unclean beasts out of their homes. The afternoon following the feast there was dancing in the courtyard of the prayer house, men and women circling together. Schoolboys leaped like goats and sang: "The white doves preen--The Messiah has been seen!" Powerful men carried the lame Reb Mordecai Joseph on their shoulders; young men whirled this way and that and engaged in all sorts of nonsense. Even gentiles came to watch the Jews amuse themselves. During the intermediate days of the holiday, marriage contracts were written and good-luck plates were broken in every house where there was a girl over eight. Shortly after Passover new tales of Sabbatai Zevi's prowess circulated in Goray. It was said the Turks in Stamboul had attempted to rise against Sabbatai Zevi, and he had taken refuge in a fortress set aside for him since the Six Days of Creation, after killing every one of them. He had slaughtered the Passover offering and roasted it in the fat, while Sarah, the Messiah's wife, sat in the Sultan's chair, where she was served by caliphs and pashas. Scholars and holy men had kissed her feet and heard the mysteries of the Torah from her lips. Wearing the crown of King David, Sabbatai Zevi had been surrounded by the Fathers, who had risen from their sepulchers in the Cave of Machpaleh. Every day Sabbatai Zevi journeyed to the seashore to receive the potentates who arrived in sailing vessels from the other side of the River Samation, bringing with them talents of gold and precious stones sent by the king of the Ten Tribes. Fifty knights rode before the Messiah, singers attended him with songs of praise, glorifying the Almighty. The earth was cleft by the sound of their voices.... The opponents of Sabbatai Zevi were silenced. Some of them now believed in him; others out of fear of persecution said nothing. In the study house the young men pored over the account of the building of the Holy Temple, and those descended from priests studied the offerings and the sprinkling of sacrificial blood on the altar. As soon as night fell, fiery omens appeared in the sky. One night Rechele, looking into her broth, saw seven maidens with golden crowns on their heads and heard the sweet strains of an unearthly melody. Revealing her secret to no one, she immediately set out to tell Reb Gedaliya. Reb Gedaliya happened to be all alone in the house. A wax candle burned in a silver candlestick; on the table stood an earthen jug of wine; on a silver platter lay a roast hen. Before Rechele could speak, Reb Gedaliya rose and ran to meet her with outstretched arms, crying: "Welcome, 0 righteous woman, in God's name! Verily, I know all!" And he shut the door behind her.
5
Rechele Prophesies
Midnight of the fourteenth day of the month of Sivan, in early June, Rechele lying in her canopy bed after a penitential fast (Reb Itche Mates had lodged in the study house overnight), heard a sound as of the wind blowing and wings beating. A bright red glow surrounded her; flames seemed to overwhelm the house, and a voice called: "Rechele, Rechele!" "Speak, for thy servant hearkeneth," replied Rechele, who had studied the Bible and remembered the tale of the young Samuel and Eli, the priest. "Rechele, be strong and of good cheer! I am the Angel Sandalfon!" an awesome voice said. "For lo, I shall put thy tears into a gourd and bear them up on high to the Throne of Glory. Thy prayers and supplications have penetrated the seven firmaments. Go, and proclaim in the ears of those that tremble at the word of God that the perfect and full redemption will come at the new year. And to Reb Gedaliya, that saintly man, thou shalt announce: 'All the worlds on high do tremble at the unions he doth form. The power of his combinations reaches even to the heavenly mansions. From these combinations seraphim and angels twist coronets for the Divine Presence.' " All night the voice called to Rechele, without interruption, at times in the holy tongue, at times in Yiddish. The air thickened with smoke and a glowing, ghostly, purple light. Rechele felt the walls sundering, the ceiling dissolving,