However, Jews were unique in their separation in how they, unlike Protestants and even Catholics, had no Reformation or Age of Humanism to "save" them from the evils of status quo organized religion; the physical seclusion of Jews in the ghettos had now made them unable to receive any kind of religious education other than the one provided by traditional educators: the Talmud. By the times of Besht in the 18th Century, this scholarship was too exclusive and spiritually meaningless to common Jews for them to include it in their daily lives [Weinryb, 262-8].
During this time, there was no denominational Jewish uniformity in Europe. There was, however, a common practice, Talmudism, study of the Talmud, the extremely significant book of commentaries and interpretations of Torah, was the only form of Judaism consistently used. However, to many common Jews, Talmudic Education was thought of as irrelevant and overly formal. Common Jews did feel that Talmudic Education was unneeded, but even if they didn't they wouldn't be able to study Talmud, because most of them were illiterate. Additionally, Talmudic Education now increasingly became the area of a diminutive set of scholars. This class wanted something new, something different; they wanted a Messiah figure, anti-intellectual, someone to lead them into the Promised Land who required relentless faith, rather than unending, and in their minds pointless Talmudic Education. This leader would be someone to give them economic sustenance and peace of mind.
Obviously, many men attempted to arise from the massacres as Jewish leaders, in order to fill the void of the Jewish commoner. Although many of them had brief success, those who attempted to become Jewish leaders, who proclaimed themselves as the Messiah, never could truly captivate the people. Sabbatai Zevi, in the 1660s, avowed himself the Messiah, and had a relatively large following. His movement died out, after being influential for just more than a year, when he converted to Islam.
