In the second half of the 18th century, a heterodox Jewish movement arose in East Central Europe, whose founder Jakob (Jakub) ben Jehuda Leib Frank (1726-1791) was originally a follower of Sabbatianism, which originated with Sabbatai Zevi (Smyrna). In the 1760s, the members of the Frankist sect split off from the Sabbatian movement and founded a separate religious group that was characterized by syncretistic ideas and rites of Jewish, Islamic, and …