Jews of Saturn

The leading contemporary researcher of Jewish mysticism, Moshe Idel, turns in his book to unknown pages in the history of the Jewish people, discussing the influence of astrological ideas on Judaism and Jewish identity. Even in classical antiquity, a connection was noted between the worship of the seventh day (Shabbat) by Jews and the planet Saturn (in Hebrew, Shabtai), which corresponds to this day according to astrological calculations. Idel shows that in certain historical periods, such ideas were actively embraced by the Jews themselves. In particular, the image of Saturn may have influenced the emergence of legends about the 'sabbath' of witches, determined the life choices of the famous false messiah Shabbetai Zvi, and even reflected in a unique way in the worldview of Gershom Scholem, the founder of scientific research in Kabbalah.