Program to explore the life and times of a 16th-century Black Jewish messiah

In 1524, a short, dark man named David Reubeni appeared in Venice, Italy, claiming to be the ambassador of a powerful Jewish kingdom deep in the heart of Arabia. On Feb. 22, at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, URI Prof. Alan Verskin will discuss his new book “Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah: The Sixteenth-Century Journey of David Reubeni through Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.”

The Mediterranean region during this 16th-century period was marked by fierce rivalries between great powers, voyages of fantastic discovery and brutal conquest of new lands. People in the region saw signs of both hope and an impending apocalypse; they envisioned a coming war that would end with a decisive Christian or Islamic victory.

With his army of hardy desert warriors from lost Israelite tribes, Reubeni pledged to deliver the Jews to the Holy Land by force and restore their pride and autonomy.

Reubeni spent a decade shuttling between European rulers in Italy, Portugal, Spain and France, seeking weaponry in exchange for the support of his hitherto unknown but mighty Jewish kingdom. Many, however, believed that he favored the relatively tolerant Ottomans over the persecutorial Christian regimes.

Reubeni was hailed as a messiah by many wealthy Jews and Iberia’s oppressed conversos, but his grand ambitions were halted in Regensburg, Germany, when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V turned him over to the Inquisition. Reubeni was probably burned at the stake in 1538.

Professor Verskin’s  “Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah” is the first English translation of Reubeni’s Hebrew-language diary, detailing his travels and personal travails. Written in a Hebrew drawn from everyday speech, entirely unlike other literary works of the period, Reubeni’s diary reveals both the dramatic desperation of Renaissance Jewish communities and the struggles of the diplomat, trickster and dreamer who wanted to save them.

Alan Verskin is an associate professor of Jewish and Islamic History at the University of Rhode Island. “Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah” was published by the Stanford University Press.

The free program, part of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s Behind the Book series, will take place on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. To register to attend, go to jewishallianceri.org/diary-of-a-black-jewish-messiah. For more information, contact Larry Katz at lkatz@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111.

LARRY KATZ is director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.