Troubled times for the Jews always raise messianic hopes, and in the troubled 17th century, the charismatic Shabsai Tzvi proclaimed to the world that he was the messiah. With the help of his "publicist" Nathan of Gaza, his following spread literally throughout the Jewish world. Rabbi Wein narrates the dramatic rise and fall of Shabsai Tzvi, the worst messianic debacle in Jewish history.

• the messianic fervor of the times captured in all its tragedy
• how Shabsai Tzvi came to believe his own act
• Jacob Sasportas and other voices of opposition
• the Sultan, profiteer from the throngs of followers
• cynicism, the ultimate legacy of Shabsai Tzvi