Solomon Molcho

Solomon Molcho (born c. 1500, Portugal—died 1532, Mantua [Italy]) was a martyr who announced the messiah, arousing the expectations of European Jews.

The son of Marrano parents (Portuguese or Spanish Jews forced to become Christians), Pires attained the position of royal secretary in a Portuguese high court of justice. When an Arabian adventurer, David Reubeni, arrived in Portugal, Pires became possessed by mystic visions and was convinced that Reubeni was an augur of the Jewish messiah, the divinely chosen leader who would destroy the enemies of the Jews and initiate the Golden Age. Reubeni, claiming to be the brother of an Arabian Jewish king, had asked the Portuguese king for weapons so that he could lead a Jewish army to drive the Turks out of Palestine.

Pires circumcised himself, took the name Solomon Molcho, and approached Reubeni, telling him of his conversion and desire to openly espouse Judaism. He was rebuffed, however, by Reubeni. Molcho left Portugal and for a time lived in Salonika, Tur., where he joined a circle of Kabbalists (believers in the Kabbala, Jewish mystical writings). He began to preach that the messiah would arise in 1540 and published several sermons. After dwelling for a time in Safed, Palestine, he went to Rome (1529) and managed to win Pope Clement VII’s protection from the Inquisition. Preaching at the great synagogue in Rome, Molcho accurately predicted two natural catastrophes—a flood in Rome (1530) and an earthquake in Portugal (1531).

In the meantime, Reubeni had come to Rome and joined forces with Molcho. In 1532 they went to Regensburg, Ger., to see Emperor Charles V in a vain attempt to persuade him to arm the Marranos against the Turks. Charles imprisoned them and turned them over to the Inquisition in Mantua. Given the choice of returning to Christianity, Molcho refused and was burned at the stake. Reubeni died in prison, probably poisoned.