Isaac Aboab da Fonseca
Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (born February 1, 1605 in Castro Daire , Portugal , † April 4, 1693 in Amsterdam ) was a rabbi , scholar, Kabbalist and writer.
Life
Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was born in Castro Daire, Portugal, as the son of forcibly baptized Jews. Despite the external conversion, these so-called Marranos were persecuted so that the family emigrated to Amsterdam in 1612 in the liberal Netherlands . There the family returned to Judaism. Isaac was raised Jewish and together with Menasse ben Israel received instruction from Isaac Uziel . At the age of 18 he was appointed rabbi of Beth Israel, one of the three Sephardic congregations in Amsterdam.
When the Dutch conquered the Portuguese Capitania Pernambuco in 1630 , numerous Jews from the Netherlands and Portugal emigrated to Dutch Brazil . Many Jews in the Netherlands lived in poverty and hoped for a better life in the New World. To lead the growing congregation, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was sent to Recife in 1642 , where he became the first appointed rabbi in the New World as rabbi of the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue . He wrote numerous writings in Hebrew and Spanish and thus became the first Hebrew writer in the New World.
After the Dutch were defeated by the Portuguese in 1654, he returned to Amsterdam and took on leadership roles in the Talmud Torah community. In 1656, as a community elder, he was involved in the excommunication of Baruch Spinoza because of his philosophical statements about the nature of God. At times he was a leading supporter of Shabbtai Zvi .
Under the direction of Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, the Jewish community in Amsterdam flourished. In 1675 the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam (Esnoga) was inaugurated.
Works (selection)
- Zekher Asiti le-Nifla'ot El (first Hebrew print in the New World)
- Parafrasis Commentada sobre el Pentateuco. Amsterdam 1688.
literature
- Moisés Orfali: Isaac Aboab da Fonseca. Jewish Leadership in the New World. Sussex, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84519-354-6
- Cecil Roth: Aboab da Fonseca, Isaac. In: Encyclopaedia Judaica . 2nd Edition. Volume 1, Detroit / New York a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-0-02-865929-9 , p. 269.
Web links
- Isaac Aboab da Fonseca , biography at the Joods Historisch Museum
- Meyer Kayserling, Samuel Baeck & Kaufmann Kohler: Isaac da Fonseca Aboab. In: Isidore Singer (Ed.): Jewish Encyclopedia . Funk and Wagnalls, New York 1901-1906.
Footnotes
- ^ Cecil Roth: Encyclopaedia Judaica. 2
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fonseca, Isaac Abo from there |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Fonseca, Simao there |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Portuguese-Dutch rabbi, leader of the Jewish community in Recife and Amsterdam |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 1, 1605 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Castro Daire |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 4, 1693 |
| Place of death | Amsterdam |