dans from the Holy Land, and restore the Jews to their ancient inheritance. As the first work of redemption, he set about abolishing Talmudic ordinances, changing the ritual, disregarding the dietary laws and the observance of the second days of the holidays, permitting the use of wine that had been touched by a non-Jew, neglecting the details of the preparation of marriage contracts (Kethuboth) and of bills of divorce (Gittin), and even allowing intermarriage within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity and affinity. Serene's hostile attitude toward Rabbinism secured for him a large following, and his fame so spread throughout Jewry that even the Jews of distant Spain were ready to abandon their property and their possessions and follow the lead of the Messiah. His glory was short-lived. He was captured by the officers of the Caliph Yezid, and, admitting that he was making sport of the credulous Jews, he was handed over to the Jewish authorities for

punishment. In accordance with a decree of Rabbi Natronai Gaon, his adherents were readmitted to the Jewish community after publicly declaring their allegiance to the precepts of the Talmud and suffering flagellation, a mild punishment considering the spirit of the age and the unlimited powers of the Gaonate.'

An exactly opposite policy was pursued by another false Messiah, Obayah Abu-Isa ben Ishak, who arose three decades later in the Persian town of Ispahan. The changes in liturgy and observance which he tried to introduce tended rather toward increasing than lessening the burden of the Talmudic laws. He abolished divorce, even in the case of adultery, prohibited the use of meat and wine, declared himself opposed to sacrificial worship, and, on the strength of a passage in the Psalms, established seven times of daily prayer instead of the accepted three. He found many adherents among the Jews of Persia, ten thousand of whom, it is said,"

were ready to take up arms at his command. According to one authority, Abu-Isa considered himself, not the Messiah, but merely the last of the five percursors of the Messiah, and thought it was his mission to liberate the Jews by means of the sword." The time of his coming was most propitious for revolt. It was then that the Omeyyad dynasty came to an end amidst fierce fighting. The Mohammedan world was in the throes of a terrible revolution. Abu-Isa took advantage of this opportunity. He was in the very thick of the fight. With his army he went to the camp of Abu Sinbad, the antagonist of the Abbassides. The defeat of Abu Sinbad marked his own fall.

In spite of the many miracles he is said to have performed, Abu-Isa did not succeed in making himself immortal, and his followers dispersed after his death in battle (755). But his memory was treasured for many years by his adherents, who formed themselves into a sect, the first Jewish sect since

the fall of Jerusalem. Under the name of Isavites or Ispahanites, it existed for nearly three centuries. The Isavites followed implicitly the precepts of their master, and considered themselves the successors of the Rechabites, who are mentioned in the Bible as an ascetic sect. It is not recorded whether they expected Abu-Isa to appear again. In general we know none of the details of their Messianic beliefs. It is, however, an interesting fact that a religious sect, the basis of whose belief was the Messianic hope, existed among the Jews before the rise of Karaism. 'Anan was not the first heretic in the Synagogue.

The troublous times of the schism and rebellion in the Mohammedan camp revived the hope for a Messiah among all the Jews under the rule of the Caliphs. Almost contemporaneous with the activity of Abu-Isa in Persia and Babylon, a Messianic apocalypse appeared in Palestine, "The Mysteries of Rabbi Simeon son of Johai." The

T

angel Metatron is made to reveal to the Tanna Rabbi Simeon ben Johai, whose name is connected with a number of mystical writings of various ages and lands, the incidents which will occur at the end of days. This is the oldest mystical writing of the Geonic period in which contemporary events are made the basis for a construction of the ideal future. To the Tanna's vehement question, "Is it not sufficient that we had to suffer so much at the hands of Edom (Rome, Christians)? Must we now undergo persecution also under the rule of Ishmael (Arabs, Mohammedans)?" The angel replies, "Fear not, O son of man, for the Holy One, blessed be He, established the kingdom of Ishmael for the sole purpose of redeeming thee from this wicked kingdom (Edom). He gave them a prophet in accordance with His will, and this prophet conquered the land (Palestine), and they will return it (to Israel) with glory, and there will be great hatred (fear?) between them and the sons