Jacob Refael Cohen Belinfante

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Jacob Refael Cohen Belinfante (* 1708 in Amsterdam , † June 26, 1761 in Altona ) was a Dutch chasan and illustrator .

Live and act

Jacob Refael Cohen Belinfante was a grandson of Meir Cohen Belinfante (1653-1721), whose ancestors had fled to Belgrade from the Iberian Peninsula in 1526 . Due to the occupation of Belgrade by Austrian troops, Meir Cohen Belinfante went to Amsterdam in 1688 with his two sons Sadik and Joseph (* 1676 in Belgrade). Jacob Refael Cohen Belinfante was born here in 1708 as the son of Joseph Cohen Belinfante and Paloma Mingana. He attended a Talmud school and married Hana there in 1730, who was a daughter of Sadik Belinfante.

Around 1745 he went to Hamburg, where several family members had been settled for a long time. In the Hanseatic city he took over the positions of Chasan and Sofer of the local Jewish community and wrote several writings during this time. Jacob Refael Cohen Belinfante was buried in the Portuguese cemetery. An eight-line poem in Portuguese can be read on his tombstone . His wife's tombstone has not been preserved.

Works

During his time in Hamburg, Cohen Belinfante wrote two wedding poems, which he provided with pictures. The first poem was for the wedding couple Mose Abudiente and Rahel Curiel and showed the bridegroom in a nanking and his wife in a shepherd's costume . It also showed the father-in-law dressed as a preacher. The second poem was about the marriage of Simson Abudiente and Ribca Curiel. The groom and his parents stood in front of a picture of the riddle of Samson . Ribca Curiel was at a well that Eliezer returned to. Both works are now considered lost. Cohen Belinfante also made a Megillat Esther , which can be seen in Portugal.

In 1753, Cohen Belinfante created his most important work. It was a Mihagimbuch ("Book of Traditions"), which he provided with images from the life of Jacob. The Portuguese-Jewish community used the book until 1939. It is also known that David Meldola saw it during his time at the Hamburg Temple . After the Second World War, the manuscript was brought to Jerusalem via confused routes and is now in the library of the Ben-Zvi Institute.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Cohen Belinfante, Jacob Refael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch chasan and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH 1708
PLACE OF BIRTH Amsterdam
DATE OF DEATH June 26, 1761
Place of death Altona