Lazaris Spirit

Sarra Copia Sullam, born in Venice between 1588 and 1590, was a highly educated Jewish poet and writer of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She possessed a broad knowledge of classical and religious texts, including the Old and New Testaments, Aristotle, and Josephus, and was fluent in several languages. Despite being married, she engaged in an extensive, though unconsummated, correspondence with the Christian monk Ansaldo Cebà, who admired her intellect and beauty and persistently urged her to convert to Christianity, a request she consistently declined.

Her intellectual life was marked by public engagement and controversy. She hosted gatherings of artists and intellectuals from various backgrounds. In 1621, she faced accusations of heresy regarding her beliefs on the immortality of the soul, a charge she vigorously refuted in her work titled "Manifesto." This period also saw her become the target of a malicious plot involving theft and public slander, which led to legal proceedings and further reputational damage. Despite these challenges and a lack of support from some acquaintances, she continued to write. Sarra Copia Sullam died in 1641 after an illness.

Born into a Jewish family in Venice, Sarra Copia Sullam received a comprehensive education, mastering multiple languages and demonstrating a deep understanding of both Jewish and classical literature. Her home became a vibrant intellectual hub, welcoming scholars, poets, and clerics from both Christian and Jewish communities. She was recognized for her sharp intellect and graceful poetic expression, attracting admirers from across the region who sought her company and conversation. Her marriage to Giacobbe Sullam did not impede her intellectual pursuits; rather, their shared appreciation for the arts fostered an environment conducive to scholarly exchange.

Sarra's intellectual life intersected significantly with Ansaldo Cebà, a Christian monk, through an extensive correspondence initiated in 1618. After reading his work, "La Reina Ester," she wrote to him, sparking a four-year exchange of letters, poems, and gifts. Cebà, captivated by her intellect and reportedly her beauty, became deeply invested in her, urging her conversion to Christianity. This desire intensified, hinting at romantic feelings, though their relationship remained strictly epistolary. Despite the growing intimacy and his persistent attempts at conversion, Sarra maintained her religious identity, though she permitted him to pray for her conversion in return for her prayers for his. Their correspondence ended with Cebà's death shortly after he published fifty-three of his letters to her.

In 1621, Sarra Copia Sullam found herself accused of heresy, specifically denying the immortality of the soul, a charge falsely attributed to her by Baldassare Bonifacio. Facing potential trial by the Inquisition, she responded with a powerful written defense titled "Manifesto di Sarra Copia Sulam hebrea." In this work, she vehemently rejected the accusation, asserting her own theological viewpoints. The controversy was exacerbated by a plot involving theft and slander, where she was manipulated into believing supernatural forces were at play. This led to legal action and a defamatory satire against her, "La Sarreide." Despite the personal attacks and the withdrawal of support from some friends during this crisis, she continued her intellectual endeavors until her death.

“O Lord, Thou know'st my inmost hope and thought, Thou know'st whene'er before Thy judgment throne I shed salt tears, and uttered many a moan. Tw'as not for vanities that I besought. O turn on me Thy look with mercy fraught, And see how envious malice makes me groan! The pall upon my heart by error thrown, Remove; illume me with Thy radiant thought. At truth let not the wicked scorner mock, O Thou, that breath'dst in me a spark divine. The lying tongue's deceit with silence blight, Protect me from its venom, Thou, my Rock, And show the spiteful sland'rer by this sign That Thou dost shield me with Thy endless might”