The Vilner Gaon School, Sabbateanism, and Dos Pintele Yid / תלמידי הגר"א, השבתאות והנקודה היהודית

Ever since the publication of Gershom Scholem's works, the decisive role of Sabbteanism in Judaism has been well established. The only exception seemed to be R. Elijah, the Gaon of Vilna, and his school, who were treated as being above any suspicion of Sabbatean links. This is no longer the case, due to the recently published writings of a close disciple of the Gaon, R. Menahem Mendel of Shklov. The present article shows that R. Menahem Mendel alludes to Shabbetai Tsevi and presents him as the first Messiah, who, notwithstanding his sinning, signifies an essential stage on the route of redemption. R. Menahemn Mendel not only draws abundantly from Sabbatean sources but also offers an ideological reasoning for doing so. His attitude towards Sabbateanism is shared by his disciple, R. Isaac Eisik Haver (Wildmann). Sabbateanism also affects their definition of the essence of Judaism, which they describe in terms of faith rather than in relation to the Halakhah. This essence is called Nekuddah (point), and has much to do with Jerusalem, where Menahem Mended settled down and became the founder of the Ashkenazi congregation. The article suggests that this is an important stage in the development of the notion of ha-nekuddah ha-yehudit (the Jewish point), and its Yiddish equivalent, dos Pintele Yid. The roots of this notion are to be found in Sefer Yetsirah and Sefer ha-Zohar, but it reached both Hasidism and the school of the Gaon via Sabbateanism.