had large followings, it is surely
here that we may find the origin of those mysterious magicians who
spread themselves over Europe at this date.

It will at once be asked: "But what proof is there that any one of these
Ba'al Shems or Cabalists was connected with masonic or secret
societies?" The answer is that the most important Ba'al Shem of the day,
known as "the Chief of all the Jews," is shown by documentary evidence
to have been an initiate of Freemasonry and in direct contact with the
leaders of the secret societies. If then it is agreed that neither
Saint-Germain nor Cagliostro can be proved to have been Jews, here we
have a man concerned in the movement, more important than either, whose
nationality admits of no doubt whatever.

This extraordinary personage, known as the "Ba'al Shem of London," was a
Cabalistic Jew named Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk, also called Dr. Falk,
Falc, de Falk, or Falkon, born in 1708, probably in Podolia. The further
fact that he was regarded by his fellow-Jews as an adherent of the
Messiah Shabbethai Zebi clearly shows his connexion with the Podolian
Zoharites. Falk was thus not an isolated phenomenon, but a member of one
of the groups described in the foregoing pages. The following is a
summary of the account given of the Ba'al Shem of London in the _Jewish
Encyclopedia_:

Falk claimed to possess thaumaturgic powers and to be able to
discover hidden treasure. Archenholz (_England und Italien_, I.
249) recounts certain marvels which he had seen performed by Falk
in Brunswick and which he attributes to a special knowledge of
chemistry. In Westphalia at one time Falk was sentenced to be
burned as a sorcerer, but escaped to England. Here he was received
with hospitality and rapidly gained fame as a Cabalist and worker
of miracles. Many stories of his powers were current. He would
cause a small taper to remain alight for weeks; an incantation
would fill his cellar with coal; plate left with a pawnbroker would
glide back into his house. When a fire threatened to destroy the
Great Synagogue, he averted the disaster by writing four Hebrew
letters on the pillars of the door.[482] [Obviously the
Tetragrammaton.]

On his arrival in London in 1742 Falk appeared to be without means, but
soon after he was seen to be in possession of considerable wealth,
living in a comfortable house in Wellclose Square, where he had his
priva