Early/Old Yiddish > Tales of the Messiah - and the demon?
Mayse min Yosef Della Reyna
S.l., late 18th century
General MS 238
General Manuscript Collection
The story of Yosef Della Reyna describes the protagonist’s quest to bring the Messiah by destroying the power of the Satan. Yosef failed, however, when he performed idol worship by offering incense to Satan. According to legend, the kabbalist Isaac Luria saw Yosef reincarnated as a black dog. Sabbateans saw Yosef’s acts to hasten the Messiah as positive, and Yiddish versions are often based on that of Solomon ben Jacob Ayllon, who was involved in a Sabbatean controversy in Amsterdam. This manuscript has been digitized in its entirety, and is available via the National Library of Israel's KTIV website.