Jewish History’s Mystery Man

Nearly 500 years after his death we have yet to pierce the shrouds of mystery surrounding one of Jewish history’s most enigmatic figures David Reuveni (1490–c. 1538). On an otherwise unremarkable winter day in 1523 he suddenly appeared in the Jewish ghetto of Venice — the gateway to Europe for travelers from the East — telling a fantastic tale of journeys through exotic lands and a lost Jewish kingdom and speaking of his grandiose political plan for Jewish salvation.

Despite the clearly fanciful nature of some of his accounts Reuveni began to find doors to high places opening before him. Within a few weeks he was sitting in the palace of Pope Clement VII who engaged him in serious discussion about his visionary plans. The pope also provided him with letters of recommendation to Europe’s most powerful rulers. A mere few months later Reuveni was welcomed to the Lisbon palace of King John III of Portugal (1502–1557) creating an upheaval among Portugal’s Anusim.

The Christian world was fascinated by Reuveni as well. Cardinals princes and kings listened to his stories and ideas with a mixture of curiosity and concern and derision. On the one hand it was difficult for them to take him seriously yet his words had too solid a factual basis to be completely rejected. Reuveni found himself in the center of the raging conflict between the pope and King Henry VIII of England (1491–1547) which would fatefully affect the future of Catholic sovereignty in Europe.

Then at the height of his brief tumultuous ascent to prominence Reuveni vanished leaving behind a trail of questions that have never been answered conclusively. Who was he and where did he come from? And what was he truly hoping to achieve?