Isaac Jessurun

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Isaac Jessurun (* probably in Venice ; † March 9, 1665 in Hamburg ) was a rabbi .

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Isaac Jessurun was probably born in Venice, where he then worked as a rabbi. At the request of the community of Portuguese Jews in Hamburg, which maintained good contacts with Italian rabbis, he went to Hamburg and became the community's chief rabbi. He taught in the parish school and preached every third Sabbath in the main synagogue. In 1652 three smaller congregations joined together to form the Holy Congregation of the Sephardi in Beith Israel, the first chief rabbi of which may have been Isaac Jessurun.

Jessurun was married to Clara. The couple had numerous children whom Jessurun could not support with the payment for rabbinical activities alone. For this reason he visited the banker Abraham Senior Teixeira once a month to preach in his private apartment. In 1658, Jessurun asked for a raise, whereupon the community paid him an allowance. In 1661 he became superintendent of the Talmud Torah School.

Issac Jessurun died in Hamburg in March 1665. His grave, as well as that of his wife, is in the Jewish cemetery in Hamburg-Altona . Soon after his death, parishioners wrote a note in the log book in which they said that Jessurun was difficult to replace. They also agreed to support the bereaved family members.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Jessurun, Isaac
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian-German rabbi
DATE OF BIRTH 16th century or 17th century
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: Venice
DATE OF DEATH March 9, 1665
Place of death Hamburg