Born in Secrecy-Maaminim (The Practical Kabbalah of Shabbatai Sevi)

This book tells the story of the Sabbatean descendants who continued to carry the spark of faith in the enigmatic Shabbatai Sevi (1626-76), not in public, but behind closed doors, through gestures, rituals, and coded language. This is the story of those who have long lived in shadows. It is the first book on Sabbateanism written from within the tradition.

As a descendant of the Maaminim (a devoted circle of Shabbatai Sevi’s first followers), Uluc Ozuyener gives voice to a history that has lived in silence. His book is both a personal journey and scholarly exploration—to reveal how a faith could survive, and even flourish, through exile, contradiction, and concealment. It weaves together theological analysis, archival research, Ladino hymns, Zoharic commentary, and personal testimony. Ozuyener engages with the Kabbalistic foundations of the worldview—particularly the belief that exile and descent are not signs of failure, but sacred processes through which hidden light can be revealed. The Maaminim believed holiness could emerge from darkness, that fidelity could be expressed through transgression, and that secrecy was not simply survival—it was devotion.