The sixty years following the Shabtai Tzvi debacle saw a tremendous backlash against former followers and general suspicion of all Kabbalists. Into this atmosphere arose the great mystical genius Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto who met with fierce opposition, particularly from Rabbi Yaakov Emden, a leading rabbi in Hamburg. Fiercer still was Rabbi Emden's clash with Rabbi Yonasan Eibeschutz, whom he accused of being a supporter of Shabtai Tzvi. These contentious times which split the Jewish world are the watershed for modern Jewish history.

• the Ramchal, a man before his times
• kameas, amulets, and other Kabbalistic items
• the concept of Moshiach ben Yosef
• "witch hunts" and the fracturing of the Jewish people

For more on the life and works of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, see the first lecture in the series "Essential Classics: Books that Have Made a Difference"