Among modern thinkers, Gershom Scholem stands out for the wealth and power of his historical imagination. Widely recognized for his magnum opus, Gershom Scholem's work offers a vivid and nuanced description of a single messianic movement that has swept the Jewish world. Shabtai Zvi was a 17th-century rabbi Kabbalist in Turkey who gathered ardent supporters throughout the Jewish world by declaring himself the messiah.