Reddit reviews Malbim's Job: The Book of Job: Newly Translated and Interpreted According to the Commentary of Rabbi Meir Lebush Malbim

“Rumors reached Europe about the appearance of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, said to be marching under the command of a prophetic and saintly man about whom all sorts of miraculous stories were told.”

Those "narrow-minded" Pharisees tried to suppress him too: “In Palestine, messianic news traveled like wildfire, encountering strong opposition from outstanding rabbis of Jerusalem, who banished Shabbetai Tzvi from the city.”

You think a crucified Messiah is a stone of stumbling? How about one who converts to Islam! Theological necessity is the mother of invention: “For the faithful, however, a new, mystical theosophical interpretation emerged to legitimate Shabbetai Tzvi’s apostasy. Shabbetai Tzvi’s task as a Muslim was to gather the ‘holy sparks’ that were dispersed among the gentiles – a necessary step toward redemption. Only the messiah could fulfill this mission, so the explanation went, and to do so he must hide his identity and act within the heart of the enemy. This explanation appeared plausible to those who still believed in the messianic mission of Shabbetai Tzvi because it fit into the prevalent Lurianic view of kabbalah.”

And he still has followers! William Craig should debate them. If he rejects those stodgy OT prophecies about a “triumphant warrior king,” how will he determine who’s more like the true Messiah? According to what, miracles & Rube Goldberg theologies? Paul had nothing on Nathan of Gaza. Tzvi was a fraud because he declared the dietary laws nullified and didn’t fulfill the prophecies. Game over. Total fail, regardless of miracles or passionate followers.

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This story is deeply tragic.

>Shabbetai Zevi battled with what might now be diagnosed as severe bipolar disorder. He understood his condition in religious terms, experiencing his manic phases as moments of “illumination” and his times of depression as periods of “fall,” when God’s face was hidden from him. While at times of depression he became a semi-recluse, when “illuminated” he felt compelled to contravene Jewish law, perform bizarre rituals (ma’asim zari or strange acts), and publicly pronounce the proscribed name of God.

I lost a brother to bipolar disorder. The purest and most devastating flavor of the problem of evil is why did G-d add these genes to the pool? Or these? Or these? We might not know which genes do what & how, but the idea that there's no heritable basis is crazy talk. This is part of the design. Stuff that turns your mind into a torture chamber and makes you kill yourself is part of the design. Skeptics, if you're going to use the problem of evil, don't half-ass it. The starving babies get off light.

Theodicy 101: G-d doesn't step out on the porch for a smoke while bad stuff happens according to Isaiah: Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace and creates evil; I am the L-rd, Who makes all these. (45:7)
Why? None of your damn business: "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?" Any questions? That couldn't be clearer. 99% of everything written about "theodicies" is stone-obvious BS. Pro-tip: Fear G-d and keep His commandments, regardless of any problem-of-evil shoulder-chips.

If you're mentally interesting, be careful in April.

One of the best series ever writ on the horrors of having a family member with a mental illness.

*The books are about bipolar, schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, respectively.