Moses Pinheiro (d. 1689) was an

Italian Jew Italian Jews ( it, Ebrei Italiani, he, יהודים איטלקים ''Yehudim Italkim'') or Roman Jews ( it, Ebrei Romani, he, יהודים רומים ''Yehudim Romim'') can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in I ...

who lived in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

in the seventeenth century. He was one of the most influential pupils and followers of

Sabbatai Zevi Sabbatai Zevi (; August 1, 1626 – c. September 17, 1676), also spelled Shabbetai Ẓevi, Shabbeṯāy Ṣeḇī, Shabsai Tzvi, Sabbatai Zvi, and ''Sabetay Sevi'' in Turkish, was a Jewish mystic and ordained rabbi from Smyrna (now İzmir, Turk ...

. He was held in high esteem on account of his religious and kabbalistic knowledge; and, as the brother-in-law of Joseph Ergas, the well-known anti-

Sabbatean The Sabbateans (or Sabbatians) were a variety of Jewish followers, disciples, and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), a Sephardic Jewish rabbi and Kabbalist who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1666 by Nathan of Gaza. Vast ...

, he had great influence over the Jews of Leghorn, urging them to believe in Sabbatai. Even later, in 1667, when Shabbethai's apostasy was rumored, Pinheiro, in common with numerous other adherents of Zevi, still believed him to be the messiah. Pinheiro was "the center of the Shabbatean group in Livorno", and he maintained a correspondence with Shabbetai Zevi over the years, after his return from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

to Livorno in 1667. He spent some time with Sabbatai in Constantinople in 1666-67.

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

stayed at Pinheiro's house on his visit to Italy in 1668. Pinheiro was the teacher of Abraham Miguel Cardoso, whom he initiated into the

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

and into the mysteries of Sabbateanism.

Notes

References

* Grätz, Gesch. 3d ed., x. 190, 204, 225, 229, 312 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinheiro, Moses Italian Sephardi Jews Italian people of Portuguese descent Livornese Jews 17th-century Italian rabbis Sabbateans