^[3]

References

^ Verini, Alexandra (2022), Sauer, Michelle M.; Watt, Diane; McAvoy, Liz Herbert (eds.), "Women and Comparative Religion", The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women's Writing in the Global Middle Ages, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–8, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-76219-3_37-1.pdf, ISBN 978-3-030-76219-3, retrieved 2024-01-20
^ "Isaac ben Solomon Luria". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
^ Chajes, J. H. (2005). "He Said She Said: Hearing the Voices of Pneumatic Early Modern Jewish Women". Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues (10): 113–116. ISSN 0793-8934. Retrieved 14 February 2024.

Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry & Cheryl Tallan, The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E., 2003

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[1] Verini, Alexandra (2022), Sauer, Michelle M.; Watt, Diane; McAvoy, Liz Herbert (eds.), "Women and Comparative Religion", The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women's Writing in the Global Middle Ages, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–8, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-76219-3_37-1.pdf, ISBN 978-3-030-76219-3, retrieved 2024-01-20

[2] "Isaac ben Solomon Luria". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 14 February 2024.

[chajes-3] Chajes, J. H. (2005). "He Said She Said: Hearing the Voices of Pneumatic Early Modern Jewish Women". Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues (10): 113–116. ISSN 0793-8934. Retrieved 14 February 2024.

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Francesa Sarah of Safed

See also

References